Maybe I'm just a hillbilly who has traveled very few times for my age, but I LOVE to daydream about moving somewhere. I'm going to say something you've seen on TV, T-shirts, and signs FOR-EV-ER: I LOVE NEW YORK!
My cousin Annie has worked in Europe, South America, and Central America. Her husband is Scottish. They now live in New York City (East Village, to be precise), but they are happily moving back to her hometown of Seale, Alabama, population triple digits. Why? In her words: three nieces, farmland, horses, chickens, cheaper haircuts, and a mini mule named Peter Pan. I'm not going to lie. That mini mule is cute. He follows you around like a devoted dog.
Thankfully, I got to visit her in NYC in October before the big move. As my colleague Debbie says, "People there are always thinking." It's true. The energy and creativity are palpable, and I want to go back. But y'all, you have to walk blocks just to find a dog park, and in that dog park, there's hardly any grass left! A mini mule would never "make it there."
When I can't sleep, I love to daydream and plan out book scenes and dialogue. Often, my character relocates to New York City or some other "foreign" land and starts over. Aren't we lucky to be able to live through our characters? Through our books, we travel, learn, laugh, grieve, and go through experiences that one human life on earth can't mathematically accommodate.
If your goal is to publish a book in 2022, you have time. Daydream during housework and commutes. Keep a notepad with you at all times. Use voice recordings to rough draft ideas while you walk or grocery shop. If people stare, just tell them you are a writer. They may become fans! You don't have to wait to daydream until insomnia hits.
I try to teach my children to think beyond their circumstances and maximize every opportunity. I want them to daydream and eventually (asap) act on those creams. In this picture, Scotty (11) poses in front of a "tapestry" of NYC that I ordered on Amazon for $15 for his brother's dorm room. Like any little brother might, he swiped it for his own room. Why not play FortNite and shoot mini-hoops while also viewing the Empire State Building and Hudson River from your East Tennessee bedroom?
I wish you vivid daydreams!
XOXOXO
Jody
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