I learnt many years ago that the subconscious mind was part of my academic writing process. If I read the suggested reading for an essay, followed up a few 'leads' which interested me in the process, started writing and improving drafts then "slept on them" (sometimes literally!)...when I woke up and started writing again something would have shifted, some deeper layer of understanding was available to me.
Over time I began to factor time for my unconscious to work into my writing day - during one of my academic iterations my writing process involved staying at my sister's beach house at Phillip Island, having breakfast out; then reading, writing and writing some more; with regular spells involving long walks on either the quiet Woolamai beach looking towards San Remo or the wilder Woolamai and neighbouring surf beaches. This recipe always worked - it was enjoyable and brings back warm memories of that stage in my life. I did this for a number of years. Sadly (for me), my sister and her husband sold the beach house, but I guess, like them, I'd moved on.
The Guardian recently featured an article about the subconscious mind and the creative writing process which resonated with me. Although the article doesn't answer the question it asks in the precise, evidence based, scientific way it seemed to suggest it might, the two novelists 'case studied', Mark Haddon and Michelle Paver, reflect thoughtfully on the possible role of their unconscious in the writing process in a way which those interested in writing might find interesting.
Seager, Charlotte (2015) 'How the subconscious mind shapes the creative writing process' The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/apr/07/subconscious-mind-creative-writing-mark-haddon-michelle-paver
Over time I began to factor time for my unconscious to work into my writing day - during one of my academic iterations my writing process involved staying at my sister's beach house at Phillip Island, having breakfast out; then reading, writing and writing some more; with regular spells involving long walks on either the quiet Woolamai beach looking towards San Remo or the wilder Woolamai and neighbouring surf beaches. This recipe always worked - it was enjoyable and brings back warm memories of that stage in my life. I did this for a number of years. Sadly (for me), my sister and her husband sold the beach house, but I guess, like them, I'd moved on.
The Guardian recently featured an article about the subconscious mind and the creative writing process which resonated with me. Although the article doesn't answer the question it asks in the precise, evidence based, scientific way it seemed to suggest it might, the two novelists 'case studied', Mark Haddon and Michelle Paver, reflect thoughtfully on the possible role of their unconscious in the writing process in a way which those interested in writing might find interesting.
Seager, Charlotte (2015) 'How the subconscious mind shapes the creative writing process' The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/apr/07/subconscious-mind-creative-writing-mark-haddon-michelle-paver
