Slowing down in life will help your writing

Today as I was driving to run an errand it hit me that slowing down in life, not just while driving, can really help your writing. You are probably thinking “Brad has finally lost it.” Well that might be true, but here’s the premise of what I was thinking: By slowing down, you notice your surroundings more. You notice little details that you’d otherwise miss. And your brain has a chance to process all this information because you’re not running around like a maniac trying to do 20 things at once.

In my own experience today, I as driving along at about the speed limit. I could have gone faster as other cars were whizzing by me. But I was listening to some really good music (Grateful Dead anyone?) and enjoying the overall experience. As I was driving several ideas came to me about the different writing projects I have going on (including the idea for this post).

After thinking about how slowing down inspired all these good ideas, I came to the conclusion that the best ideas come when I don’t try to force them. In fact, I wasn’t even thinking about writing as I was cruising down the road with my music blasting. Once I got home I put some of these ideas to use on a freelance writing project I’m working. I continued with the slow pace and the music and the words came out with ease.

Is this the zen of writing? I don’t know if it is or not. But it seems to be working for me. Lately I’ve been slowing down at a lot of stuff, like eating so I can enjoy the food more.

In today’s fast-paced society, how does one slow down to achieve a greater awareness that will help your writing? Here are 5 ways to slow down:

1. Meditation – You don’t have to be a guru to meditate or devote your life to the practice. Only 10-20 minutes a day is all it takes. Sitting in a comfortable position and concentrating on your breathing will clear your mind and let the new thoughts flow and get your imagination pumping again.

2. Naps – Naps are one of my favorite daily activities. I try to limit myself to only an hour or so, although I’ll confess that more than a few of my naps have been a lot longer. Taking a nap will help you feel refreshed and give you new energy. Sometimes napping with good music playing softly in the background will mess with your dreams and might provide you with some good inspiration. But taking some time out of the day for a nap is very healthy.

3. Listening to music – I’m not talking about listening while you’re doing something else. I mean listening to music for the sake of listening to music and enjoying it. Sometimes when I listen to music while doing nothing else, I close my eyes and let the music fill my head. Sounds turn into images and images can turn into great writing ideas or bring a new perspective to a current project I’m working on. Any kind of music can work, as long as it inspires you.

4. Reading – This one goes without saying. All writers should spend a lot of time reading. A lot of my ideas for short fiction are inspired by novels I’ve read in the past. Reading is also a perfect alternative to watching television because it requires active attention and engages your imagination to form images of the characters, setting and action.

5.  Just slow down! – This might actually be the hardest to achieve because it requires a constant awareness of yourself and your activities. Slowing down allows you to actually enjoy the little things in life. That old saying “Stop and smell the roses” might be an old cliche` but there is a lot of truth behind it. My experience has always been when I slow down in life, I tend to get more inspired and my writing seems to improve.

The 5 methods I’ve listed above might be pretty obvious ones. That’s because they work! The problem is that few people actually implement these simple ideas into their lives. None of them require a lot of effort and all are pretty easy (with the exception of #5, maybe).

Give it a shot. Slow down and enjoy life more and see where it takes your writing.

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• Add some music to your writing!
• 5 Easy Ways for Writers to Relax
• Breathe life into your characters using action
• Must-have Writing Tools: A Voice Recorder

Read More: Writing, Writing Tips