Every writer is different, so what works for one may not work for another.
Recently I noticed something that works for me. It had been working for at least a year but improving so gradually it came as a sudden revelation. This is the effect of sleep on story problems.
I improvise my stories, though they are planned in the sense that from the first I know where I want them to end up, and very roughly how they’ll get there. It has always worked so far.
As with most other writers I regularly realize I have a problem, usually a couple of pages into a scene. Often it’s the plot going off the rails, sometimes the characters aren’t believable, rarely the setting does not feel right.
So begins the stewing stage. It lasts a few days, which I spend doing other essential work such as copyediting another book. Meanwhile at random moments my mind will return to the problem, I’ll ponder it a few minutes, then go back to working on something else or doing chores or relaxing.
Then one morning as I slowly awake from sleep my mind will return to the problem and I think: What if ...? And I see a way to my problem’s solution.
It would be nice if I could speed up this problem-solving process. But it’s working and maybe I shouldn’t try to tinker with it.
Recently I noticed something that works for me. It had been working for at least a year but improving so gradually it came as a sudden revelation. This is the effect of sleep on story problems.
I improvise my stories, though they are planned in the sense that from the first I know where I want them to end up, and very roughly how they’ll get there. It has always worked so far.
As with most other writers I regularly realize I have a problem, usually a couple of pages into a scene. Often it’s the plot going off the rails, sometimes the characters aren’t believable, rarely the setting does not feel right.
So begins the stewing stage. It lasts a few days, which I spend doing other essential work such as copyediting another book. Meanwhile at random moments my mind will return to the problem, I’ll ponder it a few minutes, then go back to working on something else or doing chores or relaxing.
Then one morning as I slowly awake from sleep my mind will return to the problem and I think: What if ...? And I see a way to my problem’s solution.
It would be nice if I could speed up this problem-solving process. But it’s working and maybe I shouldn’t try to tinker with it.
Last edited: