I’ve always liked to day dream. I take walks without music blaring in my ears, I write, think, research and plan, all without someone on the radio chattering in my ear. If I want music when I’m working, I choose instrumental music, soft and smooth in the background. I can’t mind-map a character or write words with any meaning or emotion while other words are being forced into my brain. I thought maybe this trait was unique to me. I see people running or walking in the streets, travelling on buses or just sitting at the beach and many of them have some form of earplug or phone entertaining them. The art of sitting quietly and musing seems to be a thing of the past.
So, one day, a couple of years ago now, when I read an article that day dreaming is good for you, I felt rewarded. I enjoy silence. I enjoy walking around the park or along the beach with nothing more than the normal sounds of wind, the birds and the ocean ringing in my ears. I even choose lesser roads to walk on to join the two areas together to get away from the traffic as much as possible. Now I know it’s good for my health and well-being too.
When I’m stuck on a particular section in my book – usually about how to get my character to realistically move from one scene/event to another, I walk. I walk to think. I walk to create. I sit on the beach and let my mind drift until the answer develops in the back of my mind. I shift words around in my head but I can’t create a single sentence when there is a song to sing along with, or a phone or text conversation to be had. Daydreaming is something you have to physically and consciously participate in. It doesn’t happen while you are busy doing something else. You have to take time out and when you do, some amazing results can come from it.
Are you a Daydream-believer? Do you daydream? Try it sometime. It takes practice, but it’s worth it.
By Vicky Adin,
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