Clarity of mind and writing - the one thing I wish I had known as an aspiring writer

When putting words to the page, understanding clarity of mind is truly helpful to a fiction writer. Here’s why:

• In a clear mind, you can listen to the story as it comes through. You are receptive and open, letting the story breathe and flow.

• In a busy or preoccupied mind, you are trying to think the story into existence. You’re trying to second guess what the characters should be doing or saying. You’re thinking about the ‘bigger’ story you’re trying to tell, or what someone might think when they read it. You’re thinking about writing, rather than being in the moment writing.

A clear mind is not something anyone can ‘get’ to by effort or willpower. It’s already there, underneath the babbling chatter of our individual minds. In the same way that we naturally know how to fall asleep (but cannot fully describe how to do it), falling into the creative flow of a clear mind is a thing that is natural to us if we allow it to happen. And allowing it to happen is simply not blocking. It’s letting any unhelpful and restrictive thoughts to float on by.

It is, of course, possible to create from either state of mind, yet one way is much more enjoyable, fluid, and expansive than the other. Recognising the difference is the part that really helps. One is tight, judging, and restrictive in some way. The other is free, spacious, and relaxed.