We like to think that our successes in life are down to ourselves and our conscious mind with little account given to the workings of the subconscious mind. Yet, even at the everyday levels of absorbing the food in our stomach to regulating our breathing whilst asleep, or circulating blood around our body, it is not our conscious mind which manages and controls these activities. These actions are not a question of will-power or conscious thought. Our subconscious mind is an extremely powerful force which is always at our disposal, whether for these mundane bodily functions or for more creative processes. A surprising number of people have been inspired by their subconscious promptings, resulting in inventions, discoveries, artworks and creative ideas for writing.

In the 19th century chemists around the world were struggling to understand the nature of various materials including benzene, a natural substance found in coal-tar and widely used in the chemical industry. The structure of the benzene molecule, however, eluded the scientists. A German chemist by the name of Friedrich August Kekulé had been wrestling with the problem for many years before discovering the ring shape of the benzene molecule after having a reverie or day-dream of a snake seizing its own tail (this is a common symbol in many ancient cultures). This vision, he said, came to him after years of studying the nature of carbon-to-carbon bonds. This was seven years after he had solved the problem of how carbon atoms could bind with to up to four other atoms at the same time. This experience points to a common theme in inspirational moments: they often come when we are deeply relaxed (or daydreaming as in this case) – precisely when the conscious mind is least involved in conscious and rational thinking.

In our next example, the English author Thomas Hardy was probably focused on one thing alone: pruning his apple trees in his beloved cottage garden. He later said that, seemingly from out of nowhere, whilst at the top of his pruning ladders, there popped into his head a plot for his next novel. What was unusual, however, was that the idea for the plot was accompanied by detailed outlines of the main characters and even examples of dialogue. Deciding to carry on with his pruning, his wife interrupted him some time later to tell him he had a visitor, by which time everything about this new novel had gone from his mind, never to return. His advice to writers: carry a pen and notebook with you at all times to prevent the loss of ideas such as he had.

The Scottish writer Robert Lewis Stevenson (1850-1894), creator of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, had this work published in 1886 and it sold a phenomenal (for those days) 40,000 copies within six months. Stevenson once said that its plot was revealed to him in a dream. As he recounted later, "For two days I went about racking my brains for a plot of any sort; and on the second night I dreamed the scene at the window, and a scene afterward split in two, in which Hyde, pursued for some crime, took the powder and underwent the change in the presence of his pursuers."

Stevenson went on write a ‘Chapter on Dreams’ in which he introduces the reader to his Little People or Brownies:

"Who are the Little People? They are near connections of the dreamer’s… they have plainly learned like him to build the scheme of a considerate story and to arrange emotion in progressive order; only I think they have more talent; and one thing is beyond doubt, they can tell him a story piece by piece, like a serial, and keep him all the while in ignorance of where they aim…"

"And for the Little People, what shall I say they are but just my Brownies, God bless them! Who do one-half my work for me while I am fast asleep, and in all human likelihood, do the rest for me as well, when I am wide awake and fondly suppose I do it for myself That part which is done while I am sleeping is the Brownies’ part beyond contention; but that which is done when I am up and about is by no means necessarily mine, since all goes to show the Brownies have a hand in it even then."

So there is no question about the power of the subconscious mind, but how are writers to tap-in to this source of inspiration? There are at least two times in the day when a person is very relaxed (and therefore in a receptive state for ideas and inspiration): first thing in the morning, when just waking up, and last thing at night, before going to sleep. Using a pen and notepad, take advantage of these periods to scribble down whatever comes into your mind at such times (or any other quiet times and spaces), including any dreams – you will surprise yourself at the value of this activity if carried out over a period of weeks or months. Your notebook from these times could then flush out all sorts of creative hares, coursing off on unforeseen writing adventures. So, start now with your very own inspirational journal – you will find it a valuable approach to writing research.