A Writer’s Intuition: Receiving Inspirations and Insights from the Beyond

By Debra Moffitt

I was working on a new book set in modern-day Charleston, South Carolina when Aurelie, the protagonist of the WWII novel, The Girl on the Roof, came in. When I write, I move into an expanded state of awareness. On that day, I noticed that the tone of the book I was working on shifted from light and humorous to serious and dark. The images in my inner vision went from scenes of sunny Folly Beach to foggy Annecy under the Gestapo! Hmm, what was going on? I wondered. 

A few days earlier, I’d dreamed that black 1940’s cars pulled up in my drive at the 1840’s French farm house where I lived, and I tried to hide from them. I hadn’t planned to ever write a WWII novel. But a few days later, I knew I had to make a decision to between the first book or to write the new one that became The Girl on the Roof. So, I tuned into how I felt. The energy coming in felt vibrant, exciting, and I knew it would be an exceptional experience to both write and read this book. When I sat down that morning, Aurelie, her sister, Claire, and the resistance fighters surprised me as their stories unfolded. I felt their presence in the loft and wondered if they might have been in hiding there at some point. 

I knew very little about WWII, though I suspected it must have been a terrible experience. History books I’d read spoke little of this region of France near the Swiss border. I used meditation and expanded states of writing to access information in what authors like, Lynn McTaggart call, “the Field”. It’s a great place to tune into for pretty much anything from creative ideas to inventions. When I sat down to write the first draft of the book, I would meditate, sit at my writing desk, then images and scenes flowed fast and furious. I’d write what I saw and then verify with research later. The accuracy of what I was seeing surprised and excited me. Something unusual was going on. Or was it? 

I’m convinced that many authors, consciously or not, tap into these expanded states of awareness for information and inspiration. A part of the key to accessing them is learning to concentrate and focus in a relaxed way and then allow the information and scenes to unfurl like magic on the page. I call it the “lazy” way to write. Of course, you have to show up and put your butt on the seat. But then it’s effortless and only requires a relaxed, easy concentration and the intention to be open to the information. I’m also an intuitive, and the process is much the same for doing intuitive readings for people. Trying to force or make efforts actually blocks the process. 

In my workshops and French Alps writing retreats, quite a few participants writing in all genres have learned the process I teach and use it successfully. A fellow historical fiction writer exploring the last witches in Europe also received many details of the time period and then researched to verify. She too was astounded to see so much from her first draft confirmed by research. I suspect that much of the information from all periods of time exist in “the Field” and when we learn how to relax and focus, the information can appear easily while writing. 

Many writers used expanded and altered states of awareness for original ideas. Stephen King dreamed the story for Misery, while on a transatlantic flight, for example. Author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley received the inspiration for her iconic book while on the shores of Lake Geneva. She’d been in a playful contest with Lord Byron and her husband, Percy Shelly to see who could tell the scariest story. Overcome with frustration at not performing as she’d like in this friendly competition, she went to bed and in an in-between state, she saw Frankenstein and the story. She won that contest!

Like most authors, I imagine the story came in raw and still needed to be polished and honed before publication. With my book, The Girl on the Roof, the first draft gave me the solid foundations for the story. But in the first draft, Aurelie was much younger, about ten or twelve years old. My agent at the time suggested to make her a teenager for the later draft. The first draft took about five months to complete and each morning when I sat down to write, the energy of the scenes kept me on the edge of my seat! I could hardly wait to know what would happen next. I had a strong sense of the beginning and end, but didn’t know the intermediary events that would lead to the final outcome.  

Writing to me is a multi-dimensional experience that I want to share with readers. There’s a spiritual element to The Girl on the Roof that explores what happens after we die, consequences of actions, and reincarnation. It also touches on how departed loved ones can influence us from beyond the veil. To me being successful means writing books that entertain and uplift as well as share profound experiences that go beyond the ordinary, 3D world that a lot of people inhabit full time. My books are an invitation to experience something different. And I love to teach other writers how to access these amazing, expanded creative spaces too. 

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Debra Moffitt is an award-winning author who leads writing workshops and popular French Alps retreats. Her books Awake in the World and Garden of Bliss won IPPY Gold and Silver medals and a Foreword Bronze medal. The Girl on the Roof, her debut novel, is receiving rave reviews from NetGalley reviewers. Debra’s rare psychic abilities open up a world of unexpected insight into the French Resistance, life beyond death, and reincarnation. She was working on another book in a French farmhouse, when the girl who became Aurelie showed up and opened a world that bridged time and dimensions. 

THE GIRL ON THE ROOF 

As the people of Annecy in the French Alps meet the Gestapo’s brutality with surprising resistance, a teen-aged girl cannot rest until she solves the mystery of a death in her family. Aurelie watches as her father places a shrouded body on the North side of the roof of the family home. It’s winter, under a Nazi-declared state of siege, and they must wait until the spring thaw for the burial. But who died? And why is no one speaking to her anymore? Aurelie cannot rest until she discovers the truth and fights to prevent the same terrible fate from happening to her best friend.

“A haunting, beautiful book.” – Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author

“A dreamlike tale unfolding amidst the nightmare of war, The Girl on the Roof will transport you into another world—and beyond. Debra Moffitt pierces the thin veil that separates life from the afterlife, the hunted from the haunted, the ghost story from the love story. Through her eyes, we are offered a glimpse of the eternal energetic bonds that connect us throughout time and space. An evocative, transcendent, and truly unforgettable book.” – Amy Weiss, Author of the Hay House novel, Crescendo

Debra Moffitt’s rare psychic abilities open up a world of unexpected insight into the French Resistance, life beyond death, and reincarnation. She was working on another book in a French farmhouse, when the girl who became Aurelie showed up and opened a world that bridged time and dimensions.

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Category: On Writing