writer's block
my words aren’t ‘flowing’ like they used to…
“my words aren’t flowing like they used to…”
It’s already February.
I thought I would be writing more this Winter.
I thought I would be writing a LOT more. When I found out I was pregnant in September, I looked forward to settling into a “creative winter” - a season when I would naturally drop into an introverted and immersive flow state.
What I didn’t take into account was regular life responsibilities combined with the added “to-do’s” of pregnancy and birth prep.
Now I find myself on the other side of Winter’s halfway mark - and almost everything I’ve written lately has been copy for my social media/marketing job.
Is it creative?
Yes, it is.
Is it expansive, fulfilling and liberating in the way I had imagined it to be?
Not exactly.
For months I have found myself complaining about a lack of time and space in my days, getting caught up in freeze, flight and fight states that come with feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. “I just don’t have time to write. I need a lot of space in order to get into a creative flow... I’m too busy. I’m lacking in new experiences and inspiration. My creative well is being drained by other things…”
What I’ve really been doing, is making a lot of excuses.
Yes, life has amped-up a bit more than I anticipated. Yes, there are things I need to attend to.
But none of it is so daunting that I can’t make space for my creative process.
As I prepare for my upcoming writing co-hort with Deanne Vincent, Write Your Heart Out, I’ve had to get honest and accept that, the only thing stopping me from writing more is myself.
Let’s break down the excuses:
I don’t have time to write. ~ Not true. In fact, I spend more time thinking about the things “I want to be doing.” when I could just be doing them. How much more time I would have if I just got out of my head about it!
I need a lot of space in order to get into a creative flow. ~ Somewhat true, I do need space to get into a creative flow, it doesn’t just happen for me immediately. But “a lot” is relative. I know that as I enter into this chapter of motherhood, my concept of time and space will be shifting a lot!
I’m too busy. ~ This one’s a matter of managing my priorities, setting boundaries, and making time for myself. My whole life flows easier (work, family, partnership, etc.) when I create time for creativity and nourishing my soul first.
I’m lacking in new experiences and inspiration . ~ I am an experience-seeker, and despite the message I’ve been receiving (loud and persistently) from one of my Oracle decks, “Now is the time to integrate all that you have gathered.”, I perpetually resist slowing down to allow for integration to happen - to let the integration be the inspiration! There is no experience to chase, so much happening in the minutiae of the hear and now, and also so much from previous experiences that is still waiting to be written.
My creative well is being drained by other things ~ I’ve been in mostly creative jobs all my life, and I imagine that you dear reader, may relate to this one. Maybe you’re also a “Type A” worker who will passionately devote your creativity to someone else’s business, while simultaneously neglecting your own art, only to find out that a fire of resentment is starting to build inside of you. It doesn’t have be like this though, for there is no lack of creativity in the Universe. You can always refill your creative well - all you have to do is make yourself available to the Divine flow.
The creative process is inherently co-creative. You make a move, the Universe makes a move. It’s relational. If we’re not showing up to the page and making ourselves available to the Creative Muse, it’s likely not going to come knocking at our front door.
There are many ways in which we can let the Muse know we are ready and willing. It might look like taking a mindfulness walk in nature and then immediately after recording your reflections in your journal. Or setting an alarm for 30 minutes earlier in the morning to meditate and write. Or playing an inspiring song for 5-10 minutes and dancing around your kitchen before sitting down at your computer.
It might look like joining this writing group, where you will be invited into inspiration-inducing practices, receive Divine guidance, and be supported in an accountable 5-week container…
so that your words can flow again.
“my words aren’t ‘flowing’ like they used to, but I have no doubt they will again…”
I wrote this in my journal a few weeks ago. I’m ready to trust in my creative process again and WRITE. Are you too?
from my Heart,
Melinda
P.S. Write Your Heart Out will meet online on Tuesdays at 7pm EST, beginning on 2/25. Early bird pricing is $144. until 2/14. (A $55 savings.) Enter CREATEMAGIC at checkout.
We’re very excited to welcome those of you who have already joined. ❤️
“I signed up for the Write Your Heart Out five week workshop! I’m ready to break my writer’s block!”
“Just signed up! This sounds so fulfilling and I can’t wait to do it with you!! I’ve been wanting to lean more into writing and it came up again during my morning meditation. Kismet I tell you.”
“OMG, Write Your Heart Out, I am signing up. Feels so divinely guided.”