Daydreaming is a state of mind in-between lucidity and sleep, where an individual is distracted from the present and more in-tune with the subconscious. It’s an escape, a temporary reprieve from reality. Studies indicate that the average individual spends approximately eight hours a day daydreaming, and as staggering as that number sounds, I think I surpass that amount, most times finding myself with eyes glazed over, mind turned inward. There may even be some drool involved.
Where the content of my daydreams vary from basking in the sun on a Costa Rican beach, to being a vigilante superhero, one of the more common daydreams I indulge in has to do with me being an author.
Ever since elementary school, when my face was more often than not buried in a Nancy Drew book, I would dream up my own plot lines for the detective series. Since then, I’ve always known that I would write a book, whether if be non-fiction, based on my psychology or personal training background, or fiction in the science fiction and fantasy genre, which was always my favourite. I’d brainstorm ideas, jot down any exciting dreams I had, always in the hopes that one day I would be able to craft them into a novel. I’d picture myself with my laptop flipped open in a cafe, pouring out all the stories that had been ping-ponging around my head for so many years onto the keyboard. Daydreaming of book launches and book signings filled my heart with butterflies. I’d imagine my books lining the shelves at Chapters and Barnes & Noble, my name on the cover, my heart printed within its pages. And of course I’d have my own website and blog.
Even though the chances of becoming an author were slim seeing that I hadn’t studied English literature or journalism in College/University or initially pursued a career in writing, deep in my heart I always knew I would make that daydream come true.
It was only recently that I realized my daydream has become a reality. I had to give myself a little pinch to make sure I was awake and that this was really happening. And…it is! I have two self-published science fiction and fantasy novels, both part of the ongoing Father of Contention series. Book 3 is presently at the publishers being edited, and book cover development is in the works. I have an editorial coming out in our local newspaper, which not only was a daydream, but was also one of my new year resolutions for 2020. And I’m part of the most amazing writing groups on Instagram, a community that is supportive in ways only writers can understand. For that, I thank you all!!
So, now that I’ve realized my daydream as a writer, does that mean I don’t daydream anymore? Heck no, if anything I’m dreaming more than ever now, imagining myself writing feverishly in a cabin overlooking the lake, releasing book after book, being offered book deals from traditional publishing companies, my novels on all the bestsellers lists and of course my stories being adapted into motion pictures. Hey, it may seem impossible, but if you dream it, you can make it happen.
I’m going to get back to work now, cleaning up my manuscript for the fourth book in the Father of Contention series..literally working a job that requires me to daydream…for what is an author, but someone who puts their daydreams down on paper.
Keep reading (and daydreaming)!
💋 Lanie Mores
