I noticed something odd while editing Xmas Carol. I am brutal in my edits, hacking and slashing just about everything. It seems I can always see a better way to phrase something, and as a result I edit in a chronic way, only achieving what I want after many passes. I do finally get to the point where I'm happy with what I've written, but it takes forever to get there.
Which is why it was so odd to encounter several pages of good writing in Xmas Carol, stuff I didn't have to edit at all. Not paragraphs, but pages! And this happened more than once. It's so strange. Why are these sections different from the others? What allowed me to write so clearly and capably that day? And what prevents it from happening at other times? It's a mystery.
It's not just a visit from my muse, Phil; it's something else. I call it lucid writing. When it happens, a window opens and I can draw on all my skills in concert. That's what I think it is -- a coordination of skills, a coming together of disparate brain elements that aren't usually online at the same time.
When it happens, writing is so easy. There's nothing in the way. I just see the words and write them down. It feels graceful, as if I'm in synch. I can't trip, at least for a time. It's so nice to lay down pages like that.
Lucid writing, "The Zone", whatever it is, it's magical and a writer's best friend. I wish I could call it up on demand, but I can't. In the end, I'm just grateful that it visits me now and then.
Which is why it was so odd to encounter several pages of good writing in Xmas Carol, stuff I didn't have to edit at all. Not paragraphs, but pages! And this happened more than once. It's so strange. Why are these sections different from the others? What allowed me to write so clearly and capably that day? And what prevents it from happening at other times? It's a mystery.
It's not just a visit from my muse, Phil; it's something else. I call it lucid writing. When it happens, a window opens and I can draw on all my skills in concert. That's what I think it is -- a coordination of skills, a coming together of disparate brain elements that aren't usually online at the same time.
When it happens, writing is so easy. There's nothing in the way. I just see the words and write them down. It feels graceful, as if I'm in synch. I can't trip, at least for a time. It's so nice to lay down pages like that.
Lucid writing, "The Zone", whatever it is, it's magical and a writer's best friend. I wish I could call it up on demand, but I can't. In the end, I'm just grateful that it visits me now and then.
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