Draft Your Writer’s Obituary to Have a Great Creative Life

I know no one wants to talk about death, but sometimes staring at the reality of our mortality can help us live our juju a bit more.

If I were to open Poets & Writers, or Writer’s Digest, or Writer of the Year magazine and saw your writer’s obituary, what would it tell me about your writing life?

Often, creating a vision for our creative work can help us choose what to focus on and what to discard.

Clarifying what we ultimately want to be known for helps us make powerful decisions for our creativity.

Try this: Cast your vision to the end of your life and reflect upon what you accomplished by drafting your Writer’s Obituary. Include some or all of the following:

• What will you be known for as a writer?
• What genres have you explored?
• Include publications, awards and any accolades you would like to garner throughout your writer’s life. Include the impact you will have upon your readers.

Artists of all genres can play with this. Let this be playful instead of morbid. Create a really big and outrageous vision. Don’t overwork it – just write whatever comes to you, letting yourself be surprised. Write a juicy one for yourself!

Here’s mine:

Cynthia Morris wrote and published widely. Her articles and books about the creative process inspired millions to be more empowered and expressed. Her novel, Chasing Sylvia Beach was a global bestseller and the basis of the hit film of the same name. She was in great demand as an entertaining speaker and workshop leader. Morris died from a giggle fit at 89 in her home in Paris.

Try it

Keep it to 200 words or less. Post it on your blog and include a link in a comment below.
Drop a comment below and let me know what you learned from doing this.