There's a half-conscious state you enter when you're actually generating prose, and you are simply a better writer in that place. In fact it's the only place where you even are a writer.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the unique state of flow that a writer experiences while creating, which enhances their writing ability.
John Jeremiah Sullivan highlights the importance of a specific mental state that writers enter when shaping their thoughts into prose. This 'half-conscious state' is crucial for creativity and authenticity, suggesting that true writing comes from a place beyond ordinary consciousness, where the writer can fully embody their role and tap into deeper ideas and emotions.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a writing workshop to inspire participants to embrace their creative state.
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Luxury is not a necessity to me, but beautiful and good things are.
Through the ingenuousness of her age beamed an ardent mind, a mind not of the women but of the poet; she did not please, she intoxicated.
Cinema is not a series of abstract ideas, but rather the phrasing of moments.
Relating a person to the whole world: that is the meaning of cinema.
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