Daydreaming Makes You A Better Writer

This Is Why

by Harley Bell

Every single piece of writing starts with an idea.
Where do your ideas come from?

Mine appear when I stop thinking and allow myself to dream.

It’s like finding my car keys after I’ve stopped looking for them. But they were there the entire time, hiding between the couch cushions. Ideas are like that ― out of sight but always within reach.

Inspiration can strike at any moment. If you are caught unprepared. Then the magic of your ideas can disappear down the couch.

Let’s change that.

Deliberate Daydreaming

Dreams are the strongest at night. But quickly evaporate when we try to capture them in the morning. Daydreams are different. They are far more powerful.

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.” ― T.E. Lawrence

Deliberate Daydreaming is the art of directing stray thoughts towards a destination. The destination is your writing.

Dreams are fuel for your imagination. They are a way to find out what happens next in your story. Or a way to inhabit the internal lives of your characters. Wherein, you can empathize and explore their emotions.

Daydreams can also help you come up with a killer headline for your article.

Ignite the imagination

“A piece of creative writing, like a daydream, is a continuation of, and a substitute for, what was once the play of childhood.” ― Sigmund Freud.

Imagination is a serious business when you’re a writer. It is necessary for so many parts of the creative process. But the imagination needs fuel to burn brightly.

On a scale of one to inferno, how bright does your imagination burn?
What do you do when it burns down and dwindles?

Daydreaming is like adding wood to the fire. It allows your…