I’m surrounded by writers in my life. I take writing classes as a student and teach writing retreats and hang out with writers. And I meet a lot of people who’ve always dreamed of writing, but are still waiting for the day when they finally put their glorious words to paper.
Which always makes me a little sad.
I get this question a lot: “How do you find time to write when your plate is already so full? You got a lot going on girl!”
My first response is usually to cock my head like the RCA dog and go “Huh?” And then I think of all the things I say no to and all the ways I’ve learned to concentrate and all the experiments to stay focused…
I usually say something like, “I make it a priority.”
Sometimes I feel like a magician when I get up and get to it first thing – damn that feels good! – and other times I get my writing done by the skin of my creative teeth. But get it done I do.
That’s what this video is about.
In it I share common writing wisdom that 100% does NOT work for me (good to let those ideas GO), suggestions for things you could try to see if they work for you, and what I consider the true gift of your writing practice.
Now, before you go off to write or finally let yourself off the hook for not writing, take this in one more time.
No matter what writing practice works for you…
Let yourself love it.
Let yourself desire it. Let the pure desire of it rise up. Not the desire for the perfect outcome that so rarely (if ever!) comes for an artist, but a desire for the process. And for the hot mess that writing often is!
Be a messy and imperfect lover of writing and you might be surprised by what you’ll be able to create and how much more satisfying it will be.
