How to Overcome Writing Blocks Using the Dissociation Technique

Wouldn’t it be great if you could call in a consultant to help you overcome any writing blocks you may be experiencing? Wouldn’t it be even better if he or she were available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? Well, it’s possible, if you use the “dissociation technique.”

Normally when we think about what we’ve done or are going to do, we do so in what psychologists call the associated state. That is, we see it looking out at the world through our own eyes. When we do this, it also tends to call up all the emotions associated with the activity and it doesn’t give us a fresh view of our activity. That leads to staying stuck.

In the dissociated view, on the other hand, we picture ourselves in the same way we’d picture another person. When we picture things this way, it tends to strip away the emotions and allows us to regard things more clearly.

For example, let’s assume you want to phone an editor or agent, but have been procrastinating. When you picture what it will be like, you probably start experiencing feelings of nervousness and tension. The easiest thing is just to put it out of your mind.

In the dissociated state, you will image it as though it were taking place on a movie screen. You can make it a split screen. On one side you see yourself on the phone, on the other you imagine the editor. If you imagine that the editor is abrupt, you can imagine the other character (you) handling it calmly, for example by asking when might be a better time to speak. This way, you won’t have any negative emotions of fear or anxiety, and you can in essence practice how you will really do it when you go ahead and make the call.

One more example: let's say you've been meaning to get started on a writing project, but every time you approach the blank page, it's just too daunting and you don't even know how to begin. Now imagine this scene in the dissociated state. On the movie screen in your mind, see yourself approaching the computer or the writing pad. If the character begins to write, zoom in on the page and see what he or she has written. That will be your opening, too. If the character doesn't know how to start, either, pretend that you are the director and tell him or her what to do. You might say, "Start with a character description, you can always change it later." Or you might suggest, "Start with once scene or one line of dialogue that you think might occur anywhere in the story, you can move it to the right spot later." Then watch the writing start. Come out of the visualisation, and you'll find you also are able to start.

ACTION: For any areas of your writing life in which you'd like better outcomes, use the dissociated state to play back how you are now handling those things. That will allow you to see what you are doing, without experiencing any negative emotions. Then assume the role of a consultant to come up with ways you could do it better. Then picture the situation again, incorporating your new ways of handling it. Finally, actually do the things you have pictured.

You can periodically call in the consultant to evaluate how things are going and what changes could help. You might even want to make the first day of every month your appointment with the consultant in the mirror.