Hello friends! Sagan here. Welcome back to Indie Author Weekly, where I share my behind-the-scenes journey of writing and self-publishing books.
If you’re new to this podcast, I am a productivity strategist for multi-passionate creatives: I help people manage their time and energy effectively, through customized, actionable strategies that work for your unique life and business. When I’m not teaching about productivity to solopreneurs, I spend my time writing books, such as my Polyamorous Passions romantic comedy series. And that is what this podcast is all about: the adventures of the author life.
Get podcast episodes and writing updates delivered directly to your inbox at SaganMorrow.com/behindthescenes—link is in the show notes.
Now let’s get into this episode of the Indie Author Weekly podcast. In this episode, I want to do something a little different than usual… I want to provide you with a little writing meditation. This is an episode you can return to again and again in the future, whenever you need to hear it. This writing meditation is designed to help you get into the right headspace for working on your writing projects, to overcome any overwhelm or writer’s block or demons that are holding you back from writing at this moment.
If you are listening to this episode while you’re driving in the car or doing chores around the house, that’s no problem—in that case, of course, keep your eyes open! You’ll still get benefits from our writing meditation today, and you can always re-listen to this episode later on when you have time and space to sit quietly and comfortably, without distraction.
Let’s begin: Sit down somewhere comfortable, perhaps with your notebook and a pen or your computer close by, so you’ll be able to start writing when we’re finished. Quiet all distractions that might interrupt us for this short meditation. Get comfortable, perhaps lying down or sitting down; be restful. You can close your eyes if you wish.
For our purposes here, choose one writing project to think about. It can be an unfinished project you’ve already started, or one that you’ve been thinking about starting but haven’t gotten around to yet, or something brand new that comes up for you in this moment. This is your journey. Your author adventure. You get to make that choice.
Okay. Do you have some kind of writing idea in mind? Good. Now, what thoughts or feelings or beliefs come up for you, when you bring this writing project to mind? How does your body feel, physically? How do you feel emotionally? Maybe you have some nervousness, or excitement, or anxiety around it… maybe your heart is beating a little faster, or your mouth is curving up into a smile. Tune into that. What’s going on? What are you feeling? What are you thinking?
Maybe you’re thinking that this project is too much, and you’ll never get it done. Maybe you’re thinking that this week is going to be the week you finish it. Maybe you’re experiencing some discomfort around the ideas that you want to share, or the way that readers will perceive your writing.
Maybe you’re feeling or thinking or experiencing something else altogether. Check in with yourself. Breathe here. Be mindful of what’s happening. Sit with it. Let’s just sit with it for a moment, for a few deep breaths.
Okay. Now that you have tuned into how your writing project makes you think and feel, the experience you’re sitting with… let’s pivot just a little bit.
Let’s think about what you want from your writing project. What hopes or goals or accomplishments would you love to see from it? Maybe you want to share your ideas or values with the world. Maybe you want to be a household name. Maybe you want to be a bestselling author. Maybe you want to win literary prizes. Maybe you want your books to be turned into movies. Maybe you want to earn a living with your books. Maybe you want to be a reader’s favourite author. Maybe you want to make a stranger out there laugh, or cry, or gasp, or scream, as they feel the breadth and depth of emotions from your work. Maybe you want to make a reader smile, and give them an escape from daily life by immersing themselves in your story. Maybe you want the cathartic relief, yourself, by telling this story, by completing this writing project.
Maybe you want all of this, or something else altogether.
Tune into that. Feel into it. Imagine it’s like you’re tuning the radio, trying to get the station just right—do away with the fuzziness and tune into the clarity of your dreamy goals, your vision for the future, with this writing project.
Okay. Now once you’re there, check in with your body and mind once again. Where are your thoughts? What are you feeling? How has your body physically changed?
Maybe your nervousness or fear have transformed into excitement and motivation. Maybe your shoulders are relaxing. Maybe you felt a little bubble of laughter escape your throat. Maybe it still feels scary, but in an invigorated sort of way. A different type of fear. Maybe you’re satisfied with that project, that goal, and now you’re hungry for me. Maybe it feels as though more doors are opening for you, more opportunities are arising, more ideas and inspiration are coming up.
Check in with that. How it feels, how you think, what you experience, when you are in that achievement zone. Your writing project is complete, and you’re getting exactly what you wanted from it. Sit with that. Breathe into it, experience it, bask in it.
