Get off the couch, get out of the house, and practice a little dream writing.

Today, I sit staring out of the window at the grey skies hanging over the deep blue ocean as a light drizzle of rain starts to fall from the sky. It is cold inside, possibly as cold as it is outside, and I’m very tempted to leave my slightly warm spot on the couch to go work from a hopefully warmer spot in a coffee shop.

My mind races through various options of indecisiveness

Anyone that knows me well will know how indecisive I can be. I’m thinking should I go? I want to go but will I have enough time? Will I be too rushed? Maybe I should rather leave it? No, I should definitely go and get a nice warm cup of coffee. The particular coffee shop is halfway to my kids’ schools so it makes sense to stop over for a change of scenery. Although, it’s really a schlep. And, it is raining so I will get wet. Oh, screw it I’m going.

Out I go

I grab my laptop, notebook, pen, and bag and make my way down the stairs to my garage, which strangely feels warmer than my house, and into my car. I pull out of my driveway already happy with my decision to get out of the house to do some writing.

I want to do some dream writing

I have an assignment today, and that is to do some dream writing. What is dream writing? Dream writing is where you go old school and write with pen and paper only. You allocate a specific amount of time, pick a topic or writing prompt, and you write. You write without holding back, without self-editing, without re-reading your words. You write what comes to mind. Your pen may never leave the page during this time, even if you find yourself stuck without knowing what to write. If you are stuck, you write that you’re stuck.

I don’t practice dream writing often, and I honestly can’t tell you why I don’t. I really should because I learnt a lot about myself this morning. I set my phone timer to ten minutes and started to write. Ten minutes is the perfect amount of time. It’s long enough to get ideas flowing and to really find meaning in your writing, but short enough that your hand doesn’t start to throb so that the pain is all you can focus on.

I remembered and I learnt

I remembered a lot of things that have fallen through the cracks of my life and have been forgotten. Small details, that can become amazing stories. Details that fueled my imagination.

I also learnt what stories I want to be telling. I learnt what I want to write about and who I want to be writing for. In fact, I always imagined my writing avatar to be someone very much like myself, but after this morning I discovered that it is not me, but someone that wants more and needs more out of life. Someone that hungers for a strength they can’t seem to find, someone that may only need to not feel alone in life.

I love dream writing. Even if you never want to be a writer or if you do want to be a writer and you want the world to know your name, dream writing is an amazing form of brainstorming in a way that allows your true and hidden thoughts to show themselves.

I challenge you

I challenge you to do a little dream writing of your own today. Get out of the house, grab your journal and write absolutely anything. Don’t stop writing until your time is up. And enjoy it!

Below are some writing prompts to get you started. Use one, two, or even all of them.

1. I want to be…
2. I want to write about…
3. I have always wished that…
4. One day, I would like to…
5. Everything would be different if…
6. My life changed when…
7. In another life I would…
8. when I was 14 years old…
9. The greatest lesson I have learnt is…
10. I have always regretted…

If you accept this challenge?

If you accept this challenge, then let me know. Tell me how you felt doing your dream writing and tell me if you learnt anything.