Val Neil

Dark Fantasy Author

accountability

Finding Your Flow State

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Finding Your Flow State

What is a flow state?

Do you ever get into the groove when you’re writing? Your fingers fly, words pour out of you like magic, and before you know it, an hour has passed. That’s the flow state—a particular mindset when the words come without hesitation.

How do you get into the flow state?

Getting into the flow state can take some time, but a few tricks can help you get there quicker. Some professional writers do warm up techniques before they sit down to actually write—they meditate, read their notes from the previous scene, free write, or read aloud a test sample if they’re dictating. This can be intimidating if you only have twenty minutes to sit down and write and it takes you fifteen minutes just to get into a good flow.

Pay Attention to When you Write Best

One of the nice features about the new NaNoWriMo website is that it allows you to enter not just your word count, but where you wrote and for how long. This allows you to track where and when you are getting the most words down. It’s not always when you think.

A lot of people will say “I’m a night person” and assume they do their best writing in the evenings. Studies have shown that creativity is usually at its peak right after you get up in the morning (obviously, if you work the night shift, your “morning” will be different than for most people). The reason for this is that your brain has had a chance to rest and process things overnight. You may wake up with solutions to problems you had the day before. Your brain also hasn’t been taxed by a billion other things throughout the day. Even if you’re a night person, if your brain has been working all day and it probably won’t be in its best form when you sit down to write after the kids are in bed.

If you want to know for certain, write down your word count after various sessions for a week or two, then analyze your output. You may be surprised that your best writing times are not when you thought they’d be.

Train Your Brain

Have you ever gone to the restroom and as soon as you crossed the threshold, your body desperately tried to unleash itself before you reached the toilet? That’s the power of classical conditioning. Thankfully, you can use it to your advantage.

Create a consistent set of conditions under which you write. For instance, I decided last year that my home PC is a terrible place to work. It’s in a high-traffic area, and even with noise-cancelling headphones, I get interrupted a lot. The PC also has dual monitors, which makes it way too convenient to have Scrivener open on one and a browser on the other. I decided that since my laptop was already being used to write in cafés that I would use it as my writing machine. I made a desk upstairs out of a folding table and I write on my laptop.

If you don’t have multiple machines, that’s fine. You can still create consistent conditions. Maybe you always write in the same chair or listen to the same playlist. Maybe you always have a cup of coffee or burning candle. Whatever you do, try to be consistent to train your brain that those conditions mean you’re going to be writing. This should help reduce the amount of time it takes for you to achieve the flow state.

Copyright © 2019 Val Neil. All rights reserved.

The Importance of Accountability

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Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. – George Orwell

Writing is hard. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. As with all things difficult, where one is tempted to give up and run screaming through the streets when you just can’t take it anymore, it’s good to regularly check in with others who are on the same journey as you. Here are some of the ways I keep myself on target.

In-Person Writer Groups

I’m lucky enough to have a pretty active writing community nearby. My town even has a writer’s guild. Search online and see if you can find other authors nearby. Shut Up & Write is a great organization for this. They host regular meet ups where everyone introduces themselves, checking in on current projects, then writes uninterrupted for one hour (or longer). It’s a great way to meet a variety of people who all have a passion for writing.

Facebook Groups (WITH GOALS)

The key here is ACCOUNTABILITY. While there are plenty of Facebook groups dedicated to writing, very few have weekly check-ins. Sacha Black runs a group called 13 Steps to Evil – Villain Masters, which has a regular check-in on Mondays.

Accountability Buddies

Pick a writer, any writer, and agree to check-in with one another a couple of times a week. I had a buddy after NaNoWriMo last year. We communicated via Facebook and entered our word counts every day in Google sheets. The only problem was that it got harder once I started editing and he fell off the writer bandwagon. If I had to do it over again, I’d probably use a different tracking mechanism and add a few more people for increased accountability.

Word Count Trackers

If you’re not stuck editing, I highly recommend a joint word count tracker like I mentioned above. If someone has nothing input for a few days, you can send them a PM asking what’s up.

Critique Groups/Alpha Readers

If your writing is relatively solid, you may choose to share your manuscript as it’s being written. I personally wait until I at least have a complete draft, but I know several people who use critique and alpha readers very early in the process. It works because you have someone breathing down your neck (hopefully) waiting for the next chapter.

For myself, I found this gives me a much-needed boost during the editing process. Editing is rough, and seeing your story land with people is a real incentive to keep going.

Copyright © 2019 Val Neil. All rights reserved.