Some days you flow better than others with your work.
Now that I’ve completed my Void Incursion sci-fi series – apart from editing and then having the book professionally edited – I’m done with the writing I’ve been doing.
I am not, of course, done. As I’ve written before, I have planned out 10 more books.
There are 4 more books for my Forgotten Fodder series. This will follow another investigation with Onima, Jace, and Kara.
I also plotted 6 books for a new sci-fi series called Savagespace.
Following what I’ve been reading over the past year, I’m making some changes to my approach to how I tell my story at the beginning. This means that the first chapter I planned ceases to work.
Likewise, chapter 2 would have started the story out with the wrong introductory characters.
Could starting at chapter 3 provide the new approach I desire? I considered this for a while. It kept me from making a start, as well as debating if maybe it would be better to start the new adventures with the already established Forgotten Fodder characters.
The itch to write got me. So, swallowing my uncertainty, I took a deep breath and began.
I’m pleased to report that I have completed chapter 1 of Alliances – book 1 of Savagespace. (Alliances is the current title, but that might change).
If I’m being perfectly honest with myself – this is the first totally new work of sci-fi that I’ve begun since the end of 2020. As such, it probably shouldn’t have surprised me that I had some challenges getting into the flow.
What is the flow, yo?
This is a concept that takes different forms for different matters.
Odds are, you’re familiar with it by another name, if not this one.
The void. The place of no-mind. The zone.
In other words, this is that space where time ceases to have any meaning. Whatever work you are doing is effortless and joyful.
Athletes often seek to reach this place. Muscle memory and instinct make you amazingly effective and unstoppable.
Some people seek to reach this place via meditation. They want to be in that ether where they are just existing with no effort, undistracted from or by the world at large.
Flow-states can be reached in lots of different ways. And they can last for different lengths of time. But one of the key elements of a flow-state is that time loses meaning.
I can cite two specific examples in my life. I’ve been fencing (medieval rapier combat) for over 30 years. There was one particular fight that I remember almost in total – and in slow motion. For that one fight, I was thoroughly in Miyamoto Musashi’s state of No-Mind.
Similarly, there have been instances where I started writing, working on a project that I had a ton of passion for – and hours passed before I knew it. The ideas and words just flowed perfectly.
These are examples of the flow, and why it’s so powerful. It’s a perfect headspace where you just ARE. The ultimate mindful place.
Why does that matter?
Mindfulness provides self-guidance
If you are unfamiliar, mindfulness is a state of being where you are consciously aware. That conscious awareness tells you who, what, where, how, why, and when you are – here and now. In this moment.
To gain this conscious awareness, mindfulness is recognition of what you’re thinking, what and how you’re feeling, the actions you are taking, and what intent is behind them. Likewise, because this is an of-the-moment matter, you gain insight into both your subconscious (where your beliefs, values, and habits live) and your ego (how you project yourself both to yourself and the world outside of you).
Artists tend to buck the norm. We don’t practice what is typical, nor do we do the expected, regularly. Professional artists make choices and decisions to take risks for creating their work that generally place them outside the 9-5 job world, as well as other more standard ways and means of being.
Because most of my friends have an artistic, creative side to them, they are not the typical nine-to-fivers, either. Even if they work those kinds of jobs, it’s less mindless with more intent.
Which is the key to why mindfulness matters. Because mindful action is intentional action. You choose it, here and now, with intent to gain something or learn something from it.
Reaching a flow-state often starts with mindful intent. There is a degree of focus, usable only in the moment, that can pull you into this state of being where time stops, and you just are.
The flow is a result of surrender
This is key. You can’t reach a flow-state, the place of no-mind, the void, or whatever you call it, by force. It’s not something anyone can call up at will.
I think this is how a lot of people get meditation wrong. They misunderstand that it’s not about leaving your body in some way and being in a place of no-mind. It’s about being present, here and now, in this moment, alone. But only by being so present can you reach a flow-state.
Counterintuitive? Perhaps. But that’s where surrender comes into play.
Surrender is not waving a white flag and knuckling under. Surrender is allowing yourself to let go of the thoughts and feelings while you are in the here and now. It’s recognizing and acknowledging this moment in time and offering no resistance.
That’s how you reach the flow-state. When that fencing bout I mentioned happened, I was focused only on mentally being present for that fight. I ignored the rest of the fights that occurred. I was only focused on meeting and defeating my opponent. But there was no intent, no emotion, no thought but to just be the best that I could be. And I would argue that to this day, that was the single best fight I have ever taken part in.
How do I get back to this state? Mindfulness and surrender to the now. Doing this – without worrying about other things, allowing distractions to interfere, and otherwise getting caught up in thoughts and feelings – is the only way.
To get into the flow, yo, you need to surrender to it. That’s not easy. But the result is utterly incredible and worthwhile.
I am working on getting back into the flow with my writing. And this surrendering to it is how to do it.
Thank you for being part of this wild ride.
This is the one-hundred and fifty-seventh article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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