Start & Sustain a Creative Writing Practice

Creative writing--including journaling, poetry, essays, inquiries, and personal projects--can be a great way to learn more about and enliven our inner worlds. A creative writing practice helps to clear the mind and strengthen connections to one's inner world. The goal at any stage of your writing commitment is to simply get out of the way of the words. Allow them to flow through you, teaching you and perhaps taking you where you've never been before. If you are on a wellness, healing, or self-love journey at any stage, I recommend that you begin to write. About anything and everything. You don't need an audience--in fact, in the beginning, it's better if there is no one to read what you produce. When no one is looking, what will you say? What will you bring forth? What will you be? May it be everything that you are.

TIPS TO START & SUSTAIN YOUR WRITING PRACTICE

KEEP WRITING MATERIALS EVERYWHERE YOU ARE: your car, your bag, your bedside table, your desk, your kitchen. Inspiration comes at anytime you allow it. Make sure you have a place to put the words when they begin to pour through you.

WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS as soon as you wake from them—before you move. I type mine into my phone—in an email to myself or a page of my Notes app—whichever I open first. Get all the wisps of the dream down, then DO NOT THINK OF IT. Fall back asleep. If you perseverate over it during the night, you may not be able to sleep the rest of the night. Save the dreams for the morning. You may wish to print and keep them in a journal or at least an electronic file folder organized by date. Look back at them from time to time. Illustrate them if you like! Dreams communicate with us in the moment, and in other moments. In this practice, you may be able to get clear on what the subconscious is urging or encouraging.

Writers may choose to WRITE FOR OTHERS—to consume, to enjoy, to learn or consider something new. You may also choose to WRITE FOR YOURSELF—to heal, to create joy, to remember, and to satisfy the soul. Whatever you write, know your reasons. Honor your audience even—and especially—if you write for you.

If you are writing to heal, HAVE A SOLID SET OF SELF-CARE PRACTICES IN PLACE. Be kind to yourself. Honor your instincts. Take care of your physical body. Get fresh air and filtered water. Don’t think of what you are producing, but focus on what you are realizing about yourself. Pay attention to all the connections and constellations as they occur to you. Be open. Be amazed. Be all that you are.

INCORPORATE OTHER FORMS OF ART IN YOUR WRITING. Keep watercolors and brushes, glitter and glue, found objects, and other multimedia on your writing desk. If you find you are stuck generating words, generate something else instead—pictures, maps, threads that you’d like to write about once the words come. Record yourself reading something you’ve written. Get brave with it and share it with a friend or your entire online audience!

Incorporate “RE-CREATION” into each day. Play allows us to create again and again. It opens the mind and sets us up in a working THETA or BETA state whrein we get more insights, inspiration, and energy. When we engage in play we lose track of time. We are in fact timeless.  

BOOKS YOU MAY WISH TO HAVE IN YOUR LIBRARY:

Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way

Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act—A Way of Being (the author reads the audiobook, which it excellent!)

REFLEXOLOGY & SOMATIC COACHING can further support you in your quest to write without hesitation or self-criticism. Contact sara@dreamreflexology.com to create a wellness approach that matches your budget and helps you feel great in all that you write and in all that you are!