Tips from a Writer

Tips from a Writer

Ed Bernd Jr. grew up in the newspaper business and describes himself as a reporter with many years of experience as both a news photographer, when he was young, and more than ten years as a staff writer for metropolitan daily newspapers.

He is also an author...he coauthored Jose Silva's last four books; a Silva lecturer since 1977, and a producer...he has produced numerous multi-image shows for the Silva International Conventions, as well as several Silva audio and video home study courses. He is an excellent poet too. Here are some of his tips, starting with general suggestions that apply to all forms of creativity:

*Think it through at alpha; alpha is the ideal level for thinking...the creative level.

*Dreams work wonders...just ask Robert Louis Stevenson. You can program yourself, at the alpha level, to remember your dreams, and to have dreams that will help you express your creativity.

*Bring a mentor to your level to advise you. Bring in any expert...at your level, imagine asking your favorite author (or photographer, or lecturer, or producer) how he or she would handle the situation, how they would solve the problem. Then clear your mind for a moment by thinking of another subject, and after a few moments, start thinking again to figure out what the person would answer to you. The ideas that come are from the expert, the person you admire. Try them out...you might be surprised at how well they work.

*Learn form those you admire, but always, always be yourself. A copy is never as good as the original, and you cannot be anything or anyone but yourself. You can stand on the shoulders of those who came before, people you admire. Always remember though that you have something unique to give the world, so use your level and the Silva techniques to help you determine what it is, and give it to the world.

*Your body radiates energy, and this energy is stored in matter that is within range of your aura. That is one reason why an entertainer like Willie Nelson continues to use a battered old guitar that has had an extra hole worn in it from so much use. If you find yourself getting more creative ideas in a certain room, while relaxing in a particular chair, while using a certain computer or paintbrush or camera, then keep using it. There is probably a record of your successes stored within the object. You can learn more about "psychometry" in Jose Silva's UltraMind ESP System.

*You can definitely be inspired to do better work by other creative people. Listening to great classical music, reading great literature, studying great art, and enjoying a great performance can all be very inspiring and elevate the quality of your work. Imagine how much more help it is to surround yourself with other creative people. Not only will you communicate with the words you speak to one another, your minds will also communicate with each other's minds, even if you are not consciously aware of it.

*If somebody explains it all to you, tells you why they used this technique or that technique, why they selected certain words or colors or whatever...be suspicious. Language and rationality and logic are left brain functions; creativity is a right brain function. When you ask a creative person why they did something the way they did, they may just shrug and say, "I don't know."

Here are some techniques that Ed has developed while writing more than 10 million words for publication...think about them at your level:

"If you have having trouble getting started - and I suspect that we all do from time to time - then just write anything. You will probably find the correct 'lead' in the third or fourth sentence. 'County Commissioners voted today to.... (what did they do?)... purchase three airplanes to use to spray for mosquitoes....' Now you are getting to the main point: 'There will be a new weapon in the war against mosquitoes this summer...' Now you are writing something that people are interested in. Better yet, find one word or phrase to start with: 'Mosquito control...' This works for every kind of writing. If you don't get an idea to reveal itself while you are at your level, then start writing...when your mind realizes how serious you are, it will go ahead and serve up the idea.

"Stress and pressure block creative ideas. That's one reason the previous technique works. Sometimes simply telling someone that you don't have time to come up with a new idea will take the pressure off, and next thing you know, you've come up with the idea you need.

"When writing, always stop when you know what comes next. That makes it extremely easy to get started again, and once you are started, it is easy to continue. When I was working for daily newspapers and writing a story on deadline, I would sometimes get a phone call with information I needed for another story. I learned it was much better to stop writing in the middle of a sentence. If I finished the sentence, I might not remember what I was going to write next. But if I stopped in the middle of a sentence, I could always figure out what came next, and the momentum would carry me right into the next sentence. I use the same technique when writing books. Always stop when you know what comes next.

"Keep it simple. If you are having trouble getting a long sentence to sound right, break it up into two or more simple sentences. Keep it simple.

"Read what you wrote out loud. If you cannot read it out loud easily, then rewrite it.

"When editing, cut out everything - every word - that is not essential. This makes copy easier to read."

Creativity with a camera

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