Imagination Documentary

[sean]

Hello Group,

My name is Sean Welch and I am a documentary film producer in Los Angeles.  In doing research for a possible documentary on imaginative thinkers, I was pleased to discover the Wild Minds Network.

I am writing to ask/invite members of this group if they would feel comfortable sharing with me, via email, their daydreams.  I am particularly interested in daydreaming that includes vast imaginary worlds, or world-bulding.  To be clear, I would like to begin an email dialogue with people; I am not asking for a commitment for participation in the potential project.  Please contact me if you are interested.

My first feature, the Oscar-nominated Spellbound, focused on children who compete in the National Spelling Bee.  My second documentary, Lucky, about the live of lottery winners, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to air on HBO as part of their summer documentary series.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sean Welch

[Nicola]

Iv never tried writing anything down properly and detailed, or thought about explaining all of this to someone who doesn't suffer from MD. It would take a lot if explaining, plus I would worry how others would react or perceive it. To someone who has never excessively daydreamed, surely what we do must sound very bizarre. My concern would be that they wouldn't understand and I would be left feeling extremely embarrassed xx

Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:

I had the same issue writing mine.  I wrote about 9 pages, over several sittings and then sent it to him.  It only covered about a year of daydreams, but it's a good start.  I did it in a Word file and then just kept going back to it as I felt like it, working for a few mins at a time.  You can try that, and then perhaps later you can set up a time to meet in chat.  I was thinking that it might be easier in chat, but it's just a theory.  

Swiss said:

Haha! Yep, I've been the subject of a documentary in one of my fantasies as well. Turned out to be a bit of an unexpected underground hit but, ummm, that's another story.

 

I was thinking of trying to contribute something to this but trying to explain in some sort of lucid way  all the layers and intricacies you build up when you're "in the zone"  seems like an almost impossible task (if you have a 2 minute attention span before you wander off into your own crazy world again).

 

thetxbelle said:

 I have built a crazy extremely detailed world, and strangely enough, it contains a documentary film maker...

 

 

[Swiss]

 

Yeah, I think that's probably the best way forward. But where to start? This could be tricky.

 

Cheers

 

 

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

Ok but if he's thinking of making a movie about it, then he's obviously done some research and decided this is an interesting topic.  I met with him.  Trust me, the LAST thing he has on his mind is judging anyone.  He's not a complete outsider.  He has some familiarity with the topic, and he sees it more like a beautiful thing than a disorder.  You don't have to explain MD to him.  Just tell him about your daydreams/fantasy world.  

Nicola said:

Iv never tried writing anything down properly and detailed, or thought about explaining all of this to someone who doesn't suffer from MD. It would take a lot if explaining, plus I would worry how others would react or perceive it. To someone who has never excessively daydreamed, surely what we do must sound very bizarre. My concern would be that they wouldn't understand and I would be left feeling extremely embarrassed xx

Cordellia Amethyste Rose said:

I had the same issue writing mine.  I wrote about 9 pages, over several sittings and then sent it to him.  It only covered about a year of daydreams, but it's a good start.  I did it in a Word file and then just kept going back to it as I felt like it, working for a few mins at a time.  You can try that, and then perhaps later you can set up a time to meet in chat.  I was thinking that it might be easier in chat, but it's just a theory.  

Swiss said:

Haha! Yep, I've been the subject of a documentary in one of my fantasies as well. Turned out to be a bit of an unexpected underground hit but, ummm, that's another story.

 

I was thinking of trying to contribute something to this but trying to explain in some sort of lucid way  all the layers and intricacies you build up when you're "in the zone"  seems like an almost impossible task (if you have a 2 minute attention span before you wander off into your own crazy world again).

 

thetxbelle said:

 I have built a crazy extremely detailed world, and strangely enough, it contains a documentary film maker...

 

 

[Nicola]

Where do we send emails to? I'm happy to give it a shot, but I can't guarantee il be successful. I'm the same as you Marka, in terms of jumping to different time frames and creating past history. The past history I create isn't always pleasant either. My daydreams are pretty much like one long movie, that is constantly being fast forwarded and rewound with various regular character changes. I too dream about scenarios but I tend to incorporate them into the main story. I share your concern that writing it down is one thing, but other people being able to follow and understand it is quite another lol xx

Marka said:

My mind is made up, and I do want to participate in this. I'm just not sure how to go about writing down my daydreams...Where do I even begin with them? How do I explain things clearly?

My daydreams are a mixture of being scenario based and of being story based. Meaning, they do have a strong, set, progressive storyline, but at the same time, a good bit of my daydreaming is spent reenacting certain events and scenarios, and trying to improve them. I also have a tendency to jump to different time periods of my characters' lives, adding in all sorts of events to their past, present, and future. I'm not sure how to describe my daydreams fluently, because they aren't always fluid. I'm afraid that an outside mind would read my daydreams and feel as if they were being bombarded with information and intricate details, but not really getting anywhere.

