“Write what you know is advice most writers have heard a thousand times (and many good writers ignore). Knowing is, of course, the work of the rational part of your mind. To access the realm of no-mind, we need to write from not-knowing. In Zen, this is sometimes called “beginner’s mind.” It can also be thought of as “child’s mind.” Beginners and children start with a fresh slate. They don’t make all sorts of assumptions based on prior knowledge. They keep their eyes open and their imaginations free. Writing from this open, unrestrained place can help us develop no-mind.” (From Chapter 4, “Crazy Wisdom”).
This section of Sacred Path had special resonance for me. It was a section I lingered over and thought about for a long time before writing it.
I didn’t have Linda Hollier’s blog to read at the time, or I certainly would have used her intelligent post on “Fog, Mindfulness, and Unknowing.” Hollier writes, “When moving within the confines of the fog, the knowledge of where something is has to be suspended for the experience of being acutely conscious of the surroundings one finds oneself in. What is behind one and in front of one is hardly visible. Experiencing the immediate is of paramount importance before one can move forward.”
How useful these words are to writers! We are constantly writing forward, not knowing what lies ahead. Giving in to that “unknowing” is one of the most important skills writers can develop.
For more insight into the notion of unknowing, read Hollier’s full post here.