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Poetry Writing Exercise
3, Automatic Writing
By Sebastien
Cole
Automatic writing
is a recognized technique psychoanalysts use to understand thought
processes. It is expressive, inspirational, and gets the creative
juices flowing very effectively. They unusual key to using this
technique is to stop thinking. Get a piece of paper, and pick
up your pen. Now start writing. Write absolutely anything and
everything that comes into your head, and remember don't
censor yourself. Automatic writing doesn't have to make sense,
and doesn't have to mean anything. It is not a representation
of you, so don't worry if you accidentally write obscene or disturbing
things, people often do as automatic writing seems to function
as a complete 'un-blocking' of the thought processes. People are
often shocked by the things they initially write using this exercise.
Others, however, find it very difficult to even begin. If you
find it difficult, it is even more essential that you try. In
order to write poetry, you must make the connection between your
thoughts and your writing. You must develop the ability to write
whatever you are thinking as you are thinking it, as it is important
to be spontaneous in poetry.
The results of
your automatic writing will probably be presentable to no one
but yourself. This is a good sign. Apart from spontaneity, automatic
writing also fosters honesty. This helps you to find out what
you are really thinking about, and what you really want to write
about. You may be washing the dishes or watching TV, and if anyone
asked what you were thinking about, you would probably say something
mundane about work, your weight or your children. But if you sit
down and allow yourself to write, you may find the source of that
uneasy feeling you have.
When you begin,
you may only be able to come up with random disconnected and seemingly
meaningless words. As you progress, however, you will find that
your words begin to make sense, and perhaps form themselves into
phrases or sentences. You may even find that they begin to develop
a rhythm and musicality that is the beginning of poetry.
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