Capture Your Sleep Writing

Many writers have a very powerful creative side and a weaker left side.  Imagine creating a stronger whole-brained writing process.

Here’s is a technique to help you.

This exercise is exactly like laying out your clothes out the night before. Without even thinking, without making any conscious choices, you jump into your clothes in the morning and you're on your way.

Your first step begins by consciously working out the best approach for you in the early morning.

When it comes to getting ready in the morning, some people place their clothes on hangers close to their bed.  Some set them out in a dressing room.  Others hand their clothes on the back of the bathroom door and dress in the bathroom in order not to wake up the spouse.  Maybe you don’t set out your clothes and prefer to decide in the morning.  You admit that isn’t the most effective way to save time.  If you aren’t sure try different ways to find what works best for you.  What’s your preferred method? 

Now, think of how you want to be ready to write in the morning.

Think about where your want to set up your writing area.  Is it next to your bed?  Is it at a table or desk in the bedroom, on the couch in the living room, on the patio during the summer?  Where? 

Next, think of what tools you need to be ready.  Is it simply a tablet and pen next to the bed to capture those times when you wake during the night and need to record something fast or if you prefer to begin writing as soon as your feet hit the floor next to the bed.

Or do you prefer to set up your tools in an area in another room? 

I use the dining room table and not my regular desk in my home office because I become distracted in this area. I place a blank writing tablet on the right-hand side, position my writing instruments – several favorite pens, a few different highlighters, and a red pen – above in a old coffee cup.   I place my supporting docs if I have some to the left.  If you find you have a tendency to review the docs before writing, I suggest you don’t include them in this space.  If you are a laptop writer, place the laptop above the tablet, plugged in, monitor up, but not on.  The writing tablet can capture the words while the laptop is booting up. 

For a period of time, I kept the table next to the bed and in my morning writing area. 

Before retiring, clarify your focus.  Try creating a focused question, headline or sub-headline.  Record it on the tablet (both if you use one in each area). 

As you are drift off to sleep, repeat the question, or key focus, several times.  Ask for the answer.  Ask for the words.  Ask for the language.  Ask for what you want to accomplish the next morning.

When you rise, if you can’t wait to get to your morning writing area, grab the tablet and begin writing.  If you prefer, move to the writing area you set up and begin writing.

You may want to do both.  I did for a few years.

It's best to start writing without reading anything.  Start recording what your brain worked on during the night.  Begin wherever your mind wants to start. Sometimes the words don’t seem to connect to the focus. This is okay.  Sometime later you will see the connection.  Then again occasionally your mind just needs to clean out the spider webs. 

You will find in a short timeframe, your mind will lead into your focus. 

When I began this ritual, I found it took time for me to let go of control and trust the process.  After being consistent with the process, the flow came easy and the wording improved.  I remember my subconscious wanting to fight the process. 

When my students practice this, they tell me a similar story about how their metamorphous occurred. 

Share yours here.

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Comments

[!MiA]

Good read! I have always kept my journal by my bedside table and that is the only way I can record the dreams I just had. If not recorded immediately, they get lost and forgotten.
Thanks for sharing!
!MiA