writer's block script?

[Apsinthion]

Hey everyone! Just a little update for those I've spoken with here before:

My classes still begin in september and I'm very eager to begin. I've made friends with a hypnotist two blocks over and I've been doing handyman jobs for her in exchange for hypnosis sessions! Also, I've been doing all types of odd jobs here and there to pay for these classes; construction, website development, cleaning gutters, basements, roofs, etc. I've actually had to learn a lot about jobs I'd never had done, just to pay for these classes! It's pretty incredible, and I'm learning a lot from my friend (even though she's waiting for me to take these classes before really getting into the good stuff, she says).

But my question is this ...

I have a friend who is currently writing a book in his spare time. He feels as though there is a story inside him which is trying to find a way out. He wishes for this story to participate more with his consciousness, and he thinks hypnosis can help (and so do I). He wants ME to help him though, even though I don't know much ... he believes that I should be practicing hypnosis as I understand it, even if I don't know much about it, and he is very eager to be my 'guinea pig' as himself says.

Anyways, when he told me what it was he wanted help with, I said ... "Oh? That's easy! I thought you wanted to astral project to mars or something." Because I wanted him to have a sense of confidence that this would work.

But I don't know HOW :lol:

So I've worked myself into a corner. I've got an idea or two of what might work, but this is really my first experiment and I'm looking for suggestions. What can I do???

[Don]

What's the cause of the writer's block? Writer's block, in my experience, is usually a symptom and not the cause.

As an example, for some people the cause might be perfectionism. For others, the cause might be feelings of inferiority. Same symptom (writer's block) but I'd treat each person differently.

Discover the cause and do hypnotherapy to work with that.

[Apsinthion]

Hmm ... great advice, Don! But how would I ever discover the cause? :confused:

[skip]

My experience with writers and writing myself, is that writing is essentially an unconscious process.

As Gore Vidal put it, "...then the muse takes me." You dont really want to know what he said immediately before that.

The experience of writing is that you begin ... and when you are finished you have no concept of time passed or other things, you have been in a 'trance'.

As a result, so called 'writers block', is actually the conscious mind attempting to take control of the process, instead of surrendering to the unconscious process.

Learning how to easily enter into and out of trance is helpful.

Learning how to easily enter into your particular 'writing' trance is too.

But you must also remember that occasionally your unconscious mind simply 'doesnt want to go there', and have respect for your unconscious.

You can ask why. What purpose it has for refusing, etc.

But it isnt helpful to berate it, and curse, and fret, as many who dont understand do.

That isnt the way to secure anyones willing cooperation is it?

skip

[Apsinthion]

Pure gold. Thanks, skip :o

[Jack]

Only last year I had the privilege of working with a novelist whose work I have enjoyed for a long time.

The 'problem' was not being blocked but the reverse - too much output and most of it incoherent in commercial terms.

We found that there were some long standing guilt feelings about making money and misusing talent, and a lot of emotional self harm as a result, so the writer has now completed and published a literary novel under a nom de plume, which novel is highly unlikely to even cover the printing costs and has recently started on a new commercial novel which will, as usual make pots of money.

As has been said, discover the cause, understand that we are complex, and be gentle.

Jack

[Poodle]

Apart from hypnosis, there is NLP. You can ask this person about the picture they see when they want to write but can't. Presume looking at a pc monitor. Is it on? Blank? Bright? Dark? White? Keep adjusting that picture until it does have words on it.

Perhaps a vacation is needed. Take the conscious mind to a beach and leave the UC to do the writing. (A little NLP humor). It is the creative part of us as Skip wrote.

Pood