Blog @ Work

Trouble, daydreaming and ideas

"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  [13+]
Motivational Monday! Jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, born on this day in 1924, once said, "When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don't even notice." What affect does writing have for you when trouble sits on your shoulder?

When trouble sits on my shoulder it can go both ways. Or it will inhibit me to write or it will activate my Muse. That solely depends on the sort of trouble.

What I do know is that participating in blog forums with mandatory prompts works best for me. That way my Muse is active on a daily basis. When trouble hits there is already a system in place to take over. In that case, the chance that my writing continues despite the trouble is the greatest. I need my daily blog to be in the flux of writing. It helps me to stay mentally active, keeps me in the flow and helps my mood by venting with words. Writing gives my creativity a boost and is a healthy way to deal with troubles. Maybe they won’t disappear immediately, but I will feel and perform much better because of my writing.

Prompt: Do you think intentional daydreaming can help performance and achievement? And in what ways do intentional daydreaming and the mind's wandering differ from each other? (BC)

I think intentional daydreaming differs from mind’s wandering because it is on purpose. You are conscious of the fact that you are doing it and the wandering of the mind is without you knowing it, you are just spacing out.

The first can probably help your creativity because it can help emerge different scenes of a story you can use. You can then create different scenarios. It can perhaps unlock the subconscious and let your mind freely wanders on different topics, but in a guided way. You are the active observer.

Prompt: You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it. ~ Neil Gaiman. Use this quote as inspiration to write a story, poem, or anything you want.(BCoFs)

Getting ideas all the time from daydreaming or being bored or whatever is important to writers. We have to be conscious of the material that is present or that arises from the occasion. We then can act immediately by writing or jotting them down. That’s the reason I have a little notebook in my handbag. I don’t use it very often outside the house, but it’s there in case I need it. Sometimes I am just sitting in a restaurant or in a coffee corner drinking coffee and observing the passersby with the notebook in front of me. If something catches my attention or I think of something I can write it down for later use.

I am contemplating on using the outdoors more to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations since my dialogues are not that good. I think part of it is that I am writing in a foreign language and English is not the language I hear around me. So I am a bit unfamiliar with the way English/American people speak and use ordinary language. To that end, I sometimes listen to American talk radio. It gives me the tools to focus on dialogues more.