fighting consciousness

Junot Diaz says that 90% of the novel is unconscious. Marion Winik agrees this is true with any written work. I agree with them. That 90%, the layering, the themes, those surprisingly meaningful yet seemingly inconsequential charecters or scenes or details, that really hook people to a piece of writing are not often planned. Our unconscious is better than us.

It occurred to me today that this is why I struggle with Memoir. Or why memorist struggle with fiction. Or why any author who struggles with something out of their genre struggles at all. When we are writing what we are comfortable writing we don't over think it. We blissfully beleive we are making all the decisions and let our unconscious take control of our fingers and turn out something that means something. But when we enter unfamiliar territory we freak out. We think - this is new, this is different. We fight the unconscious. We try so hard to consciously make every decision. I must write this sentence this way. I need to make sure it fits this form. We think far too often- what next? instead of just writing and seeing what comes next.

Now that I am aware of it I must fight it. When I sit down to write non fiction, I need to forget I am doing it. I need to forget that I am writing about me. I need to stop trying to edit and just write. This I know will prove difficult, but it is the only way.

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