I’m having a bit of trouble making the first chapter of LUCID more depressing. LUCID is about a lot of things, but the main plot is a male human being (age is being decided on, depending on how this first chapter is made into a depressing one) who discovers that when he goes to sleep, his dreams are all about a place called Pax Valley, where society is completely different, and, among many other things, full of anthropomorphic animals. Time in this world doesn’t even stop when he wakes up; it’s as if the place is real, and he is merely visiting during the hours of the night.
For the record, Riley (said main character) is NOT a member of the fandom in any way. I’m trying to drive the point home that his life is nearly completely useless before Pax Valley.
Anyway, the empty story arch is Riley finding happiness within himself through this odd experience of living a second life, in his extremely vivid dreams. My only problem is, I don’t know how to convey how depressing his life is before he finds the dream world. Does anyone have any tips or examples?
One more thing: I’m really hoping I can pull this off properly in third person limited, in case that affects anyone’s answers.