Getting to the Zen: Head Down, Cranking Up the Word Count

Living in the now can be so very good. I thought not of yesterday or tomorrow as I buckled down and let the words flow. I managed to hit the sweet spot of the zen and served as a conduit for the words. You’re thinking that’s all well and good for me, but how does that help you? Well, if you’re a big fan of Reality Blurs and, hey, I truly hope you are, that means good stuff is coming, right? If you’re not, there’s still hope for you, but you may be here to create your own stuff, so here’s the way to get to the zen.

Getting to the zen is a tricky matter if you think about it. It’s like a ninja or Santa Claus. If you’re looking for the zen, you’re not gonna find it because, hey, you’d be living in the future rather than the now. So, let’s get to the whole now of zen.

1. Be prepared.

2. Have notes.

3. Give a lot of thought to what you’re doing.

4. Think about all the worldly stuff. The RL stuff like bills and broads and bullets. Y’know, things that can hurt you in a million ways. Think about friends and family and all the things you love, like blueberry donuts.

5. Now forget all of that.

6. I’m not kidding.

7. Sit down and let your mind get into the space of the material.

8. Stretch your legs.

9. Relax.

10. Let it occupy all of you.

Now comes the tricky part.

11. Start writing.

12. End writing.

Seriously, this sounds like a lot of stuff, but it can be consolidated down into a more simple meditative technique–gather up all your thoughts on the external world into a tight mental ball, cast it out, and let your words fill you.

This technique promotes hyperfocus. It’s nothing mystical. We’re not bending spoons or levitating ourselves three feet off the floor. Our minds are our most powerful muscle and, while a great vocabulary and perfect grammar are beneficial to a writer, just as a sword and pistol are appropriate to a swashbuckler, tools are only as good as the person wielding them. Master yourself. Master your craft.

Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!