Work smarter not harder: engage your subconscious

Here are three simple ways to increase your writing output without giving up sleep.  It’s a lot easier than you’d think and not nearly as painful.

Write every day.  WWe’ve all heard this one before and it’s difficult to find writing time around your commitments but we’re not talking about finding more time to write each week, just scheduling your time a little differently. If the most you can manage on your busiest day is ten minutes or a hundred words that’s far better for keeping your subconscious engaged than having seven days between an eight hour writing slog.

Writing each day keeps the story fresh in your mind and allows your subconscious to continue working on it even when you’re not. You’ll be surprised by how easily solutions to plot holes pop into your head during the day and this means that the precious time you spend writing isn’t wasted on agonizing over other things. Just make sure you keep a pen and paper with you to jolt down ideas on the go because they can disappear as quickly as they come.

Write while you sleep.  Yes, you can literally “sleep on it” by guiding your mind to work on writing problems while you rest. The hypnagogic state occurs between wakefulness and sleep. Some writers take power naps and focus on a problem with their WIP as they drift off. This is when the ideas come. James Scott Bell also recommends using the dream state to assist with writing. He suggests writing down any questions you may have regarding your WIP right before you go to sleep. Then before you do anything else in the morning write down as many answers as you can to those questions.

Repetitive Activity.  You can also engage your subconscious by taking a drive, exercising, concentrating on something else such as paying the bills or through repetitive activity such as knitting. Doing the ironing could be just what you need to turn your MS into a blockbuster.  The ironing's looking pretty good right now, isn't it?

Happy writing!