09 August 2012

Daydream Believers


Yes, I am a daydream believer. (And I dare anyone born in the latter part of the last century not to mentally humming right about now. (Missing your smile and sweet voice, Davy Jones!) But, it's about more than a song's lyrics and melody. Daydreams lead to interesting ideas.

Daydreamers may incite teachers to insist their students stop and pay attention to their instruction, but for most of us, daydreaming transports us to other places and times and relieves many  boring moments in our lives.
For a writer, daydreams inspire many stories yet to written.

While night dreams may also lead to plot ideas or characters, for me those sometimes head into darker places. I have written those stories, too, but I appreciate where daydreams take flight. The initial trip to Daydream Land may be innocent enough, but often leads me to an intricate plotline that turns sinister.

Daydreaming has led me to ask What if? Why? and How?

They've led me to wonderful dark thoughts that transpired into Noir storylines. Admittedly, I have an affinity for hardboiled detectives, so those day trips to my imagination brought fun to write short stories where I get to plack (my mother's made-up word when she was a kid that was an abbreviation for "play like") as a hardened private eye chasing down a bad guy that was really bad.

Some of my personal recent daydreams include:

  • What if I'd been in a bank where a robbery was about to take place?
  • What if I were in that movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado?
  • What if I were on a campus that had a sudden lockdown?
  • What if I were stuck in an elevator? Which person would I want to be in there with and how long would be to long?
  • If I had just one author to read the rest of my life, which would I choose?
  • What is worth most: good looks, money or brains? (Thinking Marilyn Monroe, Bill Gates or Einstein)
  • If I had to live in cartoon land, what characters would I most enjoy sharing my time?
  • If I had my choice of mentors, which would be best suited for me?
  • If I could meet with a fictional character for coffee, who would be most interesting?
  • What super power would I most like to posess?

Do you live part time in fantasy land, too? Maybe we'll meet up in a daydream or two! What fun that would be!


8 comments:

  1. I'm with you, Deborah, although my friends are convinced I'm the principal tenant of Never-Never Land.

    I like the song, too… ♬♩ and a homecoming queen♫♪

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  2. Remember the old song "Dreamer's Holiday?"

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  3. Deborah, I thought this post was GREAT, and I’m sorry I didn’t have the opportunity to comment yesterday. Afraid I was fighting with blogger, then had to go into work at the cigar store.

    Last year, when my youngest son was in 3rd Grade, I volunteered to help out in the classroom a few days each week, in order to assist the kids as they took reading tests in the computer lab. One day, as the kids filed in, the young teacher (it was her first year) called out, “Where’s my daydreamer? Where are you, daydreamer?” A little boy walked up to her with head hung low. She said, “You sit right here, where I can keep an eye on you. No more daydreaming! You’ll never be successful if you don’t stop daydreaming!”

    It took all my will to keep my automatic whimper of support from coming up out of my mouth. A few days later, when I had her alone with no kids around, I gently suggested that I had daydreamed in school, too, sometimes — and now did so for a living. I suggested that perhaps one key to success was learning how to turn daydreams into some sort of reality. She now teaches in another school, so I don’t know if my remarks had any effect. But, I sure felt for that kid whose name I didn’t even know.

    --Dix

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  4. Daydreaming got me through high school and college. I have to admit daydreaming gets me through some days still. It also sometimes leads to problem solving, right now I think I will day dream about a finished manuscript and a glass of pinot noir. I know the later part will absolutely come true. As always great post, Deborah!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Daydreaming got me through high school and college. I have to admit daydreaming gets me through some days still. It also sometimes leads to problem solving, right now I think I will day dream about a finished manuscript and a glass of vino. I know the later part will absolutely come true. As always great post, Deborah!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Daydreaming got me through school and most of college. It still helps me get through some days. Right now I am daydreaming of a finished manuscript and a glass of pinot. I know what of those will happen today. As always, great post, Deborah.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Daydreaming got me through school and most of college. It still helps me get through some days. Right now I am daydreaming of a finished manuscript and a glass of pinot. I know what of those will happen today. As always, great post, Deborah.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Daydreaming got me through school and most of college. It still helps me get through some days. Right now I am daydreaming of a finished manuscript and a glass of pinot. I know what of those will happen today. As always, great post, Deborah.

    ReplyDelete

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