You’re probably familiar with automatic writing. It’s great for when you have “nothing to write about” and need to get unstuck. This version is intended to set up parameters for revision and to help you move forward with the material you bring out of your subconscious. 

Step 1

Set a timer for ten minutes and write without stopping until the timer goes off. This means you cannot stop typing, your pen cannot leave the paper, until you are finished. If you find that you are stuck, do not stop. Write the last phrase or word over and over again until you become unstuck. Most people find that the best material comes after you get over that hill and reach the second half of your session. 

Step 2

Reread what you’ve written. Underline anything—sentences, phrases, words—whatever strikes your fancy. 

Step 3

Reread again, but this time systematically comb through with patterns in mind. Look for one item at a time. For instance, underline (or even better use a highlighter) to track all the images in the piece. Then, do the same for all the verbs, or all the memories, all the insults, all the names for things without names. By isolating a certain kind of thing, you may be better able to see a theme or linkages. Notice all dependent clauses or prepositions. See the way they shift or stay the same. What is the main thing being talked about in the piece? What is trying to break through? What is being obscured and what is doing the obfuscation? 

Step 4

Now, take what you’ve drawn out of the original text, put it in a new document, read it, and make versions. Begin one version with just the images, another with just the memories, another with linkages you’ve discerned. What often happens after you’ve gotten down a few pages of “automatic” writing is that your natural obsessions or interests will come to the fore. Even when you don’t think you have “something to write about,” this experiment will show you that you do!