Automatic writing is the method of writing in a state of trance by letting your subconscious mind introduce words on paper. In general, this method is used for self-discovery and to help people connect with their souls in order to attain peace of mind.
But how does this help content writers, you ask?
Suppose you sit down to write an article. You know how you want your article to read, and you’ve got piles of research on your theme, the only thing left is compiling all that data into one meaningful piece of information. So how do you begin? What shall your introductory paragraph be? You have ten different ways of beginning your paragraph but it’s difficult to form one coherent sentence. This is where automatic writing comes in.
Think about it. You already unconsciously know how a good piece of writing feels. Instead of racking your brains trying to figure out angles of entry, and being mired in a calculation, you can simply write from feeling. Let yourself write by shutting off your inner critic, and you’ll find, like a conversation, it’s easier after a couple of beers (this is not us advocating the maxim of “write drunk, edit sober”, mind), so will be your writing. Words that fit perfectly will simply flow out of the cursed cursor on the screen.
To begin writing automatically what you need is:
- A serene environment, to keep your mind from any distractions;
- A pen and a paper, although some may prefer typing on their computers;
- A clear mind, one of the most important requirements for the task.
Before I started writing this article, I wanted to try automatic writing so as to get some first-hand experience. And what I found out was that automatic writing taps into the deepest corners of your mind. The state of trance you are delivered to is powerful and overpowering. It’s important to know that not everything you write is supposed to make sense. The whole purpose of writing automatically is to clear your head to get a clearer image of what your idea is.
Below are some pictures from my notebook.
- I started with writing the first phrase I could think of on top of the page. Again, nothing is supposed to make sense. Your thoughts can be completely unrelated. At times you may come up with weird sentences that have no meaning. This exercise is to distinguish such meaningless sentences with meaningful ones. The next step was to clear my head, close my eyes and start scribbling.
- After I started jotting down, I didn’t stop. For the next 5-10 minutes, I put down every thought that crossed my mind. I had to write quickly so I could grasp as much as possible.
- Then, I read what I’d written and highlighted whatever I found useful. I used one of these words/phrases as the phrase for the next page and started again. I repeat the cycle until I had collected enough data for compilation.
- By the end of the third cycle, my body felt a lot lighter and as I was writing, my hands felt like air. I felt relaxed and I was ready to write down this article.
My experience with automatic writing has been extremely positive, to the point that I’m running around like Archimedes out of the tub. The fact of the matter is, at present, you have some amount of skill at writing and no amount of frowning at the screen will make it better. So let yourself write freely first, and then trim off the shaggy bits when editing, that’s when you see your flaws and inconsistencies the clearest.
Loosening your rigid hold of your prose is akin to defocusing your eyes, you keep sight of the bigger picture. And when you work with a clear head, new ideas pop in automatically. Try your hand at automatic writing for your next article and let us know in the comment section how the technique works out for you.
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This article was written by Sienna Thibault. If you want to contact her for feedback, send her an email.