I started writing a novel again.
I’m trying to do it differently this time because last time (I wrote a novel) it was like carrying an 80 pound pack while walking on a beach in the pouring rain (if you’ve ever backpacked on sand, you know what I mean) or trying to talk politics with my dad (Daddy, you know now we agreed, down deep? That’s one of the things you got to learn in heaven, right?)
Since this month at the Comfort Cafe we’ve been talking about daily rituals, it got me thinking about creating a ritual for writing my novel.
First I thought about the ritual needed to do, what its purpose would be.
- To help me hold the writing lightly – what Mark calls “writing on the muse stream” so I don’t get mired in perfection and drown the story in that
- Make a heart commitment to write deeply and truly and to let myself care madly about this story
- Keep moving the story forward and
- Refuse to burden the story with my dreams of grandeur
My Morning Writing Ritual is Born
The night before I turn off email and Twitter (practice starts the night before).
When I go up to my studio in the morning, I light two candles made by Carla. One candle has a writing quote on it by me and the other is from a dear client and represents my wish that my work radiate good into the world.
I prop up a copy of a Harry Potter book to my right to symbolize my desire to have fun and keep the story moving forward.
On the ledge to my left is a postcard of the Medicine Buddha held in place by a small green wooden mouse from my childhood – to represent discernment and listening to my intuition about what to write.
On my desk is a blue glass container filled with owl feathers from a hike near Point Reyes. These represent magic, what I want to touch in my writing.
I do a little Shiva Nata.
I put in headphones and listen to music to help me concentrate – I especially like Gaia by the Monroe Institute.
Then I write without much editing, stopping when I get stuck to breath and listen to what word or idea wants to come, letting the props and music hold and support me.
I’m thinking about sharing more on my process and even some of what I’m writing here, so stay tuned.
What helps you create with more ease and trust, less fear? I’d love to hear!
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16 responses so far ↓
1 Joely Black May 22, 2009
What a wonderful ritual! I write at night, for the most part, because those hours are magic to me.
I’m not sure why. I’m excited to see how this goes for you.
Joely Black’s last blog post..My personal writing traditions, and making some changes
2 Jacqueline Wales May 22, 2009
Hi Jennifer,
Paula thought to introduce us and I’m happy to meet you. I like your thinking.
As a writer, I spend a great deal of my time with my words, and it’s easy to get caught in fear and not move forward because the inner critic is at work telling you how you’re wasting your time, untalented, etc.
I saw Bah Humbug to all that. Plough on through, take it Bird by Bird and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Even if it’s voices in your head. If they do, ask them to give writing a shot. Everyone loves a critic! Not. I’ll bet they’ll shut up real fast.
Let’s have a longer conversation about these fearful times. But in the meantime, check out The Fearless Factor. I think we’ve got a few things in common.
All the best
Jacqueline
3 Hiro Boga May 22, 2009
Jen, this is beautiful. To honor your muse in this way is to invite her to be the sacred center of your life. And yes! to beginning the night before.
Thanks for the inspiration, and for sharing your process with us.
I write early in the morning, when the openness and possibility of the day are still fresh and new. Before the world comes flooding in.
And on pajama days, I write until lunchtime, or until I’m empty, whichever comes first.
Much love to you as you launch forth on this journey. May it be a blessing for you, and may you emerge with a novel that brings your big, beautiful heart even more into the world.
Hiro Boga’s last blog post..Stuff and Nonsense
4 Kim May 22, 2009
Nicely done! Thank you and I’m going to try incorporating something similar into my morning ritual. This helps. Thank you.
5 Emma Newman May 22, 2009
Thanks for sharing this with us – it’s made me think that I should actively design a ritual to start my next book, and one for the regular writing of it.
When I wrote the first book, my life was totally different, and having read this, I realise why I am floundering: my old ritual no longer exists as that life no longer exists.
New book, new lifestyle, new ritual. Duh!
Emma Newman’s last blog post..The rule of three
6 Shannon May 22, 2009
Jen, I love the energy and the intentionality around this ritual that you’ve created. So beautiful!
Many of the elements you incorporate — visual cues, music, yoga/meditation/breathing — work for me. I also have some crystals that have good opening energy for me, and I usually wear one of my necklaces that speaks to me of being inspired and blooming big in my life, too.
Two additional things that work for me:
1) Doing some automatic writing first with my muse/guide. I will usually either use an oracle card as a starting point or ask a question and then write whatever I hear back as the answer.
2) Do a short visualization where I imagine my writing through the lens of flowers. This puts me in a place of appreciation, love, wonder and magic. (You could pick a metaphor of any thing you love. I wrote about metaphors on my blog today, if you want to learn more.)
One takeaway I love from your post is your higher intentions behind the ritual. I haven’t really identified these for myself for this new book I am writing, but I intend to do so now.
Thanks for your generous spirit of sharing!
And I’m sending you lots of wishes for writing lightly and with heart!
Hugs, Shannon
Shannon’s last blog post..Flowering Fridays: Seeing the Flowers
7 Jennifer May 22, 2009
Joely I have never been able to write at night. Hey, my main character is named Joely!!!
Hiro, thank you. Having you in my court is helping me.
Jacqueline – great to meet you, looking forward to reading your work.
Emma, yes! We talked about this a bunch at the Cafe this month, how rituals need to change with us, and to help us change.
Shannon, great great ideas. WOW!
8 Josiane May 22, 2009
This sounds like a nice ritual. It’s great to see that it includes your Shiva Nata practice! My gentleman friend is a writer, and I got him into Shiva Nata precisely because I thought it would help him with his writing.
