Keep Writing to Keep Dreaming and Keep Dreaming to Keep Writing

Keep Writing to Keep Dreaming and Keep Dreaming to Keep Writing Keep writing to keep dreaming and grow as a writer. But keep dreaming, and youll succeed at whatever kind of writing you want to do or need to do. Being a good writer in business or academia or in the publishing world comes from never forgetting the dream. But what techniques and focuses work best to keep you, the writer, on track to achieve your own writing dream?In todays madcap world, we dont stop and rest often. We dont reflect much. We run constantly, always worrying about what is coming next. We have a need to catch up or get ahead of whatever were sure is chasing us through life. In writing, however, constant hurry doesnt work very well. Its important to stop and listen and let the words work, no matter why we need them or how we want to use them. They will work if we give them time to appear and do their job. But how do we do that?Albert Einstein had a technique he used in Zurich, Switzerland, when he was young and first contemplating his theory of relativity, composing those words, and refining its enormous complexities. He made a personal decision to stay away from people for periods of time. Hed leave behind the busyness of everyday life and stay inside his apartment alone, sometimes for days at a time. Hed think deeply, often not talking to anyone. Hed let the ideas flow freely whenever and however they came to him. Hed then compile them and schedule new periods of silence and personal thinking to refine them or create more new ideas.You can be like Einstein. How? By discovering your own best time to be quiet and let your mind flow like his did. You can ponder an idea thats running through your head or retrieve one you had a long time ago. You can think about a piece youve been working on, but is troublesome, for example, the last line of a poem, a character who doesnt make sense or do what you want, a plot point that isnt progressing, or a thesis or journal article or work project that you know isnt quite right yet. You can also just pause for a lo ng moment and absorb the vastness and immenseness of the universe and let your mind work and wander at will as only a mind can. If you let your subconscious practice this technique of exploration, suddenly â€" BOOM â€" youll have a great new original idea or an important refinement to perfect what youre working on.How do you enter this meditation mode? Whats the technique? You have to experiment with time and place and atmosphere and find what works best for you. As for me, I tend to slow down when its time to reflect and separate from the world outside. I enter my inner self. Usually, that is either late at night when the days work is done and Im beginning to drift off to sleep or in the morning when Im just waking up. I might be remembering a dream or trying to remember something I saw during the day just passed. Ill lie quietly, very intentionally not focusing on anything in particular. Perhaps Ill let a soft fan run in the background on a warm summers night or let soft jazz play on my favorite all night radio show, i.e., a saxophone in the cold of winter. Sometimes, however, there will only be the stillness of the night and a darkened room as my companions.In the early morning, my time can be the moment when Im awakening and coming to full consciousness, as the sun peers inside or rain pounds the roof. Its during these remarkable moments that youll sense a new thought floating through your head or multiple thoughts racing and interacting all at once, each wanting your immediate attention. Youll want to identify every single idea or maybe focus on only the most different. But dont try too hard, or youll lose every thought in a sudden burst of awareness you dont want.It helps also to be in touch with your environment. Get in touch with where you are, but let whats around you â€" the details, the specifics â€" float free. Let it all fade into immediacy and meditation when you can. Let your subconscious wander for a moment or two no matter where youre at durin g your day. It will, and it should. Youll be surprised where the mind can go and where it will take you. Soon, an amazing idea or even many amazing ideas that connect will arrive as new wonderful colleagues â€" sudden and alive and bright and all newly minted for your eyes only. Its then youll need pen and notepad nearby. Both are my best friends as a writer.We all need to stop and step back from what we do in our busiest days and find our own quiet world if only for a few minutes. Its especially important as writers to learn how to let our creative minds work freely without shackles or pressure. We know it can. Each mind works differently and uniquely. Thats the joy of writing, no matter what kind of writing you want to do or have to do.So learn how to be quiet and then be quiet regularly, even in the midst of all the daily noise of life or work that is modern life. Practice the skill of quiet exploration and mediation. Listen to your writing interior until youre comfortable and at ease with your own personal writing process. Listen to the quiet that is your unique and personal inner person. Then you will use the technique regularly and benefit in amazing ways. Remarkable words and ideas will certainly appear. Youll be amazed at how good these words are… and theyre all uniquely yours.