Writing

Hypnowheel downloaded from http://www.vecteezy.com

Who doesn’t like a good mystery? Agatha Christie is considered one of, if not the greatest, mystery writer that ever lived, with stories that are impossible to put down. Some would say it was pure talent, which is a fair assumption. However, there is evidence that Agatha might have employed hypnotic techniques that aren’t included in The Elements of Style. Maybe she just blundered into them on her writing journey, or maybe she took her studies of Freud, Mesmer, and Jung seriously. 

Here we introduce hypnotic writing, exploring its influence on Christie’s writing, and tempt you with techniques that you can employ with your own craft. These techniques are helpful to grab and hold your readers attention, from everything from novels and short stories to grant proposals, advertisements, and emails. Stick around until the end, where I reveal how you can take the thirty-second Spiegel eye roll test test to predict how susceptible you are to hypnosis. This is the same test mentalists use to pick their subjects for live events. 

My sources include Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words by Joe Vitale and the BBC documentary, The Agatha Christie Code narrated by Joana Lumley, who portrayed drunken socialite Patsy Stone on Absolutely Fabulous. Dr. Joe Synder’s Youtube channel is also a treasure trove of information, presented in his trademark unorthodox manner.  

Who is Agatha Christie?

Mystery writer Agatha Christie is the 20th century, female version of the Most Interesting Man in the World. The Guinness book of World records declares her to be the best selling fiction author of all time, with over two billion copies sold. Her writing reads just as fresh as the day she wrote it, many of her stories adapted for the stage such as “the Mousetrap” “And Then There Were None” are still in production to this day. Her characters such as Miss Marple are legendary, with actor David Suchet portraying fictional detective Hercule Poirot, for twenty five years on the BBC. That’s one hell of an acting gig. 

Banned from reading at age six, because her mother thought she would wait until age eight, Agatha taught herself to read by simply memorizing the words instead of using letters to sound them out. Perhaps mother dearest was right, because Agatha suffered from poor spelling for the rest of her life due to this method. A lonely child with a lot of time on her hands, she published her first poem about electric trams at eleven, receiving a nasty bite from the writing bug that plagued her entire life. She was a nurse in WW2, where she learned about poisons for her future novels, a divorcee (gasp!) after her first husband left her, and then an amateur archaeologist after she married Sir Max Mallowan, a famed historian. She put all of this expertise into her writing. 

What is Hypnosis, Really?

“Anything you do which makes your readers react because of MENTAL IMAGES you plant in their minds is HYPNOTIC WRITING” -Joe Vitale

When I mention the word hypnosis, I conjure up images of mustachioed men in top hats swinging golden watches or spinning hypno-wheels. Do you think that you can never be hypnotized? I have bad news for you. You have probably already been hypnotized at least half a dozen times today. Hypnosis is just deep focus. Like what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called “The flow state”, that deep feeling of pure concentration where you look down at your watch, thinking ten minutes went by, while in reality you worked all the way through lunch without noticing. The feeling when you are so deep into a book, that when someone calls your name, you feel as though you were yanked from another dimension. Or a songwriter relieving that nasty breakup with every performance as if it just happened three minutes ago. Or even daydreaming about your fantasy vacation to where you can almost feel the sand between your toes.

 For the purposes of this essay, let’s define hypnosis as a deep state of focus. Many people have learned to hack this focus, allowing them to recover from past traumas, quit smoking, or even brainstorm the plot of script.

What are the Techniques?

The goal of every written line is to tempt the reader into reading the next line. And repeat ad nauseam. It’s both that simple and that complicated. Here are hypnotic techniques that you can incorporate in your writing straight away to achieve that goal. 

Write in Simple Language 

When they analyzed Agatha Christie’s writing, the word “said” caught the researcher’s attention. Instead of using fancy phrases like “inquired” or even “answered, ” she would settle for plain old said. She wasn’t sending her readers out to the dictionary, or making them reread a sentence to grasp the meaning of a fifty cent word. In other words, write the way you speak. If you naturally speak the vocabulary of a 19th century playwright, then do as thou wilt. However, If you put on airs with your writing, the readers will smell the fakeness a mile away. Remember the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Don’t be a showoff. 

Lose Yourself

While studying Christie’s rough drafts, researchers noticed could tell the moments she picked up steam after reaching her flow state, the words manically scribbled down as if dictated by a magical deity, whispering the words in her ear. Be as unencumbered as a concert violinist swaying to the rhythm of the music. Feel free to put on costumes, voices, or silly hats while you are in your war against artistic mediocrity. Like they say in the armed forces, “by any means necessary.” 

Overburden the Reader to Force Them into a Trance

Most people can’t hold more than nine characters in their head at one time without lapsing into a focused trance. Christie would have ten or more characters, just over the limit, to force the reader into a trance. No reading with one foot outside the pool. Total submergence. 

Use the Unknown to Your Advantage.

Humans hate unanswered questions. Our nosey little brains need answers like crack. Pose an unanswered question at the beginning of a chapter and they are likely to stick around until it’s answered. For example, I said in the beginning of this piece to “stick around till the end to see if you are highly suggestible.” Don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise! 

Make the Page Aesthetically Pleasing to Read.

Bullet points, numbered columns, and head lines are all your friends. Avoid having your text look like a big intimidating block of words. If it looks like a chore, nobody will want to play. People view quotation marks as a beacon, relieved that someone is about to mix it up.

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

If you want someone to remember something in order to drive a point home, repetition of the words like “remember” or “repetition”  ensures that readers are more likely to remember what you are saying with every repetition. The sing-songy nature of the reception will make the reader remember, as long as you repeat them at least three times so they are sure to remember. Listen to the Daft punk song “Around the World” for reference. 

