Some might say: willingness to bring out the feelings and words, living in our minds, exposing them, revealing ourselves to ourselves and others.

Some might say: a state of dissociated mind where reality is held at a distance and fantasy is invited to play; psychosis.

Some might say: psychological unease is necessary to express angst, sadness, darkness; the ability to wrestle with feelings and wring out of them the words that form bridges to other people who feel similarly.

Some might way: a flow state of mind where words and images mingle; where writing is free-flow, with no form intended.

Some might say: a sense of courage, fearlessness, and bravery to sit down and see what thoughts show up.

Some might say: a mystical state, induced by prayer, meditation, drugs, or psychosis.

But, I think you are enough. You don’t have to be psychotic, addicted, in a suicidal state of despair, or brave to be a creative writer. But, plenty of writers do struggle with intense emotions and succeed at finding the words that touch our pain, too. I guess it shows you don’t have to be happy to write.

Maybe writers we know and love have written great works in those states of mind, but so have writers written good works in a clear state of mind, with intention, integrity, and the discipline of sitting in the chair. I guess it shows you can be happy and write. Some days are clear and sunny; some are rainy and cloudy. We can write in any state, any weather, don’t you think?

Some people need a plan. A time. An intention. Some people need support and other people around. Some need solitude. Probably, a good plan would include all of these.

Start off with writing down what happened today and how you felt about it. If you’re developing characters in your story or novel, you can do this with your characters, too. What do you imagine they would tell you about their day? Write it down. Now you are writing dialog. See how easy that was?