The subconscious: Can the unknown corridors of your mind be hidden pathways to creativity? Author and mental health counselor Kelly L. Stone (Grave Secret, Time to Write) thinks so, and with Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind, he documents how she believes writers can channel their hidden halves to pump up their pages.What’s a Key To Unlocking It?
One key is related to brain waves. Certain brain wave states are associated with the subconscious mind and creativity, specifically the alpha wave state. Alpha waves are responsible for causing people to get “into the zone” and are documented to be linked to creativity. Professional athletes have been capitalizing on the alpha wave state for decades to improve their performance.
Music is a good way for writers to get the brain into an alpha wave state. Many of the bestselling authors I interviewed for Thinking Write use music as a way to unlock their creativity. What you do is choose music that matches the theme, tone or message of what you are writing and then listen to the music only when you write. Over time, you set up what is called a conditioned response to that particular song or playlist, and when you hear it, you trigger the alpha wave state and are automatically in touch with your subconscious mind and deeper levels of creativity.
Do you have any advice to keep your creativity going strong once you’ve tapped into it?
Ride the wave for as long as you can. Also, be alert to messages from your subconscious throughout the day. It takes time to learn how your subconscious mind communicates with you; some people get hunches, others get dreams that offer an idea or solution, or ideas “pop” into their heads at odd times.
What’s the best craft advice you can offer?
Write on a schedule. Don’t wait “until you feel it.” Set aside time every week for writing (with a built-in time off if you need it) and then when that time arrives, sit down at your desk and write no matter what else is going on. That’s the only way to get words on the page—and, as many of the authors I have interviewed say, you might write crap, but you can edit crap. You can’t edit a blank page.
Writer's Digest