Aside from that, I'm also not sure what format I should use to write out my daydreams. Should I write it as a fictional narrative, from the view point of one of my 'me' characters? Should I write in 3rd person omniscient so you can see the view points from some of the other main characters? Should I make it more like a biography, and write it from my actual perspective? Do I dive right in and begin writing out my daydreams, or do I write out a few character biographies and a synopsis of the goings on of the world, as well as 'need-to-know' information? 

 

Sorry, I ramble way too much on this website...

Anyways, I'm probably overthinking  things (I usually do), but I'm just trying to figure out how to do this to the best of my abilities. Advice, anyone? Please and thank you? >.>

 

And a PS to Cordellia:

Thanks for the input, Cordellia. It's great to know that I'm not the only one who seems to view their daydreams as private information. Since finding this website, I've discovered that I'm not 'the only one', or alone in a lot of things. I think it's wonderful what you've done with this website. You've provided a safe-haven,  support group, and a source of comfort and information for people with this hellishly beautiful condition. You're an extraordinary person, and I don't think any of us could thank you enough. :]

[sean]

i can appreciate that attempting to describe one's imagination in writing may be a difficult task.  for my research purposes, in addition to trying to understand imaginations, i am also interested in learning about people's real lives and the intersection, if it occurs, between the two.  i'd like to put together some questions to post here and to see if people feel comfortable responding. at this point, perhaps learning about part of people's imaginations and part of people's lives may help to provide a broader context and more understanding.  so, if you'd like to hold off emailing me until i post some additional questions, great.  if you'd like to try to describe your imagination (part of it or more), you can "friend" me and email me through this site.  thanks for your interest.

[sean]

i've put together some questions below, the answers to which will help me better understand imaginations.  i realize some or all of these questions have been discussed on previous threads.  if you feel comfortable responding to the questions below and have already answered some/all of them in previous threads, feel free to cut and paste those previous answers in your response to me.  many thanks.

how do your daydreams intersect, if at all, with your real life?  do the people and events and emotions of your real life feed into your daydreams in ways you're aware of?

when do you daydream most often?

where do you think your daydreams come from?  are they inspired by real world things and/or experiences?  do they pop into your head in response to emotional states?  to jogged memories?  to something else?

do you feel your daydreams serve a specific purpose for you?

have you shared your daydreams with friends, family or others?

[Ruby]

Hi Sean,

 

I daydream at the back of my head every day, most of the day. My daydreams do different things to me, when they are 'inactive' (back of my mind) it normally serves as an emotional buffer, an enjoyable, but distracting comfort. 

 

My daydreams are often in response to emotional states, music(it triggers desires, memories and moods), situations from tv shows, other people's life stories, almost anywhere. But as a default they're triggered from emotional states and internal wandering or desire. It's more internal than external, but includes music as a strong external trigger. 

 

When I was younger my daydreaming served to shield me from feelings of oppression and isolation. It fulfilled my desire to be networked and part of a supporting bunch of people. Today, (I'm in college) it 'shields' me from stress and replaces desires I can't find in my real world. Other than that, today it serves me no purpose other than a huge distraction as it is such as ingrained habit. And once I get into a daydream I find it very hard to pull back. It also iy affects the productivity of my work.

I study architecture and I would just like to say this of my own self-observation of  imagination associated with creative output (architecture, fashion, graphic design, film etc- as you would know of course) and maladaptive daydreaming. My maladaptive daydreaming is detrimental to productive creativity. I find the 2 kinds of imagination are very different, one is passive, the other is active and puts me into a healthy state of 'flow' - of creating work. Excessive daydream or world building isn't necessarily an indicator of creativity in  a person, just as much as there are many people (i know through my own course) that are extremely visual, have strong imaginations but do not daydream or have that 'need' to daydream excessively at all. 

 

I have shared my daydreaming habit with friends in architecture, some of them I hold in high regard for their conceptual thinking and artistic abitilities  and the most talented ones do not daydream maladaptively. However there are some that daydream 'a lot', but theirs is a different 'productive imagining,' it is wandering but simultaneously intentional,  that's different to the maladaptive use of imagination/mind. From what I see around me strong imagination is able to produce itself in reality. But that is just my own observation on the limited samples in my life. I don't believe I'm any more creative than my architecture friends who don't have MD, and they believe themselves to be 'highly creative'. I know I'm making them sound pretentious, but such is the nature of design schools and self-imposed 'designer attitudes.' (But everyone has insecurities about themselves too.)

 

I just felt I had to clear that up, every time 'excessive daydreaming' is mentioned, it's always associated with 'imagination.' But at my uni where the course is a demanding studio culture, there is no exams the entire semester is judged on a body of work and external presentations, I find my maladaptive daydreaming interfering with 'productive imagination' and I would say the 2 are not linked. Just because one has a lot of maladaptive daydreaming, doesn't mean they are any more creative than the non-daydreamer and just there are plenty who are admired for their creative outlook but don't maladaptively daydream. 

