...so having a long, flowing, vivid and deliberate storyline be a dream can come off as a bit of a joke.

I quite agree with this. I came across this story ending style when I read a tricksy bait once and all the fuss ended in a dream! I was caught off guard and at the time it made sense ...but looking at it closely, it can come off as a joke and an easy way out.

Thanks for the resources you've added. Whoever said it's easy to write a good story? 😄 It takes a lot of imagination and work! Kudos to our fantastic writers and the Ink Well team.
!PIZZA