WRITE YOUR LIFE SESSION 4: THE RIGHT TO WRITE

Who is a writer? Often we think of writing “professionally” as the only legitimate way to call yourself a writer, but looking back on my own writing life, it wasn't until I started writing “just” for myself that my writing really took off. The writing I have done because it really pleased me has been much more satisfying than the writing I have done for money. I would urge you to use this measure of your success - Does my writing please me? Am I enjoying the process? Am I satisfied with what I am  writing? - rather than how much money you make from it. And if you write, dare to call yourself a WRITER! 

Here are some of my favorite quotes about writing: 

"Everybody is talented original and has something important to say." --Brenda Ueland from her book "If You Want to Write."

 “...[A] writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view, a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.” --Junot Diaz

After sharing insights and discoveries from our small stones practice, we read the first two pages of Brenda Ueland's "If You Want to Write." Then we got down to the business of writing:  

EXERCISE 1: A 15-minute free-write (similar to the "Morning Pages" from Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way") - What would you write about if you knew no one would judge you, if you were totally free? This is stream-of-consciousness writing, no reading, no editing, no critiquing, just writing. 

EXERCISE 2: Saying “Yes!” - What are you saying no to, or perhaps maybe to, right now that you want to say “Yes” to? This could be in writing or in life. Why are you saying No? What worn-out belief or old fear is holding you back? Are you ready to let it go? If not, what would you need to do in order to be ready? Can you do that now? If not, what would you need to be ready to do it now? 


Post-writing check-in. How did that feel? Were you able to do it? How long did it take to free yourself from the critic? Did you write what you expected? Did you change what you wrote (for instance did you start out journaling and end up writing a poem?)? 
 
HOMEWORK – Do a 15-minute free-write every day. It can be first thing in the morning or when you sit down to rest, anytime you have a few quiet minutes. Remember to just write. Don't edit or censor or critique. 
 
Next Week: WRITE YOUR LIFE! The culmination of all our work together, we will use our writing skills to write our lives and manifest the life we have always wanted. Please join us!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Wisdom from Raul Julia

Quote of the Week - May 21, 2012 - What happens for one...

28 Days of Kindness: Day 25