Becoming Addicted to the Zone
The best writers are those who get lost. They fall into their work, letting it become their reality and letting all other outside irritants disappear. We all can find and live in the writing zone. Today, turn off outside influences as you write. You don’t have to check your emails, answer texts, or pause to post a social media comment while you write. Dive into your work and swim deeply and undistracted. By doing so, your fictional world will come alive, and the real world, a whole of distractions, will fade into silence. Choice is a major factor in humanity. We writers can live in our zone by developing proficient writing habits. Once you find that feeling of living and writing in the zone, you’ll also find that it becomes addicting. It all starts, however, with the ability and intent of shutting out the outside world while you immerse yourself in your work and life. This enhances your writing and enriches your firsthand experiences, making life more fulfilling.
The zone does not simply come when you are writing. It also comes when you are living. When you are doing one or the other, immerse yourself completely. Don’t just look at something exteriorly; become it or become a part of it. This gives us two opportunities to live in the zone. Living is gaining experience. Writing is sharing it. Once you indeed start living in the zone in everything you do in life, you will seek out the accomplishment and feeling of the zone; you will find you start seeking it out like the natural and interior drug it is. I love living. You should, too. Nothing else matters. We are authoring our individual stories daily. It makes sense to immerse ourselves in our lives, in the excitement of our lives, not the mundane. Life is transitory. It is passing. Immersion is making the most of our time, whether living or writing. As a writer, I’m sure you get pushback sometimes for locking yourself away “wasting your time” writing your little stories. Don’t let those comments or attitudes pull you from the zone. No one else’s opinion about your life and work matters. It’s only you and your head in the game. Focus then, today, on living in that zone in all you do. Feel everything that happens around you with your senses, all of them, and then take that back to your writing. You’ll discover amazing things. Live and write conscientiously.
We sometimes think we have no control over our lives. We believe others make plans for us that we must keep or that life dictates a specific daily grind. This is not true. What I’m writing about here, regardless of the task, is something that takes place in your head. This is your private world; it is your private enjoyment. Time for experience (and creativity) is decided by how we choose to use our time since time is the fleeting commodity from which we get experience that translates into creativity. It is how we view what we are doing. Take advantage of that today. Observe the world around you and immerse yourself in it, no matter the task. Let nothing be rote. Then, when you write, dive into that. Our lives worldwide are divided into four sections: work, family, leisure, and sleep. Most of our growth and risk take place in our work, but we are not our work. Life is not just work. The lives of the characters are not about work. Work, family, and leisure influence characters like they affect you, and even sleep. Where do your characters get their experiences? From you. You must live so that they can live. Choose the zone for all these areas and watch the quality and enjoyment of your life and writing increase. Experience life today so your characters may experience it, as well.
The zone is not something you think about. Thinking alone sometimes pulls you from your zone. Being in the zone is something that you are. It is an intense focus that becomes a thing solely unto itself. You’ve got to feel it. Emotion carries more weight than logic in life. The same is true for stories. How we absorb the world and then how we express it through our writing will be a matter of subjectivity, making it wonderfully individual and unique. It’s what makes your story unique. It is your zone and your experience, no one else’s, and you share those things with your characters. Concentration and the ability to concentrate is the essence of creativity. Three things must align to get in the zone: emotions, thoughts, and intentions. Put these into practice today. Concentration is the key to unlocking your creativity, so focus on it and watch your writing flourish.
There are rewards. There is a direct correlation between zone addiction and accomplishment. We see it in business, in sports players, in performers. We see it in writers. Getting in the zone means stretching yourself. Don’t write the same thing every day. Don’t experience life the same every day. Live. Live. Live. Getting in the zone to pique your interest needs a challenge one step above your current level. Push yourself into expanding your work, living your life, and experiencing both—set goals for yourself and your experiences in life and writing. Make the point that today will be a great day on purpose. Create no limits. Push yourself. For today, make the task, whether living or writing, just out of reach of your skillset. You’ll grow this way and find life and writing a wonderful experience. We owe it to ourselves to live in the moment, to savor it, to experience it, to then be able to share it. Live in your life and writing. Breathe both. You will find both transformed. Setting goals for your writing and firsthand experiences is crucial, as it gives you direction and a sense of achievement when you reach them. Get lost in all the wonder around you no matter what you do.
Like this blog? Sign up for Clay Stafford’s newsletter, which offers encouragement, skills, resources, and knowledge relating to a balanced life while writing, marketing, promoting, and living. By signing up, you'll join a community of like-minded individuals on a similar journey, providing the support and connection you need. https://claystafford.com/newsletter
