“ If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more, to dream all the time.” Marcel Proust
I chose the above quote because it sums up what sparks my creative process more than any other. I can’t say for certain what sparks a creative idea inside my head. I do know what it feels like when it arrives.
A creative spark invites me to come out and play. This invitation can come from anywhere at any time. A good example of this is for a book I’m currently working on. One day as I was reading a homeschooling mom’s blog I found a post about 100 words that had been cut out of the most recent edition of the Oxford Children’s dictionary. These are really common words like duchess, daffodil, and lavender, which has been replaced by texting, and chatting. Immediately while reading this, an entire boo idea came to mind. Day by day the lost words have found their way into my heart, mind, and soon to a bookshelf near you.
A creative spark is easy. The idea doesn’t hold any resistance but simply flows. The ideas for this creative spark come flooding in. I just have to be able to write them down as quickly as they appear.
After much surrounding the idea has surfaced, it’s time to let extensive dreaming take place. This, requires a long walk. The bigger the idea the longer the walk. It’s a good indication to me if an idea can be fleshed out or not. Usually everything comes together within a walk or two.
The dream time of an idea is the most inspired time in the whole process. It is an effortless moment. It lures me in and then the real work comes into play. Once I’m committed to an idea or project, I’m there for the long haul. It is a gratifying moment to get through the tough times and see how a project comes to life. It starts with a little spark, a little dream, and a little flow moment. It’s this sparkle time which holds me through the entire creative process.
Valarie Budayr is the founder of Audrey Press and the award-winning and best-selling author of the book The Fox Diaries: The Year the Foxes Came to our Garden and The Ultimate Guide to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She is passionate about making kid’s books come alive and you can find her doing that on her popular blog and website, Jump into a Book. When she isn’t being bookie, she is very happily the mother of three uber creative children, married to a wonderfully patient man who has come to love yarn, and caretaker of one adored cat. Other creative interests are music, travel, knitting (a bonafide yarn harlot), and gardening. She loves living a daily creative practice, where even a good cup of coffee is art.
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