As writers, it is your desire to use words that will entertain, educate, and inform the masses of people that may just end up reading them. You may feel obligated to write, or you may look at it as a passion. Writing is considered an art form. Those who partake of it, are looked at as people with unusual talent. Some may also be looked at as weird, isolated, and strange. Nevertheless, the object is to put words down.
When writing, the words may come from the conscious mind. At least this is what most writers will say. However, when writing like this, the words may flow for a time but then stop. What happens after this is known as writer’s block. There is a way for writers to continue with their words without even having to stop.
A screenwriting instructor once stated that creativity comes from the subconscious mind and the editing brain (the conscious) takes over after that. What does he mean by this? Think about it. If you were to sit down in a chair, close your eyes, and meditate, you may be surprised to find what shows up in your mind. You may end up seeing images. Some who have tried this claim to have opened up a channel to another dimension. One writer I know who tried this sat down in a chair, closed her eyes, and saw a vision of how her novel would take shape. She saw images of each scene in her novel from the beginning to the end. After she came out of her meditative state, she wrote down everything she remembered from her mediation. Even while she wrote, when she got stuck, she tapped into her subconscious mind and soon resumed writing again.
You may think there is only one layer to the mind – the conscious. However, based on extensive research and testing, scientists discovered that the mind is actually made up of three layers: the conscious, subconscious, and super subconscious. For this article, the conscious and subconscious will be discussed.
What most people don’t know is that all processing is done by means of your subconscious mind. Your conscious mind receives the stimulus, whether by sight, taste, hearing, smell, and touch. It then begins the processing part by sending all stimulus to the subconscious mind. It is here that everything is processed. Memories are also processed by the subconscious and stored in a memory bank for later retrieval.
When it is time to recall something, the conscious mind triggers the subconscious, which in turn finds the location of the thought in its memory bank, and relays it to the conscious. What does this have to do with writing? Everything. When a writer sits down at his/her computer and begins the process of typing, the writer may think the words come from his/her conscious. In reality, the words come from the subconscious. The process works by the conscious telling the subconscious what it wants. The subconscious then feeds the conscious what it asks for.
So how do you go about tapping into your subconscious mind? To do this you must focus on your intended goal or target. For example, if you want to start a novel, make starting the novel your goal. If you want to write an article, make that your goal. Once you know your goal, make sure to use present tense language when addressing it, like it is happening right now.
Sit in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Make sure you are very comfortable. Set a time limit for yourself. For example, tell yourself that within five or ten minutes you will open your eyes and be calm and relaxed. Choose an object or place that you can rest your eyes on. Make sure this object or location is above your eye level so it does not cause eye strain. Breathe slowly and deeply, while repeating the word “relax.” You can repeat this word verbally or mentally. Continue this repetition until you feel drowsy. Tell yourself that your eyelids are getting heavy. You want your eyes to be closed before you start the mediation.
Once your eyes are closed, repeat the goal you came up with before you began this procedure. Repeat that goal several times. As you state your goal, it will sink into your subconscious mind and become stored there. After you have repeated the goal a few times (five or ten times is enough), state a word you will use to trigger the thoughts you will need to begin the goal. Now tell yourself you will “awake” after you reach the count of five. Then begin counting. After you are done, any time you need creativity to work your goal, state the trigger and you’ll be surprised by the results you get.
The next time you find your creativity is not flowing, stop, perform the exercise, and before you know it, you’ll start writing again.
Harry Husted is the owner of Creating Words Writing Studio. He is not just a writer, but a problem solver. His goal is to help businesses communicate their message more effectively so they can increase their bottom line. As a 20-year veteran, he has created many types of documents including books, sales copy, and web content covering various topics. When he writes, he uses words that convey motivation, persuasion, desirability, and decisiveness. In addition, he has several certifications, including Business English and Advanced English Skills.