Don’t Ask. Command.

Nobody wants wishy-washy Charlie Brown as their hypnotist. It goes “you are getting sleepy”, not “Are you sleepy yet?” Don’t be afraid to tell people what to think. It’s your job. Steer the damn plane!

Answer These Three Reader Questions: “Who Cares?” “So What?” and “What’s in it for me?” 

We are a selfish species. If you can’t answer these three, they aren’t going to stick around long. Also, try to proactively think of questions the reader might ask, and answer preemptively. If you can get out of your own ego, and speak to the readers’ egos, then you can lead them anywhere.

Become a Drug Dealer

Your wares are serotonin and dopamine. Learn to wield these brain chemicals, and readers will keep coming back for more. Readers want to feel as though they just got off of a rollercoaster with each chapter, and are willing to stand in line for another fix.

Front Load Your Descriptions

The reasons are two fold. First, getting all your description out of the way allows the reader to pick up speed near the climax. Also make sure that you say “the red apple” not the “apple which is red.” Otherwise the reader might picture a green apple at first, but then get yanked out of her trance when she needs to recursively change the color. It’s annoying. Don’t do it.

Adverbs are Your Friends (Hypnogrammer)

But what about Stephen King’s advice to kill all adverbs, because a strong verb is always better? I know this is going to be a tough one, because it’s so reflexively ingrained in writers. When writing speeches for actual hypnosis sessions, Dr. Joe Snyder advises loading two adverbs in the front and one in the back for instant hypnotic speech. For example, “Quickly and deeply, the subject completely surrenders to the hypnotist’s relaxing, soothing, voice, immediately.”

It has a nice ring, doesn’t it? Granted the language might come off too flowery for most pieces, since this formula is for straight up hypnotic sessions. But you get the idea.

One of my theories as to why the adverbs work is that most adverbs end in “ly.” Anyone who has ever taken a vocal lesson knows that vowels are the easiest to sing and say.  If the hypnotist expertly and judiciously employs endless reception of vowel syllables, it also quickly and easily helps take the reader under completely. Agatha Christie’s works are littered with adverbs. And she’s outsold Steven King.

Have an Ending that the Reader Wants Resolved.

You don’t need to end it the way the reader wants it to end. You just need to provide an ending that makes logical sense. I.E. not pulled out of your ass like the Game of Thrones finale. Otherwise you are leading the reader on by dangling a fake carrot. Not cool. 

Use Trigger Words

Want the reader to enter a war zone, either literal or metaphorical? Pepper in words like “acidly” “stormed” or “bloody” to add to the subtext without shoving it down their throats.The reason movies and TV shows have trigger warning is so the viewer isn’t forced to relive some past trauma. Use this to your devious advantage! Also be aware of using the wrong trigger words at the wrong time. I attended a wedding where the minister gave a speech on “the stickiness of love” and the whole congregation gave a collective silent “eww ”at his word choice. That minister didn’t win any converts that day.

Visualize Every Last Detail

If you can’t visualize a character down to his toenails, then how can the reader? Replay every scene in your head like a movie with your eyes closed, visualizing every small detail. I use a cheap $20 voice activated recorder for notetaking, so I can keep my eyes closed. 

People Remember Stories

Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed spoke in parables for good reason. People enjoy stories not lectures. If you have a concept that you need to communicate fully, make it into a short story. Reminds me of a tale of a young college freshman who tried this technique and wound up coming in first at an international writing contest, but then blew the whole thousand dollar prize on pizza, beer, and Tums.

Align with your Audience.

If you are about to address a hostile audience, become hostile yourself. Not hostile with your readers, but get mad at whatever they are mad at. No free cookies in the breakroom this holiday? Not on my watch! Let’s give them hell, guys! You and me versus them! Find out what the reader is preoccupied with, be it weight loss, getting published, or cutting toxic people from their lives, and make that your subject.

Examples of Hypnotic Phrases You Can Utilize

Courtesy of Hypnotic Writing by Joe Vitale.

As you start reading the beginning of this article you find yourself …

As you sit there and read the beginning of this report you start to

feel …

As you read every word of this report you will become (amazed,

stunned, etc.) at …

As you analyze each word of this document, you will shortly feel a

sense of (calmness, joy, etc.) …

As you scan every word of this web page you will begin to discover

new ways of …

After you have read this short article, you will feel …

Can you imagine . .

Picture yourself five years from now …

Just picture …

Just imagine …

Remember when you were in high school …

Imagine what it would be like if …

Wouldn’t it be amazing if ..

Are You Highly Susceptible to Hypnosis?

The Spiegel eye roll test is the gold standard for determining hypnotics susceptibility. Simply have the patient look up to the sky, past their eyebrows, and slowly close their eyes. If you see all white, instead of irises, and their eyelids flutter. This video demonstrates exactly what I mean. Sideshow mentalists have prospective volunteers do this test in secret. Maybe the hypnotist asks them to look at a chandelier or something. Then they choose the highly suggestible ones as volunteers. 

And here is why you should be concerned. British mentalist Darren Brown did an experiment after testing the hypothesis that Robert Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan was not acting under his own free will, but was a hypnotized patsy. Here, Brown demonstrates the same hypnosis techniques and triggers that were supposedly used on Siran Siran, but this time he’s assassinating British actor, comedian and author, Steven Fry who is in on the gag.

While the ethics of hypnosis are beyond the scope of the piece, I think it all boils down to trust and intention. As long as the hypnotist is using their powers for the forces of good with the patient’s concept, then all is above board. Like a surgeon who uses a whetted scalpel to cut out tumors, not slice their patient’s throat. If someone uses hypnotism for their own nefarious manipulations, then not so much. Better get them a job in advertising or politics!