Doesn’t that feel amazing? Incredible.
Now: You have tuned into your desires and dreams and visions for this writing project, so let’s pivot just a little bit again. Let’s explore, together, what you’ll experience along the way to that future goal.
Whether it’s 10 or 100 or 1,000 words a day, it’s all valid. Whether the writing and storytelling feels hard or enjoyable, it’s all valid. Whether you publish immediately or receive rejection after rejection after rejection, it’s all valid. And it’s all contributing to you. To your journey. To your adventure. To your wonderful, beautiful writing project.
Maybe your path is one that you have a hard time seeing, or maybe it’s getting clearer. Maybe your author journey feels like you’re trying to make your way through a forest in the middle of the night—a little scary and there are all sorts of unseen obstacles. Maybe your author journey feels like kayaking on a gorgeous sunny day, on crystal clear water, on a calm lake without any wind—it’s just you, going at your own pace, fully in control of the direction you take, with all directions open to you. Maybe your author journey feels like you’re scaling a mountain in a big cruiser bicycle, and every pedal is slow and heavy because it’s not quite the right piece of equipment to be using. Maybe your author journey feels like you’re sitting on an airplane, flying through the air without a care in the world while someone else is at the helm.
Maybe you feel as though a couple of those scenarios are accurate for you, or maybe your author journey is something entirely different.
Whatever your author journey feels like, for this writing project, sit with it again. Breathe into it. Experience it.
And then, connect the dots. Connect how you felt and thought and what you experienced in the beginning of our time here today, at the beginning of your writing journey, to the path that you’re taking throughout your writing journey, everything you’ll think and feel and experience along the way, to that longer-term goal, accomplishment, vision that you have upon completing this writing project. Connect it all together. Connect those threads.
What happens now? You might find that they fit together, these different elements, like jigsaw puzzle pieces. It all connects together. Whatever it is that you feel, that you think, that you experience, it’s unique to you. It’s part of your author adventure. It all connects together, in some way or another.
It starts with a single step. And it continues with another small step, and another, and another. And as you keep moving forward, no matter how small or slow those steps may be, no matter how difficult or smooth the path you’re taking, you will become a better writer and storyteller, and you will be that much closer to completing this writing project. That much closer to your goal. By the very nature of it, you can take the tiniest little steps, the slowest little steps, whatever happens to be manageable for you, today, and that small action will by its own virtue improve your writing and storytelling abilities.
Breathe into that. Sit with that for a moment. Consider the small step you might take today, the small step you might take tomorrow, and your beautiful, dreamy accomplishments you’ll achieve along the way with your author journey; your writing and storytelling adventure.
Sit with this, now, again. Let’s just sit with it for a moment, for a breath. And another.
You are a writer. You are a creative being. There is always more creativity, more ideas, more inspiration, to be had. You are a bottomless well of creativity, of ideas, of inspiration. There are always more stories within you. There are always more stories for you to tell. There are always more perspectives to take on an existing story.
You have a beautiful, abundant amount of creative abilities within you. It’s time to tap into that. To release some of that. To share some of your creativity with the world. It’s time to share it, either by putting your pen to paper, using a computer or typewriter, or telling stories in any way you choose.
You are a writer. A creative being. Let’s unleash that. Let’s see what happens. Let’s see what magic you will make, today, right now.
And breathe...
And breathe...
And write.
Okay. There we have it. I hope you enjoyed today’s writing meditation. And as always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this… did you enjoy this episode? Would you like more writing meditations, or specific meditations to help you with various aspects of your author journey? Please do share your thoughts.
You can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram, @Saganlives, to chat about it, or to let me know if you have requests for future episode topics. The more you tell me what you’d like to see more of on this podcast, the better that I can accommodate that.
If you enjoyed this episode, please take 2 minutes to share this podcast on social media and subscribe and rate it on Apple Podcasts—any time you share it or leave a rating or review, it helps more listeners find the Indie Author Weekly podcast, so every bit counts! I really appreciate your support.
And let’s stay in touch: Get podcast and book updates delivered directly to your inbox, plus unlock awesome bonuses such as free chapters of my books, at SaganMorrow.com/behindthescenes—link is in the show notes.
Thanks so much for tuning in to the Indie Author Weekly podcast, and I will see you in the next episode.