Dreamstorming: Define & Pursue Your Dreams

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Dreamstorming

Define & Pursue Your Dreams

Faye Whyte

Writing is a rewarding endeavor and many of us have high hopes for our creativity, but how does a writer keep going through rejection, lack of time and the (ugh!) day job?

Think of the donkey hitched to a heavy cart –– if he can't see and smell the carrot in front of him, is he going anywhere? Not likely. He might meander a bit this way and that, but he won't make any forward progress. If, on the other hand, we put that juicy carrot just out of his reach, he'll pull that cart in a straight line for all he's worth.

Dreamstorming is a simple technique that will give you momentum by finding your own carrot-cake inspiration to keep your dreams in front of you.

To dreamstorm:

1. Clear the house, turn off the ringer on the phone, and find a quiet corner. Go to the library or the café, if you must, but make sure you have about a half hour of undisturbed time.

2. Set a time limit. Fifteen to twenty minutes is usually long enough to generate new images and ideas, but not so long that you're exhausted at the end of this exercise.

3. Know what you are seeking. If you just sit back to daydream about the future, your energy is more like a sun shower than a storm––it lacks focus. Choose your own focus question. Will it be a day in the life of bestselling author "you," an image of your first publication, or what you'll say the day you tell your boss bye-bye? Choose your focus question and write it down at the top of a blank page.

4. Write! Write down as many ideas as you can in the allotted time. Let your thoughts flow by free-association from word to word. Does writing in a column down the page feel restricting? Put your focus in the middle of the page and let the ideas radiate from it or write one idea on each fresh, crisp page. Just keep your pen moving as you explore your focus question.

5. Write everything down. No one else will ever see this. Write down every idea that hits the back of your brain, even the silly ones––especially the silly ones. DON'T EDIT.

6. If the ideas slow down, return to the focus question and approach it from another angle. Try using the five senses, a list of accomplishments you see for yourself, or how one of your critics will see you.

7. At the end of the time, stop and give yourself a reward (maybe some carrot cake). Dreaming is hard work!

8. Review your list and mark the ideas that are the most vivid and appealing to you. Take your time with this. Let it rest for a few days, then reread the list. I save my old lists in a folder and review them occasionally. Over time, I've found two favorite motivational images: picking up my daughter after school and relaxing with a glass of fine wine in my whirlpool tub.

Now that you have a list, think of ways to keep your favorite images in front of you. Write or print them on note cards; use them as inspiration in your date book or post them near your workspace. One of these cards might be perfect as a motto or slogan. These ideas also can be used as starting points for other techniques such as collage, visualization, and dream-building shopping sprees to make your dreams even more real. Dreamstorm often. You'll find your dreams evolving as you move along the path to success. I do this exercise about once a month and I always come up with new inspiring ideas.

Will this exercise bring you closer to your next sale or the bestseller list? Not directly. But dreamstorming will help you cultivate and nurture images of success so that you can find the inspiration and motivation to continue writing through those challenging times. This exercise, when done regularly, will remind you that your dreams are important, that the journey can be as much fun as the destination, and that you are worth your own best effort!