5 Ways to Use Daydreaming to Hone Your Craft

You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it. ~Neil Gaiman

Did you daydream when you were a child? Chances are, if you are a writer, you answered with a firm yes.  I can remember whole adventures I would write in my mind. Some included Pippi Longstocking and, of course, that delightful monkey, Mr. Nelson.  

As a writer, I find I cannot go very many days without space to “think my own thoughts.” (That sounds more grown up than daydream.) My writing suffers without that creative outlet. Here are five ways to find time for daydreaming.

1. Go for a walk. There’s something about being outside that fuels creativity. For those who live in the county, nature – the creative work of God – feeds the soul. But if you live in a housing development, take note of the different architecture of each home. If you are walking downtown, look in the store windows, watch the people who are intent about their business, check out the curb appeal. The sights of wherever I am lead me into creative daydreaming.

    2. Stare out the window. Yes, the very thing your childhood teachers kept you from doing is what you are allowed to do as an adult. Slow down that logical part of your brain and pump up the creative part.

    3. Play the “What-if” game. You can play it anywhere you wish. Just pull your thoughts away from what is going on around you and start asking yourself the question. What if book covers were all the same and the books the same size?  What if the bookstores put them on the shelves by size instead of subject? What impact could a children’s book have on a busy executive looking for Ken Blanchard’s One Minute Manager.

    4. Escape into another world to rest your mind. When a deadline is looming, and you feel that tense burning across your shoulders, it’s time to take a daydream break. Take ten minutes to lie down and create a scene in your mind – one unrelated to the project you are working on. You’ll be amazed not only how rested you’ll feel, but how often you’ll gain inspiration for the project at hand.

    5. Daydream on a specific theme or word. Take one word from your project and go with it. If you are writing about buying the perfect pair of shoes, daydream about shoes: purchasing shoes – black tie-up walking shoes (belonging to a librarian who walks to work) – her feet hurt, but her mind is fine and even though she must wear her practical black shoes, she sees life in bright colors – she attaches color to the books she reads. Dick Chaney’s book, Heart, is an obvious red – not scarlet, not brick red or watermelon. But the Centennial Edition of Ronald Reagan was unmellow yellow which wasn’t obvious unless you knew his parents planned to name him Donald. Ducks have orange feet -- would be hard to put shoes on them; it would take a triple wide. Are there triple wide shoes for people? Maybe that’s why everyone has a hard time finding the perfect pair of shoes – the ones they’re buying are squeezing the life out of every step. 

Make sure you aren’t using daydreaming as procrastination, but don’t consider it a waste of time. And if you see a far-away look in my eyes, I’m probably in Italy, sitting at a café in the sun, eating a crostate (jam tart), just waiting for…well, I’m not sure what I’ll be waiting for…yet.

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