HYPNOSIS

First let me address the fact that not everyone believes hypnosis is a valid way of accomplishing their goals. I want to say that I am not the type to go with a fad of the week. I'm a practical person. This isn't a testimonial because I'm not ready to claim that it helped me break my block. I'm just writing this to point out a few thoughts on writing that are related to my experience. I came to the idea that I should try hypnosis to help me out with my writers block via the following train of thought.

Professional writers are always telling you that it may be helpful to have a routine to trigger your writing time. Maybe it's taking a walk or smelling the coffee or sharpening your pencils but it should be some action that will tell your mind that it's time to begin. ---> That got me to thinking about how smelling things and hearing things are so powerful in instantly bringing back a memory or feeling. ---> I thought about how negative things said by people you respect can throw you off your game and how that is evidence of the power of suggestion. I've heard people say that, like me, someone told them poetry is supposed to rhyme and ever since then they couldn't write a poem without being compelled to make it rhyme. ---> I thought about how writing is all about thoughts and ideas. It's all about absorbing and expressing thoughts. It's so simple and so easily thrown off balance ---> And that's about the time the concept of hypnosis popped into my head.

Before then, if I thought about hypnosis at all, I thought of it as something from a sitcom where a character was made to do ridiculous things under a trance. I'm going to skip over the parts where I was hesitant to try it. Like I said, this is not a testimonial.

Let's just get to the part where I'm on this little bed couch thing with this woman I've never met before ready to put me in a trance and I'm wondering what I'm doing here and if I really think some magic will come of this. I will say one thing... it feels really good to be put into a trance. There is a very real physical reaction make no mistake of that. Your body goes totally numb and you feel like a rock fused with whatever is below you. It was awesome. You're still totally awake and aware so they can't make you quack like a duck or anything embarrassing. I found out through research before hand that that sort of thing is a myth.

Now lets fast forward again through all the parts in what they call "the script" where they tell you that you will be more confident and productive blah blah blah and get to the part where they start addressing writers block. I'm sorry to say that's where my whole theory falls apart. Why does it fall apart? Because in order to get into a good trance, or "induction" as they call it, you need a professional quality recording. Unfortunately a professional hypnotist does not equal a professional writing instructor.

That means, without sugar coating it, ...they just don't know what they're talking about. The time I went to the professional hypnotist she actually told me "your inner editor is ON." Yes that's right she said "on" not "off". After all the work I had done to kill my inner editor, bind and gag it and bury it under the floorboards of the basement careful not to leave traces of forensic evidence -- this woman just told my subconscious directly to turn it on when I'm about to start the first draft!!

I later gave it another shot by downloading a cheap hypnosis mp3 that I could listen to on my iPod. Again things were going great and I was relaxed to the point of being numb throughout out my limbs. He started talking about writing and I was excited and open to suggestions that would motivate me to skip happily through the land of imagination. The first thing he says on the subject is something along the lines of "Don't make yourself write. Just wait until you feel inspired." That snapped me out of it quicker than if my bed where on fire. I couldn't believe he just said the exact opposite of the most ancient cardinal rule of successful writers from every corner of the world. I've heard all the most accomplished writers say it and it's covered in every writing book. "A writer WRITES!". You don't wait for inspiration because inspiration comes as you write however mechanical and dreary it may seem at first. You don't wait until you feel inspired for any other job in the world and writing is no different. Your muse is not a hungry stray dog that follows you around. It's a wild gazelle on the Serengeti. You have to hunt it! You have to stalk it for days before you can expect to catch anything and reap the rewards. Those days of writing crap are just days of chasing without catching.

The two major points of doing NaNoWriMo/ScriptFrenzy is to A) Turn off your inner editor and B) Stop pining pathetically for your muse like someone waiting by the phone for a date that happened three years ago.

I tried writing my own hypnosis script but I had a hard time keeping it under 50 pages. I also didn't have a good voice for it or good trance music. If I ever do find a hypnotist who has bothered to research the field of creative writing I'll let you know. I still believe that hypnosis is the most powerful form of suggestion next to family and society. I just don't think anyone's done a good script for writers yet. You may want to look into it for procrastination which is the major issue with writers block anyway.

P.S. I do feel more productive and focused in general when I try it. I may be tempted to call that a placebo effect but... isn't that the idea anyway? Power of suggestion is the basis of the placebo effect. The difference is that you're aware of it and it's still very effective.

Happy Writings!

-Philosopher (Gloria)

ETA 4.21.09 The hypnotist on the mp3 also made a point of insisting to you that the only reason you write is for someone else to read it. He says this is always the case or else you would not be writing. You would think that common sense would tell this man that that is a horrible thing to say to one trying to break writers block. He was trying to say that it has to be good because people will read it. Again that goes against the NaNo spirit of trying to write a really bad first draft. Trust me the practice of writing poorly actually creates a quality product in the end.

The thing that helps me to write the most is when I make notes to myself about what I'm going to write later and no one is ever going to see those notes but me.