Thursday, August 09, 2007  More on Dreaming Awake - Tapping into
the Unconscious Zone  Here are a few more thoughts on how to get
into "the zone" for your writing.  One novelist here (who
doesn't believe in writer's block) said to treat the
subconscious as a muscle and approach it as something that needs
to be exercised. I've heard another poet who sits down to write
every day say the same thing. He said, "You wouldn't just go up
to bat and expect to hit a homerun without practicing and
warming up."  One poet told her that in a class with Richard
Kenney, he told his students that every day they need to write
down three images that they see each day. Another poet said this
technique trains us to be more in the world because you have to
pay attention and be aware of your surroundings. Someone said
that doing this and seeing so much material around her and
knowing that her next poem, story, or essay somewhere around you
is a good feeling.  Other ideas--  Stop writing before you
finish. Hemingway did this. Someti