Tuesday, January 28, 2014

the craft of daydreaming

by Anna Maria Hansen


We've all been there.

That moment, that day, that week where writing seemed out of the question. Where taking the time to sit down and actually make the creative part of your brain actually work was simply laughable.

I sat down at the computer, clicked open the document and stared blankly at the words until they blurred. Quite some time later, I realized that I had sat there for close to half an hour and done nothing.

Wait.

I'd been daydreaming. Thinking. Not about writing, true, but I'm not writing a book about how to write a book. I'm writing about other people and their lives and their thoughts... and yes! I had an idea.

Getting over these blank stretches is a trick. Not always easy to force creativity (if possible at all). There is inspiration in everything and sometimes daydreaming is the best way to let your mind go.

A friend told me a quote from Agatha Christie: "The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes."  

Allow time to think, to let your mind play with characters, dialogue, scenes. I often let thoughts roll around in my head for days, sometimes weeks, before putting them down in print. By the time I take up a pen, I have a firm grasp on what I am trying to say. Other times, I let myself sit down at the computer and write whatever pops into my head. True, a lot of it is plain mumbo-gumbo, but there is sometimes a sliver, a fragment that can be pulled out and expanded on.

One thing to always remember when you reach a stretch in your story when you can't move forward... if the scene is boring you as the writer, the reader will have already set down the book. Don't write anything that bores you.





1 comment:

  1. Love the comic art -- so true. And the Christie quote -- again true. Its while we're engaged in supposedly mindless activities that the muse often strikes. Forcing ourselves to be creative is difficult indeed. Back to my daydream. k

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