Writer's Trance

Writer’s Trance

I have touched on this subject lightly before when I mentioned my hand flying across the keyboard, but I never knew the phenomenon had a name before today. Writer’s Trance is the perfect name for it if you ask me. Often on my writing days, I go into one of these, where nothing else in the world is happening except for what my hands are doing and what words are appearing on the screen in front of me. The ‘Trance' is hypnotically relaxing. You can think of nothing else besides what you are doing and I find it very soothing. I also find that when in this state, it is when I am at my most productive.

Jon Winokur @AdviceToWriters on twitter posted an article written by Stephen King where he states that you should do nothing to disturb the Writer’s Trance, paraphrasing obviously. He explains that all reference books, thesauruses, atlases and dictionaries should all be put away while you write your first draft. Always edit after the story is told. Once you have gotten that far, then you can wait and come back to it later to edit, when the story has calmed down in your mind and you can look at it from an editor’s point of view. It was Stephen King who advised that when you have finished a story, leave it for 6 months before editing. He must know what he’s talking about, as one of the world’s most prolific and successful authors, I think his words of wisdom are wise indeed. Even if you aren’t keen on his books, you should consider his advice.

Different people have different stages in their novel creating process. Mine are simple:

1.      Get an idea.        (Without this, there’s no book.)
2.      Plan the story     (Plan everything, makes life easier in the long run, trust me.)
3.      Research             (Get your facts straight, but don’t overdo it. You’re not writing an essay)
4.      Write                    (This is where you tell your story. Say hello to Writer’s Trance.)
5.      Wait                     (Leave the story for several months. Possibly work on your next project?)
6.      Edit                       (Your story becomes your novel, making it enjoyable for other readers.)
7.      Publish                 (Now you prepare it for those big scary publishers out there. Good luck.)

I’ll expand on each of those stages at a later date. But for now, that is all you need to do. Writing the book is only 1 stage, don’t forget that. What tasks do you set yourself when you write? Do you often go into a Writer’s Trance? What do you enjoy most? Or dislike the most? Tell me your thoughts below.

Read, follow, comment and enjoy. M x