The Writing Life

Where, oh where is that authentic voice of yours? It’s not hiding in others’ writing. It’s right there, in your pen or keyboard, waiting for you to ink a path to it. The problem is, it can take some effort to find your voice.

I’ve found the quickest way to hearing our voice is by using free-writing. Somehow, the timer, a random prompt and permission to write imperfectly loosens up the chokehold you feel around your voice.

Regular free-writing connects you to your voice more quickly and more reliably.

Prompt: When I hear my writing voice, I…

This is part of a 30-day series focused on how free-writing can change your life. Start from the beginning here.

Before you sit down to write, there’s a voice – perhaps a chorus – singing a stinky tune about all the reasons you shouldn’t write. You don’t know what to say. You’re crappy with spelling. Someone else has probably already written what you want to write. Blah de blah blah.

Your inner critic seems to have an endless list that keeps you from what you want to do – write. But guess what?

Free-writing is like driving on a highway in your mind you didn’t know you have access to. Here, you find that you do know what you want to say, you have a unique way of saying it, and for the first draft, spelling doesn’t matter as much as getting your words out.

You’re going to love how free writing shows your inner critic a thing or two.

Prompt: Without my inner critic, I can…

This is part of a 30-day series focused on how free-writing can change your life. Start from the beginning here.

One of my favorite things about free-writing is that it can be used for any kind of writing. My students claim that after a month of free-writing, everything they have to write feels easier. Blog posts, emails, proposals…when they have free-writing at their disposal, words for any kind of project come easier.

And sometimes, we need help. We need the wisdom of a guide or another perspective from a friend. Guess what? That insight can come from your very own pen. It’s amazing how letting rip on an issue for 15 minutes can reveal insights you couldn’t access simply by circling the problem endlessly in your mind.

Prompt: A challenge I am facing now is…

This is part of a 30-day series focused on how free-writing can change your life. Start from the beginning here.

You know how we read books like Daily Rituals, trying to learn from other people’s writing process? It’s like we’re looking for the magic key that will show us how to unlock our own genius.

The problem is that someone else’s key probably won’t work to open your writing gates. You have to – get to – discover what works for you. There’s one way to do that – write regularly and reveal your own writing process.

When you free-write regularly, you learn what works. You gain insight about what doesn’t work. You find your writing process from the inside, not from watching someone else’s process.

It’s okay to be inspired by other’s process. And, there’s only one process that will work for you: yours.

Prompt: What I know about my process…

This is part of a 30-day series focused on how free-writing can change your life. Start from the beginning here.

The way to excel at anything is to practice.

I have a yoga practice, a coaching practice and a writing practice. These are all very different but as practices, they have things in common.

A practice requires you to show up regularly. A practice doesn’t demand excellence, or even good, on the first laps out. A practice teaches us courage and humility. It’s humbling to show up again and again, seeking to express yourself.

A practice also pays off over time. I don’t want to be discouraging. I know we want results for our efforts. I also know that lasting results happen over time, when we show up. When we practice.

Free-writing is an excellent way to practice. To show up without expectations, willing to see what’s there. I show up at yoga this way. I show up with my clients this way. I show up for my writing this way. Open, ready and willing to let the practice lead me. It’s a relief to let my practices hold me as I grow and learn.

Prompt: What do your practices teach you?  

This is part of a 30-day series focused on how free-writing can change your life. Start from the beginning here.