Dreamshaping: The ‘What If?’ List

By Mark McNease

I’ve used a ‘What If?’ list in my fiction writing, especially when I feel stuck in the journey of a story. Where should it go? Where do I want it to go? How can I imagine the next turn in the road for these characters?

I don’t like to admit that I sometimes find myself unable to tell which direction a story should take, and that includes the story of my life. So when I recently found myself feeling indecisive, even to the point of thinking I couldn’t do much of anything, I wrote a ‘What If?’ list for myself.

WHAT IF I set aside the novel writing for 90 days or so?

WHAT IF I truly opened up that creative space and let something else come into it?

WHAT IF I learned to deal with the impatience and occasional fear that comes with not knowing what comes next?

WHAT IF I accepted whatever presented itself to me when I did these things?

WHAT IF I let myself be surprised … the way I’ve often been surprised in a story when a character took me down a street I didn’t even know was there!

WHAT IF I let my story tell itself, without having to force my own narration on it?

WHAT IF I lived as if each day was a new adventure, a new thing with a mind of its own—its own desires, its own intentions?

WHAT IF I allowed all these thing to happen and found myself feeling fully alive again?

It’s a great exercise, both for writing and for living. I’ve done it today, and I’m excited to see what comes of it. Being the captain of our own ship doesn’t mean we can’t take our hands off the helm and trust we won’t hit the rocks.

I want to be able to let the ship go where it wants to, to some extent, and stop needing to know each day’s destination. Discovery is freedom, and spontaneity is exuberance. Not knowing is often much more fulfilling than knowing. It makes life full of surprises.

Comments, suggestions, encouragement welcome!