How Do I Write Way More than a Million Words a Year?
The secret is flow
People often ask me how I get so much done. And I am usually sort of shocked that they think I get a lot done. And so I go and look for “proof” about whether this is true or not.
Data stuff: So, I write about a million words a year just on our hyper-local newspaper that we have.
That doesn’t count this newsletter, editorial feedback, posts, my other newsletters or book drafts.
So, how do I do that?
The secret is flow.
That sounds like a Draino commercial from the 1970s.
But it’s not, I promise!
If you’ve never heard of it, a flow state is just a state of being.
A long time ago—back in the 1980s—this guy Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was studying happiness. He gave people pagers.
Remember this was in the 1980s.
Then he and his research assistants would send the people messages at random times and ask how they were doing, feeling, what they were doing, etc. It sounds a bit like when your mom texts you, honestly.
And he discovered flow. People were happy when they were super engaged in the task they were doing. People weren’t happy when they were doing nothing. They were happy when they were involved in something. Playing soccer. Playing music. Creating art. Solving a problem.
Minds were blown.
When people were in the ‘flow,’ they forgot about time, space, all the other detritus in their lives. They were focused on the now, on what they were doing.
What they were doing might be writing, sports, hanging out with other humans, art, and so on…
But for them the involvement was so intense that they became engaged and absorbed into it and were happy.
In a TedTalk Csikszentmihalyi showed a slide about happiness and money (that’s the image above) and said that since 1956 pretty much every study has showed that 30% of Americans declared their lives “very happy.”
Intrigued, he began to research artists who described the flow state and how for many when they were in it, they didn’t realize where the music, writing, or art was coming from. It was almost as if they lost their self in the process of creating.
How cool is that?
They didn’t just lose track of time, but they were so involved with the process that they lost a bit of self. That is an ecstatic state.
He said in that TedTalk:
Mike Oppland summarizes the eight traits of flow for the website Positive Psychology as:
“Complete concentration on the task;
Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback;
Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down);
The experience is intrinsically rewarding;
Effortlessness and ease;
There is a balance between challenge and skills;
Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination;
There is a feeling of control over the task.”
His article has a ton of interesting information about flow and the link is below. But quickly, it’s believed that some personalities achieve flow more often and that’s usually, he says, “people tend to do things for their own sake rather than chasing some distant external goal. This type of personality is distinguished by certain meta-skills such as high interest in life, persistence, and low self-centeredness.” So, autotelic people.
He writes:
“It’s important to note that one can’t experience flow if distractions disrupt the experience (Nakamura et al., 2009). Thus, to experience this state, one has to stay away from the attention-robbers common in a modern fast-paced life. A first step would be to turn off your smartphone when seeking flow.
So, how about you? Do you ever experience flow? Is it like Nakamura says for you? Are you an autotelic personality, do you think? Did you use to experience and now you’ve lost it?
So, for us writers and artists, getting into flow can be hard. But, it’s usually a place we’d like to be so that we can get those million-plus words out.
HOW DO YOU GET INTO THAT FLOW STATE?
FIRST YOU CHILL
You have to try to chill. Really. You sort of have to let go of anxiety and all the things that might interrupt you. Put the phone on silent. Maybe give the dogs a snack or something. You want to not be stressed or interrupted.
BUT YOU ALSO WANT TO HYPE YOURSELF UP
For some reason caffeine really helps a lot of people get amped up enough to start being in that flow state.
MAYBE TAKE A SHOWER IF YOU CAN’T RELAX
Writers are known for getting epiphanies in the shower. There’s a reason for this.
Showers let you not be distracted. They also are warm and cozy.
GET IDEAS FIRST
Do not dopamine-scroll on social media, but instead maybe read some other people’s blogs or newspaper features/magazine essays. Or even—gasp—take 15 minutes to read a book. I know! I know! Books!
The point is to let the ideas of others rattle around inside your brain and make connections and little epiphanies.
Ideas sometimes come from music, too. Do you have a super inspiring track that might help? Put it on.
Now go.
COOL QUOTE
“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile” - (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
FOR YOU WRITERS, HERE ARE SOME TOTALLY FREE CONTESTS/AWARDS HAPPENING IN MAY
Genre: Poetry. “We are looking for poems that use the word “fable” in imaginative ways.”
Prize: $300, $200, and $100 will go to the top three winners.
Deadline: May 15, 2025.
Speculative Literature Foundation Older Writers Grant.
Restrictions: Open to writers who are fifty years of age or older at the time of grant application.
Genre: Speculative fiction.
Prize: $500.
Deadline: May 31, 2025.
Genre: Short story. Length: 6000 - 10,000 words.
Prize: $100 plus 50% of subscription revenue to be sent by Paypal, Zelle, or check.
Deadline: May 31, 2025.
Reprints are ok so long as you still have the rights to distribute.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
This TedTalk by Andy Puddicombe is all about the transformative power of taking ten mindful minutes.
That TedTalk referenced above.
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2009). Flow theory and research. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology, 195-206.
QUICK NOTE
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