Have you ever wondered how some writers experience that creative ‘flow’ almost at will? They
can write so much quality content in such a short time that it seems as if they never stop.
However other writers have so many ideas that
they can’t seem to concentrate on one of them for long enough to actually finish a project. So how does a writer pick
up so many ideas? What goes on in their minds?
There are five core characteristics of the mind that will help you beat writers block and tap into creativity at ease.
1. Our Natural Filter
There is a screening device situated at the
base of our brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). This group of cells decides what we are conscious of by filtering
out other information. It allows only vital and important sensory input into our conscious awareness.
For example, you are not aware of the clothes
on your back until I mention them; or the temperature of the room, or the sound of the cars whizzing along the street. If
this filter didn’t exist we’d go crazy having to acknowledge every colour, every sensation, every sound and every
smell that crosses our path.
What makes the RAS so interesting is that when
we shift our focus we become conscious of things which are normally blocked from our awareness. In this way we are able to
grow aware of best-selling book ideas and relevant conversations. We also open ourselves up to the possibility of receiving
inspiration in the strangest of places, such as in a supermarket, for example.
When you first started driving your car, you
probably thought that not many people had the same model as you. But before long I’ll bet you began to see this model
everywhere. It’s not that suddenly people rushed out to buy the same car as you. These cars were always there. What
happened is that you focussed on it and your RAS allowed that information to filter through into your conscious and make it
your reality.
Once you focus on writing and being inspired
by new ideas, you will find yourself receiving countless ideas and achieving amazing levels of inspiration.
2. The Brain’s Total Recall
When the mind is stretched in a particular
direction, it reaches into all other directions as well. It’s like a room with a light bulb in the middle. When the
bulb gets brighter, it lights up a greater percentage of the room. As we exercise the mind, we connect with a greater portion
of our brain.
For example, when Einstein got stuck on a difficult
concept, he would go into another room and play his violin. When he returned to the problem, a solution would often spring
to mind right away. Exercising his mind in a different way escalated his creativity for the work he was doing.
4. The Multi-Tasker
Another fascinating advantage of the human
mind is its ability to multi-task. People can talk on a hands-free mobile phone while driving a car on the motorway, eating
a burger, handing a toy to the child in the backseat, listening to music and changing the radio station, switching lanes,
following road signs, changing gears, eating the chips which came with the burger…You get my drift!
When it comes down to our basic bodily functions,
the eyes blink to maintain moisture, the mouth chews our food, the salivary glands add moisture. At the same time various
muscles contract in precise order so that the food particles sink into the stomach to begin the digestive process.
The body temperature is regulated, the heart
pumps blood, the lungs inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Hair grows. The senses send constant feedback to the brain.
This is just a fraction of what’s taking
place every second of every day of every week.
So now can you see how our mind is an extremely
powerful machine?
5. Auto-Pilot To A Creative Flow
Your subconscious can do much more than your
conscious, and with enough practice, this becomes automatic. When things move into the subconscious, there is no longer a
need to think and then do. The doing just happens. For example, pianists can play a song and converse at the same time.
The more something is practiced the more likely
that it will happen naturally. And with enough practice and dedicated focus, being creative and picking up the ideas all around
you will happen naturally too.
The Right Mood To Write
Go within and ask yourself if you have ever said or thought any of the following about writing:
‘I wasn’t in the mood.’
‘I just didn’t feel inspired.’
‘I’m waiting for the right moment.’
It’s ok to admit to one or even all of the above because many people believe they must wait for
creativity to show up before they can write. So they wait for the ‘right time’, or the ‘right mood’.
Funnily enough, neither of these come by too often.
There’s another type of person out there too who doesn’t even think they can write. They simply
don’t see themselves as creative. But what if they spent some time exploring the right-side of their brain and developed
their creativity?
The Right-Brain/Left-Brain Myth
Neurologist Alice Flaherty argues that creativity is due to a balance of frontal and temporal lobe activity. In other words
the trick is not to get out of your ‘left brain’ and into your right, but to increase activity in the right hemisphere
(or reduce activity in the left) so it matches the activity on the other side.
Most people don’t realise that if you failed to use your left brain, you wouldn’t be able to write at all!
The left brain produces language, and in many people the right brain is completely non-verbal.
To get out of the logical, left-side part of your brain and create more balance, you need to do some right-brained exercises.
It is a good idea to get into the habit of doing right-brained exercises on a regular basis. Incorporate them into your life.
And think of them as fun. As you start to balance your left brain and your right brain, flow and inspiration in your writing
will become far more natural. Once you actively develop your creative spark then your perception of yourself will shift and
you will radiate creativity.
Do you want to be the kind of writer who waits for inspiration, or do you want to be the kind of writer who takes action
and makes inspiration come to you?
Right-Brain Exercises To Increase the Flow in Your Life
Being creative can feel hard sometimes. Perhaps you’re just not in the mood. It’s been a tough day. You’re
tired. You don’t feel like writing. Luckily, there are lots of ways of stimulating your creativity and listed below
are just a few things you can do to. I’d suggest using these at any stage in your writing. Either as a daily tool before
you start, or a weekly exercise when you need inspiration or when feel blocked and you want to get unstuck:
- Meditation/yoga/zone-out – The parts of the brain affected by creative flow are also active during meditation
or simply zoning-out.
- Doodling
- Painting/drawing
- Scrapbooking
- Walking in nature
- Pick up a random book from your bookshelf and open it – it’s often uncanny what page it opens at, as if it’s
a message for you. Draw on the content to write.
- Knitting, beading, or crochet, even if you’re really bad at it! Think silly, because flow is a playful state. Many
people find flow in quiet, repetitive tasks that they enjoy.
- Playing the piano
- Organising your photos
- Planting flowers
- Do something that’s a guilty pleasure.
- Buy a few of those comic books you never buy anymore – do they help you achieve creative flow?
Every time you find yourself in flow, spend a while thinking about how it feels, and how you got there. And then,
whatever it was, do it again as soon as possible!
Dream on It
Have any other writers out there literally dreamt up the plots of their novels?
The reason I pose this question today is because that’s exactly what’s been happening to me during the
last couple of weeks. It’s really quite incredible.
I’ve set myself a tough goal for the next fortnight – to have the second draft of my teen fiction book, The
Path, rewritten, edited and polished to perfection by July 1st. It’s a big goal, especially since two thirds of the
entire book is changing!
I’m doing ok so far. I’m a little over halfway through and I have about seven days left to go. But
this dreaming revelation has made it a whole lot easier.
When I hit a brick wall with the storyline I simply fall asleep and BAM – the next part of the plot comes to me in
dream-form!
I remember reading way back that an author of the 1900s (his name escapes me now) used this tactic to write his whole book.
Apparently he’d set the alarm to go off every 40 minutes. He’d keep a notepad and pen on his bedside table and
write down whatever he dreamt about…cool hey?!
I’m loving the new discovery and I have to say, the ideas that have arrived to my mind in this state are way better
than any ideas I could have imagined in my conscious, awake mind.
To Conclude
Saying you can’t get started with your book because you didn’t feel inspired is no longer an excuse! As the
information in this chapter proves, anyone can enhance their creativity at any time. You don’t have to wait for it.
Make it come to you. The more you focus on developing your creativity, the more creative you will become.
EXERCISES Before you sit
down to write next go for a stroll in the park, or in the woods. Notice how much easier the words seem to flow to you.
