Comments on: The Mental Writing Space

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:34:37 +0000

Tammy and Angela… I guess I warm up to it too… and when I’m writing my own stuff, if I quit before I’m wrung out it’s easer to get into the zone the next day.

By: Karen DeBolt

Karen DeBolt — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:24:42 +0000

Hi Anne,

I call this state Hyperfocus. Usually when you are really really interested in something then you can just zone into it and the world goes away for a while.

I find it easy to get into when I’m interested in something and especially when I’m learning something new.

Writing is a bit harder for me. I actually need to get away from my computer with a yellow pad for a while. I seem to write better when I’m not at home also. Of course, it depends on what I’m writing! :) Its the creative work that is the hardest.

I wish I could summon up hyperfocus at will the way you do. What a gift you have!

By: Angela Williams Duea

Angela Williams Duea — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 18:20:30 +0000

I’ve called it ‘being in the writing zone’, and I literally forget the rest of the world. It’s hard to get my attention during that time. When I’m writing fiction, I usually read the last few pages of whatever I was working on before. And for non-fiction, like Tammy, I read and comment on blogs or write a post for my blog. By that time I am juiced up to continue in the zone.

By: Tammy Takahashi

Tammy Takahashi — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:47:17 +0000

I definitely have a writing space. I need to be in it when writing fiction. And, I can’t get into it right away. It takes me 10-30 minutes of writing just random things first (emails, blog comments) to get me into my space. I can’t switch out of it quickly either.

Unfortunately, I don’t get into my space very often. I don’t have the undivided time. Maybe a couple times a week I can do that.

If I get into my space though, there’s no such thing as staring at a blank screen. Words flow without effort.