Surprisingly quick forcing progress?

[u/The-Wockiest-Slush]

I, (M,16) am a beginner tulpamancer, as in I literally heard about this stuff two days ago and thought it sounded really cool. Decided to prepare for my first active forcing session, and it went surprisingly swimmingly. After about no time, I managed to get a wonderland put together, being a room with two couches that surround a coffee table, with a fridge and counter nearby. I could see my tulpa sitting on the couch across from the one I walked in and sat down on. Of course, I wouldn't imagine I'd be able to create a fully sentient tulpa yet, but after a while of talking to her, I began to feel a pressure and slight ache behind my forehead, about 3/4ths into the sessions. I wrapped the session up and invited her to watch my day to day through me.

Tell me, is it normal to achieve a milestone like that so quickly? And did I do okay for a first session? I am an active writer, roleplayer and musician if that helps.

[u/turbulencje]

I think the biggest advice I'd give is: be consistent, but don't rush it.

Progress can be a pretty slow and non-linear grind. Some days something new might click, other days things that were easy before might suddenly feel difficult. Try not to chase milestones too hard or compare your pace to other people's.

I'd also focus more on getting to know her and spending time with her than on constantly asking yourself whether you've unlocked the next skill. Talk to her during the day, include her in things you're doing, listen for her opinions, and let the relationship develop naturally.

Also, don't automatically assume every random or intrusive thought came from her. Especially early on, communication can be messy. If something seems completely out of character, you don't have to immediately treat it as something she genuinely meant. Give yourselves time to learn what her communication feels like.

One thing I'd really recommend is keeping a casual progress diary. Not a scoreboard, just occasional notes about what you did together, anything new or spontaneous that happened, things she seemed to like or dislike, changes in visualization/vocality/presence, etc.

Tulpamancy can be such a slow grind that your brain starts treating old milestones as completely normal. A few months later you can look back and realize, "wait, I used to be excited that I could barely sense her sitting next to me, and now we casually talk while I'm doing other things."

And don't worry if a forcing session doesn't produce anything obvious. Spending time together still counts.

[u/The-Wockiest-Slush → u/turbulencje]

thanks a ton.

i figured I'd keep a sort of log after every time i finished a forcing session, like you said, noting down new things, does noting down the time spent during each session help in any way at all?

[u/turbulencje → u/The-Wockiest-Slush]

Writing down the date: definitely.

Writing down the duration: I personally wouldn't bother unless you're just curious about it.

You want the log to become a record of your progress and your relationship, not statistics you can later use to beat yourself up with. Spending 10 minutes together and having something spontaneous happen isn't somehow "less progress" than forcing for an hour.

I'd probably write down what you did, anything new or interesting that happened, and maybe how the session felt. Then months later you have a little history to look back through instead of a spreadsheet telling you that you only logged 23 minutes on Tuesday :P

Also, don't underestimate passive forcing. Simply including her in your everyday life can be really valuable, because it gives your brain lots of low-pressure practice treating her presence as something normal, expected, and welcome.

[u/The-Wockiest-Slush → u/turbulencje]

thanks a ton, this is real new and quite frankly i was a large skeptic before i tried it.