It’s no secret that I’m slightly obsessed with the brain. Okay, okay, it’s a full-blown obsession, but it’s such a fascinating organ!
The other day, I watched a neuroscience documentary (like I often do). One episode asked the question: Who is in control of what you do? The neuroscientist then said…
“Every action you take, every decision you make, every belief you hold is driven by parts of your brain that you have no access to. We call this hidden world the unconscious, and it runs much more of your life than you would ever imagine.”
Shocking, right? The entire episode blew my mind (no pun intended) and drove me down a rabbit hole of research. What I discovered shows just how many superpowers we writers possess.
Let’s dig in…
The conscious you, or conscious awareness, makes up the smallest part of your brain. The conscious brain believes it’s in full control of the body, when nothing could be farther from the truth.
Have you ever driven home and not remembered how you got there? One minute, a thought crosses your mind. And the next thing you know, you’re turning on to your street. It’s a wild feeling that we write off with, “I’ve driven this route so many times, the car knows its way.” But the truth is, this sensation occurs because the action is being done unconsciously and automatically. And somehow, you arrive home without harm.
Through clinical trials, Freud discovered that beneath the surface of each of us lies a swirling sea of hidden motivations, drives, and desires. The way we think and feel and act is profoundly influenced by our unconscious mind.
As the twentieth century progressed, many others dove into the brave new world of neuroscience. They were trying to uncover how much control the unconscious brain really has, but what they soon discovered was far stranger than anyone could have predicted.
In the 1960s, Eckhart Hess ran several experiments. In one, he asked men to look at women’s faces and make snap judgments about them.
- How kind does she look?
- How selfish or unselfish is she?
- How friendly or unfriendly is she?
- How attractive is she?
What the men didn’t know was how Hess manipulated the experiment. In half the photos, the women’s eyes were artificially dilated. Same women but with different sized pupils. Dilated eyes are, among other things, a biological sign of sexual arousal. This manipulation was meant to influence the choices made by the men, but without them being aware of it.
Can you guess the outcome?
The men found the women with dilated eyes more attractive. Here’s the important part. None of the men noticed the dilated pupils in the photographs, nor did any of the men know about the biological sign of sexual readiness. But somehow, their brains knew.
Hess and his team ran deeply evolutionary programs to steer the men toward the right sort of mate (the feminist in me is holding back here; please do the same). The subjects’ brains analyzed and recognized tiny details in the photos and then acted upon them. All of this occurred without a flicker of conscious awareness.
This type of experiment revealed fundamental knowledge about how the brain operates. The job of this organ is to gather information from the world, then steer appropriate behavior. And it makes absolutely no difference whether you (your conscious awareness) are involved. Most of the time, you’re not. Most of the time, you’re not even aware of the decisions being made on your behalf.
Check out these findings:
- If you’re holding a warm cup of coffee, you’ll describe your relationship to your mother as closer than if you’re holding an iced coffee.
- When you’re in a foul-smelling environment, you’ll make harsher moral decisions.
- If you sit next to a bottle of hand sanitizer, it’ll shift your political opinions a little toward the conservative side, because it reminds your brain of outside threats.
Every day we’re influenced in countless ways by the world around us. And most of this flies completely under the radar of our conscious awareness. Though clueless to us, the unconscious brain is continually reacting to the outside world and making decisions on our behalf.
What separates us from zombie-like beings?
Even when we’re on autopilot, if we come across something we weren’t expecting, our conscious mind is called into action to figure out if this new thing is a threat or opportunity. It’s one of the jobs of consciousness—to assess what’s going on and make sense of the situation. When our expectations are violated, our conscious mind is summoned to work out the appropriate reaction.
But reacting is not its only mission. The conscious brain plays a vital role in resolving internal conflict among the brain’s many automatic sub-systems, each working on its own task.
Take, for example, if you’re hungry but you just started a diet to drop a few holiday pounds. This is when the conscious brain needs to rise above the unconscious and make an executive decision on what to do. Consciousness is the arbiter of conflicting motivations in the brain, with a unique vantage point that no other part of the brain has access to. It’s a way for trillions of cells to see themselves as a unified whole.
