Writing from the Subconscious

Whilst we like to think we are in control when we are writing, in reality most of the decisions we make are entirely subconscious. We make small decisions based on what we have seen before (because we [[ Copy-to-Understand-the-Rules ]]). A word may have associations that we don’t realise consciously that may guide us, or we may be drawn to stories that have different resonances to us.

Writing-is-Thinking because in the process we may dredge up something new from the subconscious.

I see it as a boat on a vast ocean, casting out nets into the depths and seeing what comes up.

Writing requires the use of the whole mind, both its sober, logical, sequential half and its savage twin: unconscious, instinctive, libidinal, maybe extrasensory. You can write something perfectly decent with only the use of the first, but without the second you will never achieve transcendence. – Lucy Sante