Daydreaming is an essential component to the writing process. And yet, I bet it is easily the most misunderstood. Today, I stared out my sunroom window for almost 3 hours. I didn't write one word in my notebook. I didn't revise an old story. And yet, I worked.
I let my mind travel unhindered in ten different directions. I let old and new characters play like a movie in my head. I let images drift in and out. I daydreamed.
Daydreams are funny little things. The slightest thing will trigger them. And then the mind takes off. For instance, I saw a crow fly at our big, plate glass window and peck at it in a menacing way. Then he flew off to join his friends, maybe bragging about what he had done. And here is my train of thought on seeing this event.
-What in the world is that crow doing?
-Could he actually chip the glass in the window by pecking at it so hard?
-What are his friends over there thinking while he does this?
-What do crow's nests look like?
-Do they weave them out of soft little bits like the songbirds' nests I've seen?
-What would happen this crow found a bit of bright yarn?
-What if it wasn't a crow that found the yarn, but someone else?
-What could yarn be used for?
And then I was off the races. A darling little start to a story formed. All because I daydreamed.
So, fellow writers, allow the time for the hard work. Daydream.