 

 

[Cordellia Amethyste Rose]

I really hope people will contribute to this.  Not only is this a fascinating project, but the questions can be really helpful to think about.  A lot of people on here seem to enjoy thinking about this sort of thing.  It can feel better to put it into words.  I'll send in my response shortly and would encourage others to do so as well.

[Rhiannon Augustus]

I really enjoyed your post and I wanted to share what it brought to my mind.  It seemed to associate creativity with productivity and imagination with creative output.  I dislike the idea that only things that are obviously productive have value and passive activities, whose value is not widely obvious or recognized, are seen as a hindrances.  I know people who are so busy 'producing' and being the 'best they can be' that they don't know how to relax anymore.  They say they're not getting anything done just sitting there, they feel like they're wasting time, it's passive and they don't see any value in it.  I don't believe that creativity has to be productive to be valued, of course this depends on the appraiser, but passive imagination isn't negative or detrimental in itself.  You said that your MD is detrimental to your productive creativity and certainly you are not alone in that, but I don't think that is universal.

 

"every time 'excessive daydreaming' is mentioned, it's always associated with 'imagination."   This must be an over-generalization or perhaps just your unique and rare experience.  I don't find this to be factual in my experience, especially not every time.

 

I do believe that a certain level of creativity exists among people who MD and the chances of finding very creative people in amongst the average creative minds would likely be greater.  I wonder if because you are surrounded by such creativity and imagination on such profound scale due to your environment that you may not be giving yourself the credit you are due.  You may not realize how creative you actually are.  There are always bigger and better, but if you were to spend time around non-creative people, people who can't draw stick men or who's idea of a creative story is Jack and Jill went up a hill, you might find you are being too hard on yourself.  You said you didn't think you were any more creative than your friends and they considered themselves highly creative, so perhaps you just don't recognize it in yourself.  Just my thought for whatever they are worth.

 

Perhaps Cordellias' are better, she said back on July 1st,

Reply by Cordellia Amethyste Rose on July 1, 2011 at 8:01pm

"... there's a big difference between compulsive daydreamers, maladaptive daydreamers, and just creative people............but it feels like we're all on a big continuum, so the lines between which is which are really blurry at best.  I'm not sure it matters where his focus is to be honest.

Not all imaginative thinkers are maladaptive daydreamers, but all maladaptive daydreamers are imaginative thinkers.  It seems logical to include them in anything about imagination."

 

 

Ruby said:

Hi Sean,

 

I daydream at the back of my head every day, most of the day. My daydreams do different things to me, when they are 'inactive' (back of my mind) it normally serves as an emotional buffer, an enjoyable, but distracting comfort. 

 

My daydreams are often in response to emotional states, music(it triggers desires, memories and moods), situations from tv shows, other people's life stories, almost anywhere. But as a default they're triggered from emotional states and internal wandering or desire. It's more internal than external, but includes music as a strong external trigger. 

 

When I was younger my daydreaming served to shield me from feelings of oppression and isolation. It fulfilled my desire to be networked and part of a supporting bunch of people. Today, (I'm in college) it 'shields' me from stress and replaces desires I can't find in my real world. Other than that, today it serves me no purpose other than a huge distraction as it is such as ingrained habit. And once I get into a daydream I find it very hard to pull back. It also iy affects the productivity of my work.

I study architecture and I would just like to say this of my own self-observation of  imagination associated with creative output (architecture, fashion, graphic design, film etc- as you would know of course) and maladaptive daydreaming. My maladaptive daydreaming is detrimental to productive creativity. I find the 2 kinds of imagination are very different, one is passive, the other is active and puts me into a healthy state of 'flow' - of creating work. Excessive daydream or world building isn't necessarily an indicator of creativity in  a person, just as much as there are many people (i know through my own course) that are extremely visual, have strong imaginations but do not daydream or have that 'need' to daydream excessively at all. 

 

I have shared my daydreaming habit with friends in architecture, some of them I hold in high regard for their conceptual thinking and artistic abitilities  and the most talented ones do not daydream maladaptively. However there are some that daydream 'a lot', but theirs is a different 'productive imagining,' it is wandering but simultaneously intentional,  that's different to the maladaptive use of imagination/mind. From what I see around me strong imagination is able to produce itself in reality. But that is just my own observation on the limited samples in my life. I don't believe I'm any more creative than my architecture friends who don't have MD, and they believe themselves to be 'highly creative'. I know I'm making them sound pretentious, but such is the nature of design schools and self-imposed 'designer attitudes.' (But everyone has insecurities about themselves too.)

 

I just felt I had to clear that up, every time 'excessive daydreaming' is mentioned, it's always associated with 'imagination.' But at my uni where the course is a demanding studio culture, there is no exams the entire semester is judged on a body of work and external presentations, I find my maladaptive daydreaming interfering with 'productive imagination' and I would say the 2 are not linked. Just because one has a lot of maladaptive daydreaming, doesn't mean they are any more creative than the non-daydreamer and just there are plenty who are admired for their creative outlook but don't maladaptively daydream.