Getting in the Zone

As early as high school, I started to realize I was a daydreamer. Scenes. Characters. Characters in scenes. Myself in scenes. I would suddenly ‘wake up’ having been completely teleported elsewhere while things played like movies in my head. I have no control of when this happens. It’s just like falling asleep. I’m sitting there thinking about chimichangas and then all of a sudden my alarm is going off, and I have no memory of actually falling asleep.

Sometimes it can be spooky. The depth at which I disappear in these daydreams renders the real world nonexistent. I don’t just think about a scene and visualize it like I’m watching through a window. I’m actually there. Sometimes I even find myself moving my mouth with the dialog in these scenes, or making the facial expressions the POV character is making. I’m weird, I know this, but your concern is still appreciated.

As I am very original with my coined terms, I have come to call this ‘the Zone’. This is the point at which the real world disappears, and I drop into a scene with my whole consciousness. It is vital to my writing and during the first draft of “The Songsman” I really started to notice it and how it worked, so I could control it better. I don’t think I’m particularly unique in this, so maybe what I learned can help you drop in the zone in a more controlled manner as well.

Know your triggers and banish them

Keeping with the sleep analogy, dropping into the zone is not as much a matter of knowing how to get into the zone, as much as knowing what prevents it. Once I understood this, I found that banishing these things made the zone more predictable. Just like sleep. I don’t do something to trigger me to fall asleep. I eliminate anything that would prevent it, and it just happens.

Obviously, things like loud noise, dogs barking and the like will prevent the zone. However, there are more subtle barriers to guard against. It’s not just the immediate interruption, but the fear of a possible interruption that will keep me from getting in the zone. Said in other words, if I fear someone might interrupt me, I focus on that fear and can’t drop in the zone. So I have to pick a time when I know for sure, no one will interrupt.

My sixth grade teacher was a Vietnam Veteran. He was everyone’s favorite teacher. He had two quirks that three generations of students all knew. One was, you never made a mistake if you were on Flag Duty and the second was, you did not get behind him, or he would bark at you. Not literally like a dog, but we all knew not to get behind him as he had issues with it. Having been in the Army too, I understand why.

When it comes to getting in the zone, feeling a person behind me causes a state of uncertainty. I focus on that and as a result, I can’t get in the zone. It’s true of not just people behind me, but just in range of me.

As a result of fear of impending interruption and possible prying eyes behind and near me, I generally need to be in seclusion to really get good ‘in the zone’ writing or planning done. This does not mean I have to be locked in an office. This applies out in the world as well, while walking for example. In either case, for times when I want to control going into the zone, I found I needed to set up both my time and my space.

Set up time

I have to work a full time job. I also have a family, to include two rabbits. Given the above issues of barriers to getting in the zone, the times at which I know I won’t be interrupted, and I can be secluded from prying eyes, are limited.

I can count on every night after everyone is in bed. I will have two hours before my brain fully shuts off and tells me to pound sand if I try and make it think more. There is also the rare occasion when my family leaves for the day. These days are precious, and I do everything to capitalize on them when I know they are coming.

So what do I do to really get the most of these times and set them up? I prep what I’m going to write, flesh out any outlines or plans beforehand. For the nightly writing time, this means doing some of this at work.

For the rare full day writing session, I will even drink and eat well the night before to make sure I wake up ready to go. I will also stop at the store the day before, so I have lunch and other supplies for the big writing day. Wasting two hours driving around town doing errands and getting a taco will ruin it for me, and these days are huge boosts to my progress, so I take them seriously and get ready for them.

Set up Space

I hate wires. I hate them. Almost as much as I hate burrito sauce dripping down my wrists when I’m eating a drippy burrito (I call these Drippy Burrito Rages). I also find random garbage and loose knickknacks on my desk distracting. Before trying to get in the zone, I clean my desk and everything in peripheral view around my monitor. I have also designed my desk and work area to be minimalistic and clean, in addition to having minimal wire clutter. I’m serious, they annoy me.

For more serious writing sessions, like my full day power sessions, I will even turn my attention outside my office and do things while I wake up and have my morning coffee. Things like making sure my pet rabbits are fed and eliminate things that might cause them to make noise, like loud chew toys. I also do other house chores that could lead to me breaking out of the zone with that wonderful ‘there’s stuff I have to do’ feeling. This takes discovery and learning. I’m sure everyone has different triggers, but for me, I take out the garbage or whatever I have on my mind that I might need to do, as part of setting up my space.

Music

Sometimes the zone is elusive or it’s hard to direct my mind to focus on something I need it to. To combat this, I found music helpful. It can really help bring my mind to bear on something when I pick music that fits.

Writing a scene where the protagonist and antagonist have an epic duel? ‘Duel of the Fates’ by John William’s and any of the other remakes around the internet.

Writing a flirty date scene? For some reason, I find Japanese Lo-Fi mixes great for this.

How about a chase scene through some ruins or a fight with twenty mutant gladiators? Dark Techno mixes. I like the one’s labeled ‘John Wick’ or ‘Blade’, but they can’t have human voices in them. For some reason I focus on the voice, either just talking or singing, and it snaps me out of the zone instantly.

Even just plotting, planning or working on a character. Adding music that fits the mood of what I’m doing can really help me get in the zone. Although I’ve found there is a point where my brain starts pushing back, and I need to turn it off.

Learn to Let Go

Sometimes it’s just not happening. I have days when things are a disaster and I just can’t get my brain to drop in the zone. I always give it a good effort, but at some point I will admit that it’s not going to happen and focus on relaxing, so I can be successful the next day. Whether it’s play a game, read, watch a movie or just go to bed early, I will sacrifice the now for a better future.

And even with that, I try to use the time for inspiration gathering and motivation while I’m recharging my brain. Particularly when using it to consume stories by reading or watching a movie etc. I’ve gotten several ideas that way. In addition, consuming other stories helps to remind me why I’m writing in the first place, which is a source of motivation as well. So it’s not lost time.

Conclusion

The Zone. The Daydream. I used to think it meant I was spacey and distracted. At times, I even thought it meant I was insane. Then I realized that it’s a part of my natural tool set God gave me, because I’m a storyteller, a world builder, a writer. As I’ve learned more about it, and me for that matter, I realize the daydream is not the distraction, the real world is.

I hope this is useful to those who may not be in tune with their zone. If it is, please let me know in the comments and maybe some of your tips or funny triggers you have. I’m serious about wires.