Guided Writing — How To (Answer to a Reader’s Question)

I do my guided writing early in the morning in the in-between land of sleep and wakefulness. You have to be sufficiently awake to write but not too awake for your ego or inner critic to start offering opinions on what makes sense and what is stupid. I have a journal app on my phone and when I wake up I type whatever comes in my mind without having to get up the bed or turn the lights on. It feels like a a game of associations - all breaks are off and you surf your mental scape one thought or idea at a time. The first several phrases can be just a filler, a warm up of a sort. Afterwards, you lose the self-consciousness and just string along words without much premeditation. When you pause and start wondering over best words or appropriate grammar, you know you are done. And here is something surprising I discovered. If I fell asleep with a persistent question that bothered me the night before, I would find answers in my morning writings the next day even if I forgot all about it while I slept. I hope this helps!