For writers, our unconscious brain stores our superpowers.
Our unconscious is capable of truly remarkable feats if we stay out of its way. Therein lies the rub. We can train our unconscious to do many skills automatically, and some of them can seem almost superhuman. Through intense practice, we can harness the brain’s ability to run on autopilot to achieve almost anything.
See where I’m goin’ with this? Note the words “through intense practice.” Meaning, the more we practice, the more we hardwire our brains to work on autopilot. And yes, that includes writing. Those who write daily or several times per week have an easier time than writers who step away from the keyboard for weeks or months at a time.
We also enter the zone more often.
When our conscious awareness relinquishes control to our unconscious brain, we enter the flow state—a form of brain activity experienced by different kinds of people, from elite athletes and meditation experts to professional writers and musicians. Many of whom call this state “the zone,” which arrives during total emersion in a task. In flow states, neural circuits run without conscious mind interference. Our perception clears, our unconscious awareness heightens, and feel-good chemicals flood the brain, which allows for intense focus and gratification.
Thanks to neuroscience, a distinct pattern in the brain emerges when we’re in the zone.
When we first enter flow, dopamine increases attention, information flow, and pattern recognition. It’s essentially a skill booster.
Norepinephrine speeds up the heart rate, muscle tension, and respiration. It triggers a glucose response to give us more energy, increase arousal, attention, neural efficiency, and emotional control, thus producing a high.
Endorphins (rooted from the word “endogenous,” meaning naturally internal to the body) relieve pain and induce pleasure. Strangely, these chemicals function like opioids, with 100 times the power of morphine.
Anandamide (stemming from the Sanskrit word for “bliss”) is an endogenous cannabinoid and feels like the psychoactive effect of marijuana. In flow states, anandamide elevates mood, relieves pain, dilates blood vessels, and aids in respiration. It also amplifies lateral thinking—the ability to link ideas together.
At the end of a flow state, serotonin floods the brain with an after-glow effect. This leaves us with a feeling of bliss and only occurs once we exit the zone.
Unlike many ordinary people, writers dip in and out of the zone on a regular basis. Did I just call us extraordinary? You bet I did! We have a pretty cool superpower. Don’tcha think?
Tips to Achieving Flow
- Balance challenge and skill.
If you’ve never written nonfiction, for example, you may find it difficult to enter the zone because your conscious awareness is stressed out. You’re too afraid of making a mistake to enter flow.
If something isn’t challenging enough, you’ll get bored easily. In turn, so will your reader. Not only will adding plenty of conflict improve your plot, but you’ll enter the zone quicker while writing.
- Establish clear goals.
I will write for three hours. I will write at least 1000 words today. I will write two scenes or one chapter. By establishing a daily writing goal, it relieves the pressure of having to finish the entire first draft by a certain date. How you choose to establish those goals is up to you.
- Reduce distraction.
You will never enter the zone if you’re checking for social media notifications or email every ten minutes. When it’s time to write, write. Save play time and the inbox for later.
- Stop multitasking.
Have you ever turned down the radio while searching for a specific house number or highway exit? You’re instinctively helping your brain to concentrate on a visual task. For more on why multitasking is so difficult and why we should avoid it before a writing session, see my 2021 post entitled Can Multitasking Harm the Brain?
- Don’t force it.
Some days, you’ll enter the zone. Other days, you won’t. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. You’ll still produce words and make progress.
- Enjoy the process.
You won’t enter flow unless you’re enjoying yourself. Simple as that. If you view writing as a chore, it may be time to step away from the WIP for a while. Yes, penning a novel is hard work, but it also should be enjoyable. If it’s not, you may want to ask yourself why you do it.
What were your biggest takeaways from this research? Are you surprised that we live on autopilot most of the time?
