Everything in dreams is an archetype, and control is accomplished by focusing attention on archetypes. The reliability and outcome of any one archetype is determined by how stable and robust it ss, the result of emotional reinforcement and repetition.

But sometimes we can successfully use archetypes that are not very well defined, that haven't been forged in repetition. Why is that? Sometimes we use a dream skill like flying and have it work very well the first few times, only to have it fail on us after having used it successfully in several lucids. Why is that?

The answer is Novelty.

Before I continue, I would like to recap my first two rules of dream control.
1. Everything requires your attention to exist
2. The more attention you give something, the more related detail it creates.

So, what is novelty? Novelty is something that an individual finds interesting or fascinating. Being so interesting, we focus more of our attention on these fascinating elements. It's this increased attention that grants temporary control over elements we would normally struggle with. That augmented attention sustains those novel elements according to the first rule, and fleshes them out according to the second rule.

When you successfully use a new power in dreams like flying, only to have it fail in subsequent dreams, it's because the novelty has worn off. It's super cool at first, but after awhile, it becomes "been there done that". Hard to believe anything that cool could could get old, but it does.

To effectively utilize Novelty for dream control requires a less rigid and more opportunistic approach. Instead of limiting yourself to a pre-planned method of control, be on the lookout for the unexpected and go with it when the opportunity presents it's self. The results from using novel methods of control may be a little erratic, but that's part of the appeal.