[LisaB] Susan, could you please start us off tonight by telling us a little about what the concept of "flow" means?/ 

[bunnyape] Hello everyone. I'm assuming you're all moms and you all write. Let me start by asking you each one question before I explain flow: have you ever been so busy with something, so deeply into it that time just disappeared?/ 

[barefoot] many times with me 

[LisaB] I can relate to that, yes/ 

[Bean] I as well 

[bunnyape] Okay, that's flow. the most universal aspect of flow is feeling that you're out of normal time./ 

[barefoot] ? 

[LisaB] So, flow would be an incredibly useful thing for us writers, then!/ 

[bunnyape] Flow is an altered state that you enter into when you're so deeply engaged by what you're doing that you want to keep doing it regardless of reward or anything on the outside./ 

[TracyS] ? 

[LisaB] Karen go ahead 

[barefoot] is it like when you are writing and the kids say "we are hungry" and I reply - "you know where the frige is?"/ 

[bunnyape] Flow is SO useful to writers because it feels good, and when you feel good about your writing, you'll do it more regularly and get better at it./ Sorry I forget to raise my hand!! 

[bunnyape] ! 

[bunnyape] Lisa, should I just answer questions as they come up or wait for you to call on me? 

[LisaB] I'm sorry...my chat window freaked out on me... 

[bunnyape] There are so few of us, I think we can just wing it, no? 

[LisaB] Yes, Susan...please do answer right afte rht question! 

[JenM] ! 

[LisaB] Go ahead, Susan./ 

[bunnyape] Okay, when you tell your hungry kids to help themselves, you may very well be in flow. One of the 76 novelists and poets I interviewed for my book said that when her husband calls up to her study and says, is this the chicken to defrost, she says, "chicken? what's a chicken?" 

[Bean] ? 

[barefoot] then I understand totally 

[bunnyape] Didn't Jen have a comment and Bean a question? 

[LisaB] LOL...TRacy, go ahead... 

[TracyS] The only time I can get into a writing state like that (I'm mom to 3) is around 11 p.m. when everyone is in bed. How do you get into flow in short spurts of time and during sane hours?/ 

[bunnyape] Aha. If you're typically the kind of person who prefers to write in longer bursts, then motherhood is going to be a challenge. Lots of writers I talked to do exactly what you do, adjust to the needs of their families. 

[Bean] that was my question also 

[LisaB] Susan.../ 

[Bean] ? 

[LisaB] I think that is a problem for a lot of us. 

[bunnyape] But you can learn to enter flow more quickly and predictably -- though NO guarantees, by learning more about flow and your own creative process. 

[Bean] What if you have the time but can't seem to (bring on the flow )?/ 

[bunnyape] Let me just give you one example of what some writers do, they choose a particular music album for each new project, and play it to get themselves into it. 

[bunnyape] Carolyn see told me she would never be able to play her writing music in the car or it would immediately put her into a trance. 

[LisaB] Your comment, Jen...?/ 

[bunnyape] There are also many ways to loosen yourself up and focus in more predictably. 

[LisaB] (Sorry...hit enter too soo) 

[JenM] so, it's a matter of using cues then, to help yourself get into flow/ 

[bunnyape] To a certain extent, yes. All those rituals writers get hooked- on -- the favorite pen or whatever, serve a very real purpose. 

[JenM] ? 

[LisaB] So writng at the same time each day would be helpful too? 

[bunnyape] They help your body and brain make the big switch into the altered state. Like walking past a bakery and smelling goodies. You salivate. Writing CAN be a little like that with the right cues for you personally. 

[bunnyape] Again, to a certain extent, that's true. 

[LisaB] Jen.../ 

[bunnyape] but some people learn to write whenever, just like new moms CAN learn to catch a catnap when their tots sleep. 

[beano] ? 

[JenM] So when I get stuck and can't write, part of what's happening is that I've got a ritual that isn't working for me - it's too complicated or not simple enough for my lifestyle? 

[bunnyape] Could very well be. OR you may not be motivated enough. 

[Bean] ? 

[bunnyape] Could very well be. OR you may not be motivated enough. 

[Bean] ? 

