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Creating a Writing Life

Creating a Writing Life by Lisa Tener | #AspireMag

Have you ever kept a journal? Or do you like to write poetry once in a while—something private, just for you? If you have, then I imagine you’ve experienced the healing that can come from getting your experiences and feelings out on the page.

Maybe you’ve also enjoyed the power of writing for others—it can be a letter to the editor that motivates people to take action on an issue that matters to you, a blog post that inspires readers to heal or grow in some way, an article that teaches practical information, a love letter. Any of these holds the power to bring joy to someone else, even many people.

My husband’s family had an annual New Year’s Tradition at his Uncle Sam and Aunt Jinny’s house and the beautiful Three Stallion Inn in Randolph Vermont. Every New Year’s Eve Eve (no, that’s not a typo), we gather ’round the table for dinner, followed by singing holidays songs and the family song (the Badger and the Bear). After that, any new guests who had not been to the house before perform an impromptu song, skit, magic trick, etc.—either as a group or individually. Well, not totally impromptu— they have about an hour to prepare.

Each year on the way home, New Year’s Day, I composed a playful and humorous (I hope!) poem to memorialize the skits performed, the extended family and friends present, the love and fun we enjoyed together. I felt such joy sending off the poem as a thank you to Sam and Jinny—I believe those playful poems are the best thank you gifts I have ever given.

Any creative endeavor, of course, has the potential to transform the creator and those who experience the creation. I believe writing is especially powerful in this way because it can be so accessible.

Given a blank page and several writing prompts to choose from, you can likely tap into your writing muse.  The biggest issue most people face in our culture is finding the time and space in their lives to write. To create a writing life, you will need to do both these things. Here are some of my best tips, along with some examples from writers I worked:

MAKE THE TIME

  • Make Writing a Priority: Aspire Publisher Linda Joy shared with me that when writing her first book, A Juicy Joyful Life she wrote in the morning before e-mail or anything else. When you put writing before your everyday activities, you’re more likely to do it!
  • Schedule Your Writing: If it’s in your calendar for a specific time and date, it’s real. If you think, “I’ll write some time on Saturday,” you’re less likely to get to it.
  • Keep it Sacred: It’s one thing to schedule the writing, another to follow through. When other activities tempt you away from your writing commitments, ask yourself, “What is the impact on my writing and my vision if I say yes to this (and no to the writing)?” If you do decide to go with temptation, reschedule the writing immediately rather than waiting.
  • Get in the Mood: I offer writers many strategies for “Writing in the Zone.” One of my favorites ways to set the mood  is simply to go for a walk in nature. Nature helps you release distracting thoughts, move your body, still your mind and enter a space of connectedness—all conducive to creative writing.

And speaking of space…

CLAIM YOUR WRITING SPACE

Need a few ideas on how to create space in your life for writing? Here are some ideas for physical space:

  • A Room of Your Own: Not everyone has the luxury, but if possible,  it’s wonderful to have a room dedicated to writing. Sometimes, though, your muse needs a little inspiration. Consider touches that inspire your inner muse. Nicole’s muse asked her to paint her writing room Moroccan Red.
  • Surround yourself with beauty: Whether your writing space is just for writing or a multi-use room, you can fill the space with inspiring images. Perhaps your muse would enjoy paintings, a vision board or a wall mural. I took poster board and pasted a couple of my favorite poems by ee cummings along with several poems of my own. I added some colorful touches for eye candy.
  • Search Beyond Your Four Walls: Susan Rizzo Vincent, author of Dreas’ Dream: An Unfinished Dance found that being in a lively environment at a café got her writing juices flowing at first. That changed as the writing became more challenging. Her hot spot shifted to a corner in the library and later to a pew in a quiet church. Be open to the possibility that your perfect spot may need to morph over time.

SPACIOUS LIVING

Beyond physical space, you need actual spaciousness. If you have too much going on, it’s hard to write. Here are a few strategies:

  • “I’ll think about it”: Before agreeing to do something, give yourself time to consider it.
  • “No”: Say ‘no’ to activities that are lower priority than your writing time.

As you create time, physical space and spaciousness in your life for writing, you’ll be able to explore the many ways writing can bring more happiness, joy, connection and power into your life and the lives of those you encounter.

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About the author 

Lisa Tener

National book coach and published author Lisa Tener demystifies the book writing and publishing process. She helps people write their books and successful book proposals. She has appeared on ABC World News with Peter Jennings, PBS-TV and been quoted in Glamour, USA Weekend, and much more. Her book coaching clients have been on Oprah, Montel Williams, CNN and more. Her clients have recently signed contracts with Prometheus Books, Beyond Words, Simon and Schuster, Sunrise River Press and Karnac Books, to name a few. Lisa serves on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School continuing education course on writing and publishing books, and speaks and teaches throughout the US.
Her websites are www.lisatener.com.

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  • Peggy Nolan says:

    I love this Lisa. One of the big changes I made in October was to get up 2 hours earlier than I used to because two things that are so important in my life were getting shafted by the rest of the day – yoga and writing. I begin each morning, in my “library.” I turn on my Tibetan Bowl playlist, roll out my yoga mat and practice for 30-40 minutes. Meditation in motion. After yoga, I make coffee and sit with my morning pages and I read at least one chapter in my current morning book (right now, it’s “Walden” by Thoreau.) And then I have an 1.5 to dig in and write. This morning I finished editing an article that I scheduled to publish on Sunday. I have two more articles in the queue waiting for their 2nd edit before sending them where they need to go.

    My calendar is blocked off from 4:30AM – 7:15AM to take care of me and my writing life.

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