I’m glad to know you’ll be sharing more about your process; seeing my gentleman friend working made me curious about what it’s like for other writers. Also, since I’ll be attending your writer’s retreat, I appreciate “seeing” you writing, and getting to know you through how you relate to that activity.
Josiane’s last blog post..When life hands you lemons *and* makes the lemonade
9 Marisa May 22, 2009
Jen, I agree that ritual starts the night before! If I let myself check “just one email”…I get sucked in. I let myself listen to the news….and I sit there and listen and avoid creating. I have found that I have to make time to get out in the world and write, so I try to go to a local cafe or coffee shop. When that doesn’t work, I go to the local library (it’s a short walk away, and the movement clears my head and prepares my heart for writing).
Marisa’s last blog post..Seasonal Delight
10 Gyllian Davies May 22, 2009
Hi Jen – thanks for the really practical and juicy tips. I add to the list two things:
1. I have a dress that when I saw it sang to me – “Writer’s Garb!”. It gives me a feeling of magical possibility – so, clothing that opens doors!
2. William Stafford’s life-saving advice:
“Keep writing and lower your standards” has saved me over and over again when I get caught in a place of torturous self-criticism.
Gyllian Davies’s last blog post..Spring Greens!
11 Goddess Leonie | GoddessGuidebook.comO May 23, 2009
Oh woman, that is SO SO precious. I love hearing this. Congratulations on writing your novel again, and creating a soft little nest for you to do it from. I just think you are so wonderful
Goddess Leonie | GoddessGuidebook.comO’s last blog post..World Scoop Alert: Interview with SARK
12 Bevin May 23, 2009
Hi Jen!
I’m in Italy right now, working on two books and at the same time trying not to get so wrapped up in the process that I miss Italy!
I had a great discussion with Michael Neill (my coach) after listening to one of his podcasts on having average days. If we set “average day” goals for ourselves, rather than really difficult, hard to attain, beat ourselves up goals, we’ll get to the end of our books and enjoy the whole process so much more! For me, that means that right now I want to be sure that every day I get two pages written on at least one of the projects. There are obviously some days that I write more but I don’t beat myself up if I achieve just my average amount.
Your rituals sound lovely and I’m excited to add some more elements to my writing rituals as well.
Much love to you and your projects!
Bevin
13 Liz May 23, 2009
Thank you so much for sharing. I was recently reading something in which an author referred to his “sacred writing space”, and that phrase really resonated with me. I also thought, wow, I’m lucky to have a sacred sock drawer in the chaos of my life right now — I pretty much write at the corner of my dining room table when I can get a spare second. Perhaps having both spiritual and physical space for creativity is more important than I thought. All my blessings to your own sacred space, and to what you continue to share.
Liz’s last blog post..The benefits of being a woodpecker
14 Stephanie May 23, 2009
Jen,
Thank you so much for sharing your rituals with us. It was such a joy to find your words in my inbox this morning. And even more wonderful when I found all the comments from other writers!
I have been working on creating a guide for my current piece this last week because it has become obvious to me that the format I have been forcing on myself is not leading me in the right direction. I spent much of this week ignoring the squirrel in my head who’s been telling me I’m “not accomplishing anything that will benefit this book” and I’m “just wasting the days away” and I’ve been digging into what’s in my heart. This is after all what I want my readers to hear anyways!
After asking myself some mindful questions and journaling for some days I am finally getting out of my to-do list routine, that really only works at the grocery store anyways. What a task it was to convince myself it was okay to abandon this old and useless ritual of making mile long, robot-like lists that I’ve forced myself to use for everything in life! There has never been any flexibility in this routine and it has often left me feeling worse because I could never happily complete everything on the list.
But I’m giddy in finding that my heart has held a map for me all this time. What a difference it makes to stop allowing my mind to make an outline for the book and to follow my heart’s instructions on what needs to flow out next! I’m going to make some new rituals, ones that actually work, and make them my own and I’ll let you know what comes of it. Thanks again!
Steph
15 Chris S. May 23, 2009
Hi Jen –
When I’m working on a novel I create a soundtrack of music to go along with it. It can be however long you want and can either be a reflection of the overall tone/theme of the book, or songs the character likes (that speak a sub-dialogue for him/her that she/he can’t say out loud to her/himself or the other characters), or it can be music that relates to important scenes or chapters. Sometimes I’ll play one song over and over when I’m working on a scene, as it really helps get me ‘feeling’ the mood of the scene in a way that bypasses words.
Plus it’s just fun and keeps you motivated! I encourage my students to do this, as well as create a collage of/about their main character and hang it over their desk to stare at during moments of Writer’s Blank (my version of writer’s block. ‘Blank’ feels more appropriate!). Perhaps a picture of what they think he/she looks like. Clothes they might wear, the house they might live in, images that have symbolic meaning for the issues they’re dealing with.
The images (like the sound of the music on the soundtrack) can help you tune in to what you should write in a way that words sometimes can’t.
Just sharing these rituals of mine in case they appeal. I always feel a renewed sense of commitment to the work when I create these side projects. The best thing is when I hear one of the songs I’ve picked on the radio!
Chris
16 Jennifer May 24, 2009
A sound track! Love that idea. But daunting too… I could see spending hours finding the songs!
Bevin, enjoy Italy for all of us.
Stephanie, please share how the new way works. I go back and forth between thinking/wanting to outline more and wanting just to write.