Automatic Writing

I must confess, I don’t always (read rarely), stick to my writing routine, but when I do I feel energised, and ready to write! Once I have had a good run of writing days, the next time I sit down to write is so much easier. At the best moments, it is near to automatic. Apparently, a similar effect may be possible through object-based habits.

Jack Cheng recently wrote an article about activity/object association. In it he describes a phenomenon that he calls “habit fields”. These fields are created by constantly reinforced association between an object, and an activity. You can shape the nature of the field, and in return, it can affect your actions.

Memorable Benefits

Neuron image courtesy of Patrick Hoesly

Now, when people start invoking energy fields and the like, a concept starts sounding a little “woo”. But don’t worry, it’s just a metaphor! What he’s actually talking about is the way memories are constructed. Specifically, there are two features of memory creation that are particularly important here: repetition and association.

It’s obvious to anyone who’s learnt a script that repetition is a vital tool to lock down a memory. Behaviour can also be learned through repetition. Video games are especially good at teaching actions, for example. Combo attacks in games require a complicated series of button presses that bewilder at first. But, through repetition, a player soon learns to react to different situations with a variety of combination moves, without thinking about it at all. This is an example of “muscle memory”. Now extend this to less specific behaviours – to a state of mind; relaxed behaviour, productive behaviour, writing behaviour; all can be learned.

Association is even more fundamental. Memories are essentially a series of associations. These can also be learned, of course. You have probably had the experience of a particular smell reminding you of a person or place, even if you have not seen that person or been to that place in years.

Making the connection

Cheng’s idea is that “habit fields” (states of mind or behaviour) can be built around objects through repetition. Stay consistent with the objects you use for certain tasks and the association takes care of itself. Just like the gamer whose fingers perform instinctive button ballets when he sits in front of his console, you can slip into focussed productivity when you settle down in your designated work place to use your designated work tools.

In practice, this process is going on all the time, for better or worse, so you are using it anyway. Being aware of it will help you avoid the obvious pitfalls, and develop good habits. Don’t check Twitter on your writing laptop, or it will gradually become your Twitter laptop!

Think about it for a bit, and you’ll probably see areas in your own life where this already applies. For example, I used to try writing at weekends at my big desktop computer. I was often distracted, and found myself much more comfortable at the dining room table, using the laptop I also use for work.

Given a quick think, this is not surprising. I bought that desktop primarily for gaming, and that’s what I had been using it for previously. The laptop on the other hand is what I use all day for work, and because it’s convenient, I use it to write on the train. The habit field of my laptop then, us one of productive work, including writing. Well, mostly.

Jack of all Trades…

It’s a problem, as Cheng points out, that becomes more pervasive the more capable our tools become. These days every electronic device is a Swiss army knife of possibilities, and the problem becomes one of narrowing those down or restricting those options in order to focus.

Having a dedicated area to write, and restricting your writing to to just that purpose, could take you a long way. Read Cheng’s full article for some other ideas on how to do that, and pop back to getmewriting.com next week, when I’ll have a list of tools to help you focus on your writing. In the mean time, I’d like to know if you have noticed habit fields around the the objects you use.

…About Running is, I feel, an absolute must read for aspiring writers. The book itself is a journey through Murakami’s training for the New York marathon, and as the title suggests, it’s partly about how you train yourself to run long distance. However, the parallel’s he draws between training to be a runner and training to be a writer are highly appropriate.

Because this is what I feel I need to do. Of course, some people just have the talent to write, and can do so easily. But as Murakami notes, there is a difference between natural talent and developing the skill. You need not have a vast amount of talent to write as long as you develop the necessary skills. You can train yourself to focus, to concentrate, and to build your endurance. In essence, it’s a lot about what this site is about. I myself feel I have some degree of talent when it comes to – not necessarily writing per se – but in generating interesting material. Of course, its fine being able to generate the material, but it’s pointless if I can’t get it down on paper (or more rather, in my hard drive)

This is where the training comes in. Dedicating a set period of time each day to writing, to focusing solely on the act of getting things written down is essential. Especially for longer works. Writing a longer fiction is a lot like running a marathon. It can take months, perhaps a year to get through a complete draft, and when you look at it in terms of that, it can be daunting, a lot like a runner standing at the starting line and looking to the finish 26 miles away. How can I do this?

It’s all about the training.

I won’t even pretend that I can explain it as well as this book does, but a few major points I took away from what I’ve read thus far concern techniques that Murakami utilises, that were also utilised by Hemmingway and Raymond Chandler.

Firstly is dedicating the time to writing, sitting down at your desk (or in your private writing space) and focusing. Even if you don’t write anything, just dedicating the time, building up your stamina and concentration for writing will serve you well, especially for those longer projects.

And secondly, once you’ve developed this focus and concentration, and you do write, and then always leave your writing at a place where you feel you can continue on. In other words, stop writing before you run out of steam. That way, the next day, when you set out to write, you’ll be itching to continue where you left off; you’ll develop a flow and a rhythm to your writing which will make it much easier.

As someone who used to train extensively at the gym, and get into a set routine which improved my fitness, built my energy and shed the surplus weight, I can’t believe that I never thought of writing in the same way before. I guess it was an unconscious thing, I just wrote, and did so daily, or if not daily, then at least once every few days, but I managed to get through it. But like my training at the gym, my writing regimen slipped, so it feels tough for me to get through a few pages, just like I can slide off a treadmill sweating and panting, because I’ve let it all slip.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book; I can honestly say it has inspired me to concentrate more on my writing…

If I can find the time…