Opening the Door

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Abstract

ate them or direct them in any way. He merely typed whatever words came forth. He merely took dictation.</p><p id="aaeb">After the initial gush of words were transported to the blank page Galen opened his eyes and read what came forth. (And guess what? The page was no longer blank!) Sometimes it was just a phrase. Sometimes it was a complete sentence. Other times it was a few sentences or even a paragraph or two.</p><p id="f964">Sometimes what came out was pure gibberish. Usually, though, it would be some random sentence or two pulled out of thin air that didn’t seem to have a story attached. After fixing any typos, he then proceeded — with eyes open — to write a story that finished those random sentences.</p><p id="077a">Sometimes he would finish the story then go back to those first sentences typed with eyes closed and realize the story did not exactly match so he would modify those first sentences. Other times he would reread the story and realize how perfectly it fit those first sentences. And he also would realize that he never in a million years would have written that story if those first sentences did not come out first. Of course, there were occasional times when nothing seemed to work. It was

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those times when he was obviously thinking too much.</p><p id="1e2f">This method is like calling forth a writing prompt. Galen called the technique, <b>Opening the Door</b>. The most important part was first creating the vacuum. Galen often told friends that <b>a blank page should be met with a blank mind</b>. That is when creativity gets sparked and stories come gushing in. Thinking only gets in the way.</p><p id="3f1e"><i>Copyright by <a href="https://readmedium.com/white-feather-archive-index-c95167f7dbaf"><b>White Feather.</b></a> All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction.</i></p><p id="fa1e"><i>Speaking of writing…</i></p><div id="9632" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/writing-in-the-shower-7a9263077156"> <div> <div> <h2>Writing in the Shower</h2> <div><h3>Abnormal writing advice for creatives</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*PlKN7UU10Yf6V-ctMXIukg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Prompting your self

Galen sat in his ergonomic desk chair with his eyes closed. On the desk before him was his laptop, open and ready to go. If his eyes were open he would have been looking at the proverbial blank page that so many write about. But he never looked at a blank page because he always started writing with his eyes closed.

Taking three long, deep breaths, Galen released all thoughts from his mind. All thoughts, all ideas, all words. His mind became a completely empty vessel. By doing this he was creating a vacuum. Things tend to get sucked into vacuums; even words.

With his mind completely empty his hands raised up to the laptop and his fingers fell into place on the keyboard. He then opened a door to the empty vacuum of his mind allowing words to come spewing forth. He did NOT think about the words. He did not try to formulate them or direct them in any way. He merely typed whatever words came forth. He merely took dictation.

After the initial gush of words were transported to the blank page Galen opened his eyes and read what came forth. (And guess what? The page was no longer blank!) Sometimes it was just a phrase. Sometimes it was a complete sentence. Other times it was a few sentences or even a paragraph or two.

Sometimes what came out was pure gibberish. Usually, though, it would be some random sentence or two pulled out of thin air that didn’t seem to have a story attached. After fixing any typos, he then proceeded — with eyes open — to write a story that finished those random sentences.

Sometimes he would finish the story then go back to those first sentences typed with eyes closed and realize the story did not exactly match so he would modify those first sentences. Other times he would reread the story and realize how perfectly it fit those first sentences. And he also would realize that he never in a million years would have written that story if those first sentences did not come out first. Of course, there were occasional times when nothing seemed to work. It was those times when he was obviously thinking too much.

This method is like calling forth a writing prompt. Galen called the technique, Opening the Door. The most important part was first creating the vacuum. Galen often told friends that a blank page should be met with a blank mind. That is when creativity gets sparked and stories come gushing in. Thinking only gets in the way.

Speaking of writing…