Writer's Block—Dream Your Way Out Of It

By Sharon Flood

We all do it, but we don't always use it to our advantage. I daydream to keep the creative juices flowing when I'm staring at a blank page and don't know how to fill it. Here's a few examples on how to use daydreaming constructively.




You're riding on a bus staring out the window at a boring cityscape. What do you do? You observe and daydream. You pass a crumbling old building, and you pull out your notebook and describe it. It may be useful in a story somewhere.

You're at a family gathering, and you're stuck with a notorious gossip. She's your sister, so you're stuck. What do you do? You look at her as though she's spouting gems of wisdom, and you daydream about a gossiping character, or details about how to get away with killing a gossiping character.

You're at work doing mindless repetitive activity with your hands, when your brain goes on disconnect. Get your job done without going into a coma, by keeping your mind active - daydream. If you're working on a specific story, daydream about what is happening in it. If a character is walking through a museum, daydream about various museums you've been through, and what you're likely to see in a museum hall.


You're a passenger in a van full of people all yammering at once. It's summer, it's hot and sweaty, and you'd rather be anywhere else. So you daydream about skiing on a nice gentle mountain slope with no one around but fresh crisp mountain air, and the scent of pine. Jot it down, and use it somewhere.

I find that if I can't write about something specific because I feel pressured, I daydream about something else to unclog my brain.