I’m always curious about how we can apply brain science to make our lives better, and I love thinking about how to apply neuroscience to writing well. I’ve been writing and coaching writers long enough to know that many of us struggle with creative anxiety and other creative blocks unless we learn how to work through them.
Breathe and enjoy a sense of creative freedom…
What we know from neuroscience research is that when we feel anxious or stressed, this engages areas of the brain that have to do with survival and leaves the areas of the brain that relate with creativity and language less accessible. Given all of this, I’ve developed a 5 step process that we can do to harness the brain’s ability to help us write well.
- Develop a regular practice of mindfulness meditation. Meditation increases awareness and helps us to recognize when we’re stuck in creative anxiety, take a step back, use our practice to come back to center, and be in the moment with writing, which facilitates tapping into creative flow.
- Start your writing sessions from a state of relaxation. Pick a brief meditation practice, such as 3-Part Breath, and practice for a few moments before you begin writing so that you arrive at your notebook or computer relaxed and ready to let the writing flow. Take a look at my post, “How to Meditate” for a brief meditation instruction. You can also check out my post, “3-Part Breath for Writers” for a breathing practice that may help you to start writing from a calm and centered state.
- Make peace with your inner critic. Most writers get hijacked by their inner critic, which also activates the area of the brain that relates to perceived threats and survival. When that part of the brain is activated, we won’t have full engagement of the areas of the brain that we need to write well. The most effective way I know of to make peace with the inner critic is to develop a regular mindfulness meditation practice. This can help you to be aware of the inner critic, take a step back to objectively observe it without getting entangled in it, and learn how to keep writing in spite of it. Most people try to fight it, silence it, or otherwise do something aggressive to it, but anytime we get hooked into wanting something to be other than it is, it often increases in intensity and creates more suffering. Learning how to make peace with this aspect of yourself rather than treating it with hostility, is much more effective.
- Practice writing anytime, anywhere as a way of letting go of the belief that certain conditions have to exist in order for you to write. Use your spare moments to write while you’re waiting for the bus, riding the bus, waiting in a waiting room, or waiting for dinner to finish cooking. Try writing at your desk, on a park bench, and in your everyday locations.
- Don’t let your Default Mode Network (DMN) in your brain hijack you. The DMN becomes activated when we aren’t engaged in a specific task. It does things like ruminate about the past and worry over the future, makes critical commentary about the present moment (could this be the source of the inner critic? I think so.), and compares yourself to other people or worries about what they think of you. Research shows that people who meditate spend less time in DMN activity, and when they do fall into it, they are able to more quickly recognize it and bring themselves back to the present moment direct experience. So if you notice these thought patterns, try to just be aware of them and then bring your attention back to the writing.
These neuroscience-based tips can help you to be well on your way to writing well. Give them a try, and then let me know how it goes in the comments below.
Click here to learn more about upcoming mindful writing workshops online.