Interesting. I have taught myself, over many years, and because I have a damaged brain, to block the internet with a little program called Freedom when I’m ready to write. It basically covers steps 2., 3., and 4., above – setting the goal, reducing distractions, and preventing multitasking.
If I need something from the web while writing, something which can’t wait, I ask my phone. Normally I don’t do anything except timing and calls and occasionally texting on the phone, so I’m not a scroller. I don’t like the tiny print, so I rarely read on it, and it’s perfect for getting me ‘what year did X happen?’ or ‘how far is it from Y to Z?’ if I need actual information. I don’t even have games on it.
For me, with a limited window of functional time on even the best days, it’s crucial that I recognize and then use my bit of brain-on time for the thinking writing tasks, such as plotting.
1. and 5. – balance and not forcing – happen BEFORE I block the net: I play hard sudokus when I’m not sure the brain is on yet, and if they take 6 min. or less, we’re in the zone, and I pop Freedom on, and settle to see where I am from the notes of the previous day. I never know how long it will take, or if it will happen, but when we click, we stop the rest of the surfing and work.
I’ve been doing this for decades, It almost always works for me, and the use of 2-3 good hours a day, focused on the current scene, is the difference between moving the WIP forwards – and not. Not so much discipline, though it is, as knowing how fleeting the zone is, and that it will be another full day before I get another chance to try. Two big fat mainstream novels in 20+ years, and the third in the trilogy moving along is something I should not have been able to do.
The time would have passed anyway –
Fascinating, Alicia! You’ve hardwired your brain to work how you, as an individual, need it to. Gold star! LOL
Absolutely fascinating post, Sue. “Relinquishing control” can be hard, it certainly was for me, but it’s key to achieving flow state.
Back in late 2008, I took an epic eight-week writing course from a talented local writer, three hour sessions each Sunday afternoon. Each week we had homework focusing on one aspect of fiction writing craft: say conflict in a scene, or tension, or character goal. There would be a conscious exercise—sketch out conflict, or elements of tension, or come up with a character goal. Then we would speed write based on three story prompts after that. The idea in the second part was to help our subconscious learn and master that craft point by practicing while in flow. After a week, we’d move on to a new area. It was very effective.
BTW, I’m posting this early because I was up very late watching the successful launch of Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission 1 to the Moon. One of the payloads aboard the lander is the Writers On the Moon time capsule, an SD card containing the fiction of a group of authors, including myself. On February 23, it will touch down on the eastern “shore” of the Oceans of Storms. I’m gobsmacked, as the Brits say 🙂
Here’s the link to my “story”: https://www.writersonthemoon.com/stories-8-dale-ivan-smith/
Thanks for a thought-provoking and inspiring post, my friend! Have a wonderful week!
Wow, Dale, you must be over the moon (sorry) to have your stories launched into space. So cool!
So awesome, Dale! Though I wish humans would steer clear of landing on the moon, having one of your stories in a time capsule is super cool.
Sounds like a productive retreat back in 2008. I wonder if the teacher had studied the unconscious brain.
Wow, Dale. Wow. Congrats.
Congratulations, Dale! How exciting to have one of your stories in space!
Good morning, and happy New Year!
I so get being “in the zone” – I know I’m in it, or have been in it, when my “conscious mind” interrupts and tells me my hands and feet are cold… when I’m focused or engrossed in something.
I noticed it in high school, going to the movies, and my date(s) would point it out when I tried to hold their hands (at least that’s what I told myself… )
It shows up in the day job a lot – when I’m working on a design problem, or detailing something, even when “toggling” between drafting and Excel for something as tedious (and mundane) as square-footage reports… and it’s especially so with certain music in the background…
I s’pose it’s because the blood-flow is needed elsewhere…
In any event, the next thing I know/realize – my hands and feet are freezing, I’m late for lunch or gonna be late leaving the office, I’m left wondering what happened to the time… and while I might be a bit tired, I’m not exhausted…
Same thing happens when I’m on a “writing roll” – where’d the time go?
