Publishing Insider News Feature Article: Hearing Your Inner Voice
Half the time when writers complain that they are "blocked" or lack writing "skills" the problem is that they are not giving themselves time to think and access their inner wisdom. Writing is a frontal lobe process, by which I mean that it involves the higher cognitive functions of the human brain, not the instinctive ones or the automatic ones.
We access these through intentionally asking ourselves openended questions and then thinking them through.
Too often writers don't allot themselves sufficient amounts of time for daydreaming. Lying on the couch or walking slowly in nature and letting the mind float and form connections.
There was a great article in The Wall Street Journal on June 19 "A Wandering Mind Heads Straight Towards Insight," which talks about how just before a breakthrough we often go blank. We can't predict a revelation (light bulbs), which the author Robert Lee Holz calls "an unconscious shift in mental perspective that can abruptly alter how we perceive a problem." But we can encourage ourselves to move towards the flash of inspired creativity.
We daydream when the mind is actively working towards a solution. But if you don't realize this is natural, you might think you're doing something wrong. Take it from me, you're not. It is a part fo the process. You can't write if you don't afford yourself time to think.
So how do we set this engine up so that our creative voice will speak to us? In my opinion, you have to feed in some information from an external source (or more than one source), let it collide and richochet in your imagination by teasing it and stimulating it like you might a chemistry experiment--by asking questions, by having conversations, by journaling, by daydreaming.
Go in circles with your questions. Keep starting back at the beginning again. See if you get somewhere new with it by turning it sideways and examining different facets of the issue.
Go in straight lines with your questions. Put things in logical order and sequence.
Walk away from it and do something entirely different. Go look at paintings in the museum. Go dancing! Have a good workout at the gym. Exercise is good for the brain.
Drink plenty of water. The brain needs energy (protein, carbs, FAT) and it needs tons of hydration.
A main thing to do is to quiet the mind sufficiently to hear the voice of inspiration when it speaks. If you catch yourself with a noisy mind, TAKE FIVE, to just focus on your breathing. An idea could pop into your mind, but if you are distracted, you might not notice it. So this step is CRITICAL.
Be gentle with yourself. You are not a robot. Sometimes slowing down is the best way to speed up.
We access these through intentionally asking ourselves openended questions and then thinking them through.
Too often writers don't allot themselves sufficient amounts of time for daydreaming. Lying on the couch or walking slowly in nature and letting the mind float and form connections.
There was a great article in The Wall Street Journal on June 19 "A Wandering Mind Heads Straight Towards Insight," which talks about how just before a breakthrough we often go blank. We can't predict a revelation (light bulbs), which the author Robert Lee Holz calls "an unconscious shift in mental perspective that can abruptly alter how we perceive a problem." But we can encourage ourselves to move towards the flash of inspired creativity.
We daydream when the mind is actively working towards a solution. But if you don't realize this is natural, you might think you're doing something wrong. Take it from me, you're not. It is a part fo the process. You can't write if you don't afford yourself time to think.
So how do we set this engine up so that our creative voice will speak to us? In my opinion, you have to feed in some information from an external source (or more than one source), let it collide and richochet in your imagination by teasing it and stimulating it like you might a chemistry experiment--by asking questions, by having conversations, by journaling, by daydreaming.
Go in circles with your questions. Keep starting back at the beginning again. See if you get somewhere new with it by turning it sideways and examining different facets of the issue.
Go in straight lines with your questions. Put things in logical order and sequence.
Walk away from it and do something entirely different. Go look at paintings in the museum. Go dancing! Have a good workout at the gym. Exercise is good for the brain.
Drink plenty of water. The brain needs energy (protein, carbs, FAT) and it needs tons of hydration.
A main thing to do is to quiet the mind sufficiently to hear the voice of inspiration when it speaks. If you catch yourself with a noisy mind, TAKE FIVE, to just focus on your breathing. An idea could pop into your mind, but if you are distracted, you might not notice it. So this step is CRITICAL.
Be gentle with yourself. You are not a robot. Sometimes slowing down is the best way to speed up.
posted by Unknown at 6:40 PM
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