Dream on

I've just had to hand a sticky writing problem over to my subconscious and I am reminded of the two times just this summer when different colleagues have challenged the wisdom of just such a move. "You've got to be joking," they say, or "No one works that way." I do, and I know I'm not the only one.

Here's how it works: suppose I get stuck at a particular point in a writing project and no matter how I approach it, it just gets more muddled. Instead of continuing to beat my head against the wall, I walk away and leave the problem behind, focusing instead on something totally unrelated. Sleep is best, but a long walk in the woods or an encounter with a kitchen full of fresh vegetables will work just as well; the primary requirement is that whatever I'm doing must engage my full attention and have absolutely no relation to the writing project.

Then when I go back to the problem, what do I find? The answer. I can't count the number of times I've handed a problem over to my subconscious only to wake up the next morning knowing the perfect way to fix it. If I could bottle this ability and put it on the open market, I'd be on my way to an exotic island paradise (preferably not located in Lake Erie). If I can do this, why not everyone else?

Maybe they've never tried. Maybe we need a series of periodic mandatory national drills in which workaholics will be confronted by armed enforcers hollering, "Put your hands in the air and walk away from the problem. Don't look back! Let it go! Now, take a few deep breaths and get into this scuba gear."

I know I'm dreaming. Not that that's a bad thing. Dreaming may be just what I need right about now, because when I wake up I expect to find an answer. How about you?