Perhaps you have heard of the term “Automatic Writing.” But what is it, and what methods can you apply when writing novels, short stories, theatrical plays or Hollywood scripts?
Automatic writing, or psychography, is a fascinating portal into the subconscious mind, and a method to channel information from the Higher Self.
People often associate automatic writing with contacting entities in the spirit realm. However, this method can also be used to jump-start your creative projects. If you have writer’s block, or if you just want more dynamic content, then automatic writing may be a good method to employ.
My Experiences
I am currently writing my first novel in the Metaverse Series, entitled “New Earth.” Right before I started it in 2014, I kept getting prompts to begin writing.
“Write what?” The answer to that question, I did not know. Luckily three prompts showed me the way forward.
First of all, I had won a notebook and a pen as a prize in my workplace.
Then a person that I was volunteering with at an urban garden had been telling me about the stories that he was writing.
The third prompt was at the downtown library, where I was hanging out across the street after checking out some books. It was during a street festival in the summer, and a passerby commented on the books that I had checked out.
He asked if they were children’s books, and they were not. I wondered, “Should I write a children’s book?”
I went home and began by simply writing some scenes of what could be considered a story geared towards a child’s audience, but it didn’t fit with what I wanted to do. I wanted to write a groundbreaking science fiction/fantasy novel. Something in the tradition of Philip K. Dick.
I decided to get started. Leaning back comfortably in my sofa, I just put a pencil to a notepad and began by writing the first thing that came to my head. It was as if the pencil was guiding my hand.
It didn’t matter if what I had written made any sense. In fact, bizarre ideas might even be preferable! After all, this was science fiction. In a fantasy realm, that could be a great jumping-off point to launch a new story.
This impromptu automatic writing session was bearing fruit. I had a main character who originally was called Timmy, and now was Timothy. He was meditating in his room at a crossroads in his life, staring at a light bulb, blazing above his head.
The more child-oriented scene that I had earlier written involved this character out in the desert, visiting a wise man.
Now I had two elements to the story intact. He was meditating at home and he would travel to the desert where he would meet a mentor. The novel was starting to take shape.
The Basics of Automatic Writing
In this case, I was not trying to utilize psychography to contact spirits. I was channeling thoughts and ideas from my Higher Self in order to produce a work of art.
Here are some tips on intentionally producing automatic writing:
- First of all, it is essential to get into a relaxed and receptive state. Before you start, you may want to meditate to clear and calm the mind.
- Get a pen and a notepad and lean back into a soft chair or sofa.
- Just write whatever comes into your mind. You may want to try your other hand, if you can write legibly.
- You may want to focus on a topic or keyword that is relevant to your project. For instance, it can relate to the setting of your scene. Terms such as desert, forest, beach or mountains may be effective keywords to build around.
- Keep going. Once you get into the flow, don’t stop. Even if ideas don’t seem to make sense, this is when the magic happens. I’ve often looked at the page and been surprised at the result. “Wow, I never thought that I would’ve written that!”
- Use some of the content to build a larger storyline. If you have fragments, try to elaborate with detail until you have a viable story.
Channeling
When I was writing, I was fully conscious of where I was at. I just felt like everything was flowing. That is generally what happens when I have a productive writing session. Darryl Anka, the channel for the being known as Bashar, has talked about how any type of creative activity is produced from a channeling state. It’s only a question to the degree of how much the person has altered their state of consciousness.
Utensils
I normally use a pencil, but in some ways a pen is better. It takes away the temptation to erase any misspellings or grammatical errors.
In “Llewelly’s Complete Book of Divination” the author Richard Webster describes another tool for automatic writing called a planchette. This wooden board is placed on a sheet of paper which is taped to a table. The planchette can then move freely atop the paper as guided by the hand.
Pen and paper works much more easily if you want something substantial, such as a book.
Creativity and Invention
The technique of leaning back on my sofa reminded me of the Xerox PARC research facility during the 1970s. It was there that several of the technological innovations that we know today were conceptualized. The graphical user interface with icons on a computer screen, Ethernet computer networks, and the mouse were some of these fundamental innovations.
The PARC facility was known for its relaxed atmosphere where the employees were allowed to sit in soft bean bag chairs and think of their groundbreaking ideas.
I always figured that this stimulated their spinal chord and their nervous system. The reasoning was that the surface area of the nervous system was touched and caressed by the bean bag chairs. Perhaps there is some truth to that theory, but now I am thinking that the relaxation of the chairs could be key.
Perhaps the posture and the beanbag chairs allowed the brains of the employees to get into a more receptive mode. There is evidence that we have thousands of magnetite crystals in the brain, and these crystals may act as receivers and transmitters of information.
Clearing Away Writer’s Block
Automatic writing is a great way to jump-start the writing process in the face of writer’s block. One can just begin writing with no plan in mind, or you can have a particular theme in mind. You can have a single topic or keyword that you weave through the session. Tips number 4, 5 and 6 are key. This process can lead to breakthroughs and the creation of new plots, storylines, and characters.
I know from personal experience, that it created the beginning of a science fiction novel.
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