Gathering Ideas For Writing: Incubation
Posted by qpen on July 27, 2009
Previously, we discussed Keeping an Idea Book and Writing In A Journal FreeWriting, Brainstorming, and Mapping, today we will be discussing:
Incubation
When you allow your ideas to Incubate, you give them time to grow and develop. Incubation works especially well when you need to solve a problem in your writing
(for example, if material is too thin and needs expansion, if material covers too much and needs pruning, or if connections among your ideas are not clear for your reader).
Time is a key element for successful incubation. Arrange your time to make sure that you will not be interrupted.
You need time to think, to allow your mind to wander, and then to come back and focus on the writing. Sometimes incubating an idea overnight permits sleep to help you discover or clarify an idea.
One helpful strategy is to turn attention to something entirely different from your writing problem. Concentrate very hard on that entirely different matter so that your conscious mind is totally distracted from the writing problem.
After awhile, relax and guide your mind back to the writing problem you want to solve. Another strategy is to allow your mind to relax and wander, without concentrating on anything special.
Open you mind to random thoughts, but do not dwell on any one thought very long. After awhile, guide your mind back to the writing problem you are trying to solve.
When you come back to the writing problem, you might see solutions that did not occur to you before.
Next time we will be discussing: Shaping and Grouping Ideas
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