"Words are a lens to focus one's mind"
-Ayn Rand
What effect does writing have on the writer? This is a question that is answered differently by everyone. A writer might have a wonderful idea, struggle to begin or tap into their muse right from the start, but at some point the best writing in unleashed as the writer reaches "the zone."
I like to think of "the zone" as absolute focus. It's the place a writer reaches where words flow from unseen places, characters make decisions for themselves, and no amount of distraction can pull the writer from their task. It is in this place that I've become fascinated with due to what other writers have said happens to them physically and mentally while in this place.
Here are the thoughts of several writers:
"When I'm in the zone, I feel what my characters feel (or is it the other way around?) But I do know this-- the things I write while in the zone can evoke the same emotions in me when I read it at a later date, even if I'm guarded. So I'd have to say that writing for me, if done right, is an emotionally draining experience. And I try not to indulge my darker side too much, since it could leave me unstable for days altogether." - Blue Spectrum
"When I get into the zone, I actually look away from my screen. My fingers are flying across the keyboard. My mind is picturing the scene. I don't need the distraction of looking at what I'm typing. Of course, those sections are always rife with spelling errors and homonym switches. I don't keep it up long, just bursts for really important few paragraphs, dialogue or action scenes." - Reed James
"It's a light feeling while I'm in the zone. I feel kind of hyper and like I'm moving to a rhythm. Usually I am literally because I listen to music. And I can write like a motherfucker too, easily 4k-7k a day." - Bryce Calderwood
"Being 'in the zone' for me is almost like a state of mediation. It's a lightness of body, or rather, an unawareness of body. It's being totally and completely in my creative mind. Time seems to go by at a much faster rate, and I often look down at the clock, shocked to find that much more time has passed than I thought had passed. I've described the experience to people as tapping into a certain part of my brain that I can only access while writing. Perhaps it's part of the subconscious? Whatever it is, it's a mystery, but I absolutely love doing it." --Scarlett Knight
"When I'm in the zone I see the story I want to write as a movie in my mind's eye. I can almost watch it play out. When I'm in the zone, all noise is canceled out. I can't even hear the dogs barking when they spot a car. My fingers move across the board in a blur. It's bliss. I love being in the zone." --Nessa DeArmond
"When I'm writing and I'm in the zone, everything around me disappears. Whether I'm sitting at a coffee shop on my laptop or at home at my desk, a fog takes over my senses. I write until I'm physically, electrically aroused and wishing I was in the story. An hour can seem like minutes in this state." -- Carmen Summers
"When I'm in the zone, thoughts float in and out of my head, almost like a conveyor belt emptying onto the page in front of me. The belt fills up and dumps again in constant repetition until I'm exhausted and my body has overheated. Usually in less than an hour, I'm drenched in sweat and have to change my shirt." --Angora Shade
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