How to Do Automatic Writing
Decide on a medium., Give yourself a question or topic that you want to write about., Set a timer., Close your eyes., Start writing., Relax., Read what you have written., Highlight or circle anything that is interesting to you., Continue with your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide on a medium.
Do you want to use a computer for your automatic writing session or do you want to use pen/pencil and paper? This is completely based on your personal preference.
Some would argue that pen and paper is the only good way to use automatic writing,but if you can type faster than you can write (and you’re more comfortable with it), it may be more helpful to use a computer.You can also try out each medium to see which one you prefer, or you can change between the two if you like.
If you choose to use a computer, you can open a Word document or a default word processor such as Word Pad (on Microsoft) or TextEdit (on Mac).
If you are not skilled in typing on a computer without looking at the keyboard, it is probably better to use pen and paper so that you will not have to concentrate on the act of typing. -
Step 2: Give yourself a question or topic that you want to write about.
If you are practicing automatic writing to improve your creativity, or to help yourself get started on a writing assignment, then it will be helpful to have a prompt of some sort.You could, for example, write about something that has been on your mind a lot lately, or about a dream you had recently that stands out in your mind.
Perhaps a problem you have, or something you are excited about.
Maybe you have an idea for a story in mind, in which case you can use that as your topic.
If you don’t quite have all the details of story you’d like to write clear, you can simply write about all the different ideas and pieces of the story that you do have.
You could, for example, answer the “5 Y’s” about your topic.
That is, Who? What? When? Why? How? Or you could just have the topic you want to write about in mind. , 10 minutes should be a good starting point.Setting a timer will help you avoid wondering if you’ve been writing for long enough.
Remember that 10 minutes is merely a suggested starting point.
If you want to write for longer, then do so.
If you set your timer for 10 minutes, but you feel like you have more to write, you should keep going until you feel that you’ve gotten it all out.
On the other hand, you should not stop writing until the 10 minutes are up.
Even if you feel that you have run out of things to write.
Keep trying, and eventually your hand will write something., A key part of practicing automatic writing is to close your eyes while you write.
This prevents you from thinking about something you previously wrote, or from correcting something you have written.If you feel that you will be tempted to peek at your work during this exercise, you might also consider putting on a blind fold while you work.
If you find that you cannot write with your eyes closed, then do it with your eyes open, but remember that you are not allowed to stop writing to change what you have written.
Do not cross anything out, do not erase, do not stop.
If your mind suddenly changes directions, then simply start writing whatever it is you are thinking, even if it means starting a new sentence in the middle of a different one. , Write whatever comes in to your mind as it comes into your mind.
Ideally, it will be related to your topic, but if it is unrelated, you should still write it.Pay absolutely no attention to grammar, spelling, sentence structure, style, or anything that you would normally be worried about when writing.
These things are of absolutely no importance in automatic writing., After you have completed a round of writing, stop your writing, and give yourself a break for a few minutes. , Now you should go back to what you have written and read through it.
Don’t judge yourself harshly.
What you have written may not make any sense at all, and it definitely won’t be pretty. , As you are reading, you may find things that you find particularly interesting.
You should make note of these by highlighting them or circling them to come back to.Using these ideas, you can complete another round of automatic writing, if you feel that you want to continue the exercise. , If, after using automatic writing you feel that you are ready to move on to the next step in your writing process, then do so.
On the other hand, if you feel that you have moved forward, but still haven’t gotten what you wanted out of the exercise, feel free to repeat as often as necessary. -
Step 3: Set a timer.
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Step 4: Close your eyes.
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Step 5: Start writing.
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Step 6: Relax.
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Step 7: Read what you have written.
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Step 8: Highlight or circle anything that is interesting to you.
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Step 9: Continue with your writing.
Detailed Guide
Do you want to use a computer for your automatic writing session or do you want to use pen/pencil and paper? This is completely based on your personal preference.
Some would argue that pen and paper is the only good way to use automatic writing,but if you can type faster than you can write (and you’re more comfortable with it), it may be more helpful to use a computer.You can also try out each medium to see which one you prefer, or you can change between the two if you like.
If you choose to use a computer, you can open a Word document or a default word processor such as Word Pad (on Microsoft) or TextEdit (on Mac).
If you are not skilled in typing on a computer without looking at the keyboard, it is probably better to use pen and paper so that you will not have to concentrate on the act of typing.
If you are practicing automatic writing to improve your creativity, or to help yourself get started on a writing assignment, then it will be helpful to have a prompt of some sort.You could, for example, write about something that has been on your mind a lot lately, or about a dream you had recently that stands out in your mind.
Perhaps a problem you have, or something you are excited about.
Maybe you have an idea for a story in mind, in which case you can use that as your topic.
If you don’t quite have all the details of story you’d like to write clear, you can simply write about all the different ideas and pieces of the story that you do have.
You could, for example, answer the “5 Y’s” about your topic.
That is, Who? What? When? Why? How? Or you could just have the topic you want to write about in mind. , 10 minutes should be a good starting point.Setting a timer will help you avoid wondering if you’ve been writing for long enough.
Remember that 10 minutes is merely a suggested starting point.
If you want to write for longer, then do so.
If you set your timer for 10 minutes, but you feel like you have more to write, you should keep going until you feel that you’ve gotten it all out.
On the other hand, you should not stop writing until the 10 minutes are up.
Even if you feel that you have run out of things to write.
Keep trying, and eventually your hand will write something., A key part of practicing automatic writing is to close your eyes while you write.
This prevents you from thinking about something you previously wrote, or from correcting something you have written.If you feel that you will be tempted to peek at your work during this exercise, you might also consider putting on a blind fold while you work.
If you find that you cannot write with your eyes closed, then do it with your eyes open, but remember that you are not allowed to stop writing to change what you have written.
Do not cross anything out, do not erase, do not stop.
If your mind suddenly changes directions, then simply start writing whatever it is you are thinking, even if it means starting a new sentence in the middle of a different one. , Write whatever comes in to your mind as it comes into your mind.
Ideally, it will be related to your topic, but if it is unrelated, you should still write it.Pay absolutely no attention to grammar, spelling, sentence structure, style, or anything that you would normally be worried about when writing.
These things are of absolutely no importance in automatic writing., After you have completed a round of writing, stop your writing, and give yourself a break for a few minutes. , Now you should go back to what you have written and read through it.
Don’t judge yourself harshly.
What you have written may not make any sense at all, and it definitely won’t be pretty. , As you are reading, you may find things that you find particularly interesting.
You should make note of these by highlighting them or circling them to come back to.Using these ideas, you can complete another round of automatic writing, if you feel that you want to continue the exercise. , If, after using automatic writing you feel that you are ready to move on to the next step in your writing process, then do so.
On the other hand, if you feel that you have moved forward, but still haven’t gotten what you wanted out of the exercise, feel free to repeat as often as necessary.
About the Author
Nathan Ramirez
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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