[bunnyape] sometimes we just want the immediate gratification of whatever is easiest. We all make so many excuses.... Not that they don't feel real!! 

[LisaB] Trina (beano).../ 

[bunnyape] Let me ask you all this, to help figure out how motivated you are. Say you just won $40 million. What would you do? Get a terrific sitter and write and write? Or other stuff? 

[beano] I've got a routine down, but it takes a long time to get the flow going. How do I accelerate the process so that I won't get going just when it's time to pick up the kids?/ 

[bunnyape] Someone asked me that. If you try to force it, you're going to go mad. Be sure to leave whatever you're writing in such a way that your subconscious keeps working on it while you're away from your desk. Then TRY to spend a little time later in the day doing a bit more. 

[LisaB] April (bean)... 

[bunnyape] Something else came to me when I was working on my book -- remember, I was a writing mom for a long, long time. (Now they're grown.) 

[Bean] I have been trying tso hard to be present that I have lost getting into the flow . What sthe best way too get it back 

[bunnyape] But here it is: be sure you practice getting fully focussed when you're with your kids -- that ability to totally tune into where you are can then carry over into your writing. 

[bunnyape] What do you mean "trying too hard to be present that you lost the flow?" 

[Bean] "IN the Moment " Not dis connect from where I am . / 

[bunnyape] But that's good! So why do you think that has inhibited your writing in flow? 

[Bean] I 've been scared to (not be present ) in the real world . that it makes it difficult to get into a flow / 

[bunnyape] In case we run out of time, let me give you my web site -- it has generous excerpts from my book Writing in Flow, including some good exercises: www.bunnyape.com. 

[bunnyape] You said you get scared of not being present in the real world. Very interesting. 

[bunnyape] Do you mean you're afraid of not being there for your kids if you lose yourself in your imagination? 

[Bean] Yes 

[bunnyape] You said you get scared of not being present in the real world. Very interesting. 

[bunnyape] Do you mean you're afraid of not being there for your kids if you lose yourself in your imagination? 

[Bean] Yes 

[Bean] Yes 

[bunnyape] Oooh. Sounds like a bigger issue than you think or than I can solve right now. Fear of flow is not uncommon. You need to look at what you're really afraid of. And also, it may work best for you to carve out very specific writing times that won't take away from your kids when they really need you to be there. And then, on top of that, maybe you really WANT to be with your kids more than you want to write. Not a terrible thing! 

[LisaB] Judy, you're next.../ 

[Judy] How do you deal with and recover flow crashes? I'll be flowing along nicely with the imagination further down stream than the typing fingers. I 'll get interupted, all my thoughts go flying, and it's a scramble trying to recover them. I never do find all the parts and pieces again. 

[bunnyape] You learn to let go. Sigh. Everyone gets interrupted, esp. moms. Some writers told me they tried to think of interruptions as a challenge, and think of challenges as good. 

[bunnyape] Also, learn to take lots of notes, so you'll lose less. 

[bunnyape] This period of time with young kids is relatively short in the space of a full writing career. I know that you want it ALL, kids and time to write, but something has to give. I always suggest prioritizing. I assume you've all already given up dusting and its ilk. 

[LisaB] Susan has a chapter in her book about techniques for "luring" flow...I think many of those might be ideas that might answer some of our questions about getting flow to happen? 

[LisaB] Is that accurate, Susan?/ 

[bunnyape] One of them was the music I mentioned. Another is ANY routine physical exercise -- a walk around the block with a baby. 

[bunnyape] Yes, it's accurate that the book does offer many many ways to lure flow. 

[bunnyape] And be aware that short little bursts of flow can work really well. 

[LisaB] Susan, do you have any final comments you would like to make tonight on "flow" or your book or anything else?/ 

[bunnyape] I'd like to say "hang in there." This mom period is astonishingly short, all things considered. Please check my web site -- you can send me questions from there if you like -- and you can find WRITING IN FLOW at all bookstores. Good luck! 

[barefoot] thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge with us 

[LisaB] Thank you so much for being our guest tonight, Susan! It was a pleasure to have you here! 

[bunnyape] The pleasure was definitely mine!