Just wanted to post a quick and interesting tip I found out this year doing NaNoWriMo. It's quite simple. I'm sure you've seen many musicians get deep into their composing, playing or conducting. They are waving their arms (if they can, depending on the instrument), eyes closed, literally throwing themselves into the music as they rock back and forth. It is at times like these that these musicians truly connect with their work.
As writers, we can have that same feeling. I came upon this by accident as I was trying to reach my word count for the day. I was quite tired as I'd only gotten about 4 hours of sleep the night before due to homework. I sat there, typing away on my favorite writing machine, the Alphasmart Neo (a tool I think every writer should have in their belt), and I started to doze off. But my writer's intuition took over and I kept going. I typed with my eyes closed -- thank you high school keyboarding class for teaching me to type without looking -- and truly connected with my story. I could see the characters clearly, almost hear their dialogue. I entered the story and left the world around me. I instinctively started rocking back and forth like a pianist during an emotional piece. It was an incredible experience that I have repeated many times since.
Now granted, not everyone can do this (if you can't type without looking and I don't know how well it would work for writing by hand), but I'd suggest if you can that you give it a try. I can see now why composers or other musicians do it. As an artist, you feel a part of your work, the world around you fades and you're in your world. It is a peaceful feeling, a feeling I love repeating and one that I had to share! Post how you feel after trying it below.
As writers, we can have that same feeling. I came upon this by accident as I was trying to reach my word count for the day. I was quite tired as I'd only gotten about 4 hours of sleep the night before due to homework. I sat there, typing away on my favorite writing machine, the Alphasmart Neo (a tool I think every writer should have in their belt), and I started to doze off. But my writer's intuition took over and I kept going. I typed with my eyes closed -- thank you high school keyboarding class for teaching me to type without looking -- and truly connected with my story. I could see the characters clearly, almost hear their dialogue. I entered the story and left the world around me. I instinctively started rocking back and forth like a pianist during an emotional piece. It was an incredible experience that I have repeated many times since.
Now granted, not everyone can do this (if you can't type without looking and I don't know how well it would work for writing by hand), but I'd suggest if you can that you give it a try. I can see now why composers or other musicians do it. As an artist, you feel a part of your work, the world around you fades and you're in your world. It is a peaceful feeling, a feeling I love repeating and one that I had to share! Post how you feel after trying it below.