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Repetitive Tasks and Daydreaming

When you write creatively, you wind up doing a fair bit of daydreaming. It’s part of the job. How else are you going to come up with all those thrilling plots and amazing characters in your fiction? The trick is to not daydream while driving or doing the day job.

The best way that I’ve found for coming up with cool stuff is to get your body doing something repetitive and boring. This is why I believe so many epiphanies happen in the shower. Showering is a task that you don’t have to think about much. Until you forget how many times or even if you actually washed your hair. But aside from that, it’s pretty easy to let your mind wander while your scrub.

Another repetitive task that seems to produce ideas for me is mowing the grass in the warmer months of the year. Something about going back and forth and inhaling that fresh cut grass scent that sparks my imagination. A good source of inspiration for me is in the pool when I’m lap swimming. I wear ear plugs and that helps to block out some noise and let my mind focus on story or character issues. Many sections of my last two novels were worked out while swimming.

While you are writing your novel, it may be a good thing to include some repetitive tasks  so that you can let your mind wonder a bit. You might find that you become more creative over time.