Saturday, October 14, 2006

The Psychic Writer

by Cathy Anderson Moffat

Doing massage (my day job) makes you more intuitive; your psychic powers increase until soon you can predict how much your tip will be.

As a writer, this can come in handy. I've written about an assortment of protagonists who share these psychic experiences. Stephanie sees visions of a past life as a witch burned at the stake. Lilith sees and talks to fairies, even helps them with a mission. Suzanne crystal ball gazes and views a life ending in tragedy during the Big Band era. Each protagonist uses her gifts as an edge to defeat the bad guy.

A connection with the psychic can be observed when you explore a writer's creative process. Baroness Orczy, author of the Scarlet Pimpernel, has shared how her hero, Sir Percy Blakeney, first appeared to her. She "saw" him--a tall, commanding figure sprung from her mind--in the subway system of London near the tracks. The world gained a powerful story of selfless bravery, and it sure sounds psychic to me.

And consider the good fortune of the woman who makes more money than the Queen of England: J.K. Rowling. Her train was detained for three hours in the countryside, and while she waited amidst the rural landscape, Harry Potter and the other characters of her much-loved series were given to her. I can't claim this was a psychic vision, but this information was downloaded from somewhere (if I could just get in contact with her spirit guides, things would really take off).

A few years ago,I ran into a romance novel by Nancy Martin at the library. The heroine was a psychic, and Nancy's representation was very accurate. I asked her about it, and she said, "Oh, I just made everything up. It was a lot of fun."

But I've a notion that our Ms. Nancy is holding out on us. Could she have been so accurate because she's highly psychic? And doesn't even know it? I wouldn't be at all surprised.

So for those of you hoping to buff up your sixth sense, I'd be glad to help. You can come on over and give me a massage anytime. Great for your intuition. Glad to make the sacrifice. No need to call me, though.

I'll know you're coming.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, but this is the age-old question with precognition: If we foresee the future, can we change it? If we change it, how can we know whether we actually foresaw it, since something that didn't happen can't possibly exist in a future time, can it? Example: I have a strong intuition that I'll wreck my car if I take a certain road. I go another route and don't wreck. Would I have wrecked if I'd taken the first road? Who knows? But, getting down to nuts and bolts, how do we predict whether or not an agent or publisher will accept our work and, if the answer is "no," how can we change it?

Annette said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Annette said...

While I don't have any psychic abilities whatsoever, I do try to stay in tune with "messages" that the universe sends me. Like, Gina, if I get a feeling that I shouldn't take a certain route, most times I don't. And one time when I locked my keys in my car, I chose to look at it as perhaps the universe (God?) telling me to slow down. Maybe if I'd jumped in my car and roared down the road, I'd have gotten smashed by a semi.

At least, that's what I told myself to keep from pulling my hair out as I lost an hour and a half to waiting for AAA to come open my car.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I'm pretty psychic, but I'm still trying to figure out that whole tipping-the-massage-therapist thing.

Anonymous said...

I figure 20%, then add whatever it takes to get up to a round number.
But then, I'm always making things up on the spot. ;D

Anonymous said...

The images of my first novel came into my head and wouldn't leave, so I had to write it in order to be able to concentrate on anything else. One of my friends who read it said it made her cry. I'm hoping that's because it was so moving, not because she was crying over the bad dialogue. :-)

Anonymous said...

I find psychics and psychic phenomena fascinating, though I'm something of a skeptic.

My father was a Jung scholar, so I inherited and tend to adhere to Jung's explanation for these supposedly psychic moments and warning dreams we all seem to have at one time or another. Is it being psychic or does our subconscious work to protect us from our conscious brain that can discount the danger around us?

Anonymous said...

Speaking of psychic, I just noticed that I posted my comment at 6:12 a.m., responding to a blog that wasn't posted until 8 a.m.!!! Is this the result of precognition or just a screwy blog time system at work?

Anonymous said...

Gina, you caught me. I published the blog last night, but dated it for today to make it look like I got up and did it. I work every Saturday, so I have to be organized.
Your precognition theory made me laugh, and if psychic help could get me published, I'd be playing with my crystal ball every day.

Annette, you are, too, psychic. I really bet you are.

Tory, I'm fascinated by the images you saw that implored you to write the first novel. Sounds like a best seller.

Becky, I must confess, I'm ignorant about Carl Jung, but a character immersed in his ideas would be especially interesting.
By the way, will you have a different protagonist in the next novel, or is there such a thing as a thriller series? Is it cheating to ask?

Anonymous said...

My next book is another standalone, Cathy, thanks for asking.

There are definitely thriller series--the ones that immediately come to mind are JA Konrath's Jack Daniels series and Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Both fun and fast-paced.

I'd like to do a series sometime, but haven't come up with a great series protagonist yet. Hmm...maybe one of you psychics could tell me if it's possible for me!

Working Stiffs said...

Don't have to by psychic, Becky. I'm sure it's possible. Just be open to ideas, try them out, and if they don't work now, instead of throwing them out, keep them for later.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Oops. That was me, still in posting mode. Sorry. *blush*

Anonymous said...

The whole idea of psychic writing amazes me. I talked to a psychic on Infinite Advice who really encouraged me to try some psychic writing and was surprised of what I got.