Those aren't stupid questions; I (among many, many other people) asked the same thing when they first read up on the WILD technique!

The trick to WILD is not to stay fully conscious, but to stay along the line dividing consciousness and unconsciousness. For a better idea of what this means, have a look at Jeff's free-falling WILD guide if you haven't yet. It's that point where you're very close to falling unconscious but you still have an awareness of what's happening. You don't want to stay focused on your body at all, and instead let your thoughts wander - don't let them wander too far though, because if you do, that's what will make you fall asleep normally.

Depending on how tired you are and what time you try the WILD, it'll take roughly from 20 minutes to an hour. Usually for me, I attempt my WILDs during a nap (4 - 5 hours after waking up for the day) and get to SP within 30 minutes of deep relaxation and letting my mind wander.

What makes WILD that bit more difficult is just training yourself to keep your thoughts wandering, but to stop them from wandering too far without being too active in the matter. You'll get it though!

Moved your thread to the WILD subforum, too.