“Dare to be idle,” wrote Brenda Ueland in her classic writing manual If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit.

Her advice offers respite from information overload, lists of things to do, overbooked schedules and looming deadlines. Relaxing, said Ueland, is good for your soul and your writing. The imagination needs moodling—long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering.

Moodling is just being, letting your mind drift, as you lounge on the patio, take a walk, stare at the moon or sit at your desk. It’s in this state of dreamy idleness that the imagination kicks in.

Excerpt from “Ode to moodling,” by Elfrieda M. Abbe, The Writer magazine, August 2002

Note from Marlene: Brenda Ueland’s book If You Want To Write, is one of my favorite writing books.