Here's how I used EFT to create my story

And how you can too!

Now, to share my recent experience with you, of using EFT to create stories:

I was approached to write a short story for inclusion in an anthology; to be published in aid of a very worth cause. Needless to say, I was delighted to agree - it’s a good cause, and it’s good publicity for me too - so it’s a win-win.

However, I didn’t have a clue what to write about. The book was to have a loose theme of friendship, and that was all the direction I had.

I waited about a week or so (I was busy with other projects anyway), waiting to see if something would pop into my head, thinking about it occasionally - but nothing was stirring in my imagination.

So, I sat down and began tapping.

Now, before you hear how EFT conjured forth the story for me, elegantly and easily, I suggest you read the story, Blood Sisters. so you'll know what I'm talking about as I explain it. It opens in a new window, so you can simply close it to come back here when you're finished.

I started tapping with, “Even though I haven’t a clue what this story is going to be about, I accept myself anyway” on the karate chop point, and “I haven’t a clue what this story is going to be about,” on the other points. (This will make sense once you’ve looked at the EFT Instructions page.)

I tapped for about 15 minutes (saying the same statement at each point) and received no inspiration. But that’s okay, because sometimes it just takes that long.

I had to go and do something else then, and so I stopped tapping - but I came back to it later that day.

This time, as soon as I started tapping (still saying the same statement), the ideas started coming.

Except, they weren’t ideas as such, but rather they were realisations.

It’s hard to explain, but it was as if the story was already there, strong and complete, and I just had to realise what it was, rather than create it.

And as I continued to tap, a little bit of the curtain was pulled away at each stage, revealing more and more of the story that was always there.

The first thought came (as I tapped) and it was the realisation: “Ah, it’s about two women”. Okay, maybe that wasn’t revolutionary - it’s women’s fiction, it was always going to be about women! But I hadn’t realised until then that the story was about two women, rather than a bigger group.

I continued tapping, now using the phrase "I don't know what the story is about the two women", and it came to me then, “It’s about how they meet.” In other words, rather than a story about two already-friends facing some crisis or other, it was a story about how they met and became friends.

Very quickly - only about 30 seconds (the realisations were coming very quickly now) - I realised that they met when one of them saved the other’s life.

Okay, but the next obvious question, is: how did she save her life?

So I continued tapping, using the tapping statement, "I don't know how the first woman saved the other woman's life."

Do you see how this is working? Whatever I needed to know, I just tapped on the statement that I didn't know it - and the problem of not knowing it dissolved, leaving me with the knowledge I needed.

So, after a few moments it came to me that maybe they were in a train crash or a bus crash and one of them rescued the other.

But I didn’t like that. It wouldn’t work. This story was supposed to be light and upbeat, and having dozens of other people die or be injured wasn’t going to be very light and upbeat!

Also it would take the reader’s sympathy away from my two women. Who’d care that they had made friends, when other people were dying or being injured? So, no, a crash wouldn’t do. (See below for a note on this.)

Again, no alternative came to me when I was just thinking about it. So I tapped again, and very quickly it came to me that one of them saves the other from falling masonry. Perfect!

And the saver could be lightly injured as she pushes the other out of the way - injured enough that she goes to hospital. This had the benefit that the saved woman knows where to find her and have a conversation, and they’re able to share contact details so they can meet again.

 As I was tapping this, and the realisations were coming - I was getting more and more excited as the story was revealed/created. It just had that good feeling of going right - you know that feeling, I’m sure.

I wondered if I could bring any more depth and complexity to the story (always a good thing to try to do), so I tapped for that too.

Before long it occurred to me that it it would be cool if the woman whose life was saved today had saved her rescuer’s life in turn, some years ago. It would complete the circle perfectly. But how? More tapping ("I don't know how Woman B saved Woman A's life") and again it came to me - the perfect solution!

I suddenly remembered how, a number of years ago, I got a phone call from the Blood Transfusion Service asking me if I could come straight into their premises - they'd send a taxi for me and everything! - to make an emergency blood donation. (In Ireland blood isn’t paid for, it’s dependant on donors.) There was a premature baby in a Dublin maternity hospital who desperately needed a blood transfusion - and this baby and I shared the same rare blood type.

That would work perfectly for this story. And so it did. The story, called Blood Sisters (the title just came to me during my tapping), worked wonderfully and I’ve had great feedback on it. (I'll put it on this website if you're interested - let me know!)

How you can use EFT in this way

Go to EFT Instructions for details on how to use the process - you'll probably be better off printing it out so you can refer to it. Once you have the tapping points and instructions in front of you, start tapping.

I also invite you to read What is Writer's Block? as it's relevant to the subject of ideas not coming.

Two points for you to consider

You’ll have noted that the first suggestion my subconscious came up with wasn’t suitable. This was because my request (i.e. my tapping statement) hadn’t been specific enough. I was tapping for, “I don’t know how they meet, I need a way for them to meet,” and that’s what I got!

The subconscious is very precise, almost legalistic. You get exactly what you ask for. If I had tapped for, “I need a way for them to meet that’ll keep the reader’s sympathy,” then I wouldn’t have received the train accident idea.

However, it would take a lot of work to design a tapping statement which would cover all eventualities. It’s much easier to tap for a broad statement, and then refine as needed. I promise you, ideas are in infinite supply! It’s not as if you only get three wishes with this process.

I’d also like to bring to your attention the fact that there is a big coincidence inherent in my story (that Woman A saved B’s life, only to discover that B had previously saved A’ life). As I discuss in both the Sacred Contract, page, and the page on Deus Ex Machina, you absolutely must not cheat your reader. As part of this you have to be very careful with coincidences. Check out the Deus Ex Machina page for information on how I dealt with this issue in this story.

For my comprehensive book on using EFT for writers, helping you identify what's blocking you (some of them will really surprise you), and knocking down these blocks like skittles in a bowling alley, check out Unleash The Writer.

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