Thursday, January 20, 2005

Automatic Writing: How to do it

I found this at a webpage of Duke University. A how-to manual for automatic writing.

Sit at a table with pen and paper; put yourself in a 'receptive' frame of mind, and start writing. Continue writing without thinking of what is appearing beneath your pen. Write as fast as you can. If, for some reason, the flow stops,leave a space and immediately begin again by writing down the first letter of the next sentence. Choose this letter at random before you begin, for instance, a 't', and always begin this new sentence with a 't'. Although in the purest version of automatism nothing is 'corrected' or re-written the unexpected material produced by this method can be used as the basis for further composition. What is crucial is the unpremeditated free association that creates the basic text.

-- Surrealist Games (Alastair Brotchie, Redstone Press)


Ah well. I just recommend speed writing, supported by speed visualization. Eh?

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A sequel to Great Mahakali Write-a-thalon 2004. This event is held every year on a weekend in May. You too can join the organisers' blog. This is a zero-commerce event.