Finding Joy in Writing
by Lynne Golodner
Too many times in life, we do something for the sheer joy of it and then, because we love it so much, we ponder making it something else—a source of income, a way of being known, etc. And when we do that, we face the very real risk