Word list technique
An exercise that sometimes helps me feel more like I exist. It works best on paper: Start with a word, then write down other words that are nearby. Avoid sentences. Stay nearby, in the same semantic field, but don’t aim for exact synonyms; try a spiral shape, orbiting around some invisible center but without fixing the angle of approach.
Sometimes, the discovered words won’t be useful, but then it is still good to get them out so I don’t have to keep remembering them. When they are useful, I can begin to build with them: Start with slightly larger fragments or maybe even whole sentences—but specifically make an effort to avoid “making sense”; it’s a way to use words for their sub-logical effect, acting like magical runes on the subconscious.
Variation on the second phase: Create a list of numbered questions, statements, or one-sentence dream-like vignettes. There needn’t be any explicit connection, but if there is a topic, try to cover it from different angles, such as by writing statements that contradict each other. (I don’t know what the purpose of the numbering is, but I sometimes find it helpful. Especially when I am speaking out loud instead of writing, or when I’m using my computer. Whereas on paper, I tend to prefer using arrows and differently colored pens for organization.)
See also
- Diary
- “Automatic writing”
- The “cut-up technique”
- From October 4, 2025, before working on the entry on anti-paranoia. ↩