Reading fantasy fiction allows us to dream in a very vivid way. Writing fantasy fiction takes the dreaming to another level. You are the dreamer who leads the dream, the creator of the dreamworld. It is the most powerful kind of meditation, an experience of controlled psychosis that results in a prolonged experience of altered consciousness. In this article I will examine ways in which you can induce the receptive state, how you can deepen the intensity of the dream, and how to hold onto the vision for a more profound writing experience.
1. Hearing the music of the mind
Consider music. It is a patterned structure of sounds which you follow in your mind. You find pleasure and enlightenment by following the composer’s creation. The further the musical piece takes you outside of your body, beyond the mundane world, the greater the enjoyment. A masterpiece lingers in your mind leaving you with an altered sense of reality, if only for a while. You believe wonderful things are possible. You are inspired.
Fiction is very similar. Critics who insist on moral instruction, political messages or historical fact miss the musical aspect of writing altogether. A novel is a composition, a concert of ideas, a melody of story played within an orchestra of dreams. It is woven in a particular way by the author to bring about the mental crescendo and ecstacy. Some scornfully label it escapism, as if that means it is less worthy of literary merit than a stuffy book of factual realistic torment. I see escapism differently. If a book is capable of transporting me to escape my reality, then it is a mighty success. In a good novel you get to experience things beyond your world and in some delightful way your power of imagination can be challenged, you can be gripped by raw emotion, and you can find release.
As a writer, the deeper you can sink into the dream you are creating, the more powerfully this music of the mind comes through. Listening for it often means forgetting what you are trying to write (the plot) and to become swept away by the visions (the passion).
As you try to record your visions, you can enhance this receptive mental state by following the principles mentioned below.
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