Now that you mention it, George, I’ve noticed cold feet as well. Hmm, maybe you’re onto something. Blood is needed elsewhere, so it limits the flow to the lower extremities. Either that, or we’re limiting blood flow from sitting in one position too long. 😉 Still a fascinating observation.
Please! Don’t tell anyone about the hand sanitizer thing, or we’ll be up to our eyebrows in antibacterial gel.
Haha! Believe me, Michael, I wavered on whether to mention the hand sanitizer. 😀
Sue, you’re singing my favorite song. The unconscious/subconscious is my best writing tool. As you say, it can be trained “through intense practice” to maximize productivity. Thanks for explaining the neurological process that makes writing fun.
The subconscious can absolutely be trained to solve plot problems. Pantsers like me sometimes wander down a dead end and can’t get out. When I’m stumped, I go for a walk. I don’t necessarily think about the problem yet somehow the answer always pops into my head. It works 100% of the time. Here’s a 2019 post I wrote about the phenomenon: https://killzoneblog.com/2019/02/eight-tricks-to-tap-your-subconscious-for-better-writing.html
Wishing you a great day in the zone, my friend!
Thanks, Debbie! This research also explains why we don’t remember writing certain passages while in the zone.
Write on, my friend!
I definitely feel my autopilot firing after “intense practice” Sue. That’s one thing I worry about with overdependence on AI. The writer’s “superpower” will atrophy as it lets the bot do more and more of the heavy lifting. That’s not a blanket condemnation of AI, which can sometimes help when you’re stuck in a cul-de-sac. But I think it’s better in the long run if we first try to work out of those situations ourselves and keep our writer’s brain in fighting trim.
Hundred percent agree, Jim. Not only will we “lose it if we don’t use it” but exercising our brain has numerous health benefits as well. Umpteen studies have been done on those who use their brain to create, and there’s a marked decline in Alzheimer’s and dementia cases. By using our brain, we keep it healthy and functioning at a high level.
“the more we practice, the more we hardwire our brains to work on autopilot.”
That’s the “secret” of martial artists — they’ve practiced basic punching and kicking techniques so many times, those actions have become automatic.
Oh, for sure, Mike. All athletes enter the zone. I read one study that showed batters actually see bigger baseballs and golfers see bigger holes. Amazing!
Fascinating post today!
What hit me was, “Have you ever driven home and not remembered how you got there?” I am a part time pizza driver and have been for a very long time. I have done this more than once. It is scary. I am in front of a regular customer’s house. How did I get here? Did I stop at all of the stop signs? Did I hit anything? Many of my pizza friends have had the same thing. We call it “Zombie Driving”. Glad to know the cause. Still not 100% on that stop sign thing.
Hahaha. Rest easy, Alan. Your unconscious brain knows to stop at a stop sign. It’s our conscious brain that wants to break the rules. 😉
Fascinating study, Sue, and a lot to digest here. This brings back a few (very few) memories of my Psych classes back in the day. Also triggered a memory of “The Hidden Persuaders” by Vance Packard, which included an experiment where people were evaluating laundry detergent, and the color of the box made a big difference in what they reported. All the boxes held the same detergent, of course. But that’s why Tide was packaged in red and yellow.
Fascinating, Terry. The documentary also showed an experiment using color. It’s amazing how much of our lives is influenced by things outside of our control. Interestingly, when colors are used on printed words, we really need to concentrate to recognize the correct color, especially if, say, red lettering spells out the word blue.
Very interesting information, Sue. Thanks!
In Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Flow, what really caught my attention was the balance between skill and challenge to enter flow. And in a graph (p. 74) where he drew out the relationship, it shows that as the skills improve, the challenges need to increase as well, or we become bored rather than entering flow.
Great post!
So true, Steve! Thanks for adding Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Flow. I’ll have to check it out.
In the words of Mr. Spock, Sue, “Fascinating…”
My favorite part? This is when the conscious brain needs to rise above the unconscious and make an executive decision on what to do.
Now where is that conscious guy when I’m staring down a leftover piece of fudge? Or, more applicably here, when my cursor is hovering over the SM tab?
This post is going into my file for further study. (And please don’t ask where the fudge went!)
🙂
Hahaha. Your secret’s safe with me, Deb! 😉
Fascinating post, Sue, and thanks for the tips of getting in and staying in the flow. I particularly like #1 “Balance challenge and skill.” Raising the bar has always been a motivator for me. It keeps me interested. Even when I don’t always clear it, it takes me to #6 “Enjoy the process.”
Flow on!
Agreed, Kay! Raising the bar works great.
Write on!
An amazing post, Sue. When I’m in the midst of writing a book, friends and family complain that I’m in “another world.” They’re right, and I’m just going through the motions in this one while I live with my imaginary friends.
Exactly, Elaine! I’m the same way. It can’t be easy to live with a writer. LOL
The power of the subconscious is a fascinating subject, Sue. Thanks for this piece. I think the ultimate success in writing is being able to transfer the subconscious of the writer into the subconscious of the reader. Zone to zone, so to speak.
Just a side note on the development of the human brain. I watched a fascinating TED Talk with neuroscientist Dr. Suzana Hercylano Houzel where she talks about the massive progress in the human brain once humans discovered how to cook food. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_XH1CBzGw
Ooh, I’ve read studies about that, Garry. Thanks for the link! Love TED Talks about the brain.
Both my living siblings work in brain science via psychology and AI. You’d have great discussions with them. I’m a writer trying to figure out why the crap people do what they do. My late eldest brother, the sadistic narcissist, really focused our futures.
The ancient Greeks thought that we do what we do because of outside influences, aka the gods. Until recently, that made as much sense as anything else.
You and me both, Marilynn. Other people’s actions often leave me speechless. Hence why I prefer the company of animals. 😉
You stirred the pot with this wonderful article. Thank you! And thanks for all the comments and links too. Such an inspiring topic and so worthy of further examination. I’ve been wondering if intense practice on my music has been using all my “band-width” and given me grief over my lack of imagination on the written page. But then I will look at journal entires, from, say a year ago, and discover that I’m actually interested in what the “past me” had to say about things. Once the mundane is out of the way, the magic happens.
Once the mundane is out of the way, the magic happens.
Precisely, Susan! Have fun in the rabbit hole. The more you research the brain, the more fascinating it gets, IMO.
Sue, this is great! Many thanks. I’m very interested. Jung says: “The question arises: ‘Has the unconscious consciousness of its own?'” I say yes.
The relevant brain region is the emergency response network, consisting of parts of the midbrain region, particularly the limbic system, including the amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, pons, etc. I call this network “The Guardienne,” because it is primarily protective. Note that the optic, auditory or olfactory nerves do not enter the frontal cortices but the limbic region.
For fastest response, the Guardienne is autonomous, i.e., it has the ability to assume and maintain control of the body, without pausing to ask permission, when it senses a threat. It is sentient (or semi-sentient) and, as a mechanism intended for emergencies, it is not equipped with a conscience, generally ignoring all but the immediate consequences of its actions.
When sufficiently triggered, the Guardienne partially or totally bypasses the frontal cortices, saving milliseconds in reaction time. The Guardienne thus provides (1) low response times, along with (2) enhanced athletic performance (“the Zone”), and (3) greater emergency strength.
The Guardienne may also explain to varying extents other familiar phenomena: (4) hypnic jerks, (5) high apparent dream speed, (6) sleep-walking, (7) savant syndrome, (8) déjà vu, (9) hypnosis, (10) creativity, (11) Freudian slips, and (12) highway hypnosis.
Negative effects of the Guardienne may include (13) alcoholism, (14) alcoholic blackouts, (15) high alcoholism rates among certain groups, (16) road rage, (17) denial, (18) insomnia, (19) PTSD, (20) bipolar disorder, et al.
I’ve written a few short papers* on the Guardienne concept that may be read on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Geoffrey-Guenther-2/research
* “Difficult to enter the zone for these, as Sue says!!!”