Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

I thought I would write briefly, to take a break from my reading (which has mostly been about the process of writing). A lot of the books offer similar viewpoints when it comes to the creative process; they urge writers to train their mind to access the unconscious, almost like some sort of martial discipline, and harness and manipulate it. And they talk about the benefits of being able to do so.

When I write, though, I’m not in charge of my unconscious like that – at least I don’t think I am. I don’t plan or structure anything very much, and often the process of writing is a surprising one. It feels as though, although you can attempt to harness it, the unconscious is something like an untrained animal; it is ultimately the animal that pulls you along, and not the other way around.

A project might start as one thing, and over time turn into something else entirely. But that’s what makes it such an interesting thing – writing and the unconscious both.

And speaking of the unconscious, here is an article on brain music, which I just thought was interesting, and a good way to wrap up the blog.