Writer's state of mind

What’s your writing state of mind these days? How do you access that “mysterious faculty” where insight and imagination are nurtured? How do your instincts about your writing ability help you? What’s your experience of being in “the writing zone”?

Whatever we do in our lives, is largely dependent on how we are feeling at that particular point of time. Be it doing the daily mundane stuff or getting on with our creative self. That state of mind reflects in our spirits of doing things. Be it in writing or any thing else. When I am elated or downright down in the dumps, words simply seem to pour out. Maybe so much so that I have to stop those. I look, I observe, I imbibe and then I write. With too many thoughts. With no thoughts. It works both ways. Any experience, small or big, can make our mind go in many different ways.

For any writer, something compels us to write. It might be in any form, essays, fiction, poetry or even disjointed thoughts, all jumbled up within us. To decipher all those, the onus lies on us. I might have a concrete thought about what I am going to write but somehow imagination takes over along with insight and I end up with a completely different piece. Isn't it what is mystery of writing? Instinct has a role to play in it. I have found out that when I can't get anything across, the waves of words that gush out help me cope better. To any situation. The days I am unable to write, I feel like a bummer.

What is this writing zone? How does one define it? For me when flying words get caught in my mind and a some kind of order is established, it helps me write. For better. And for worse. Becos trash too helps me cope up. When I get it out, I know that I can improve on my writing. Like mood swings, we do have writing swings. And it is for the good. To show us that we too can fall and fail. Only to pick ourselves up. Is it not writing like a performing art? We do it for our readers, though. I take a sympathetic view of those creative artists who cannot perform at the drop of a hat. As with writers.

How do you feel about it? Can you identify with imagination playing along with insight? Does absence from writing for whatsover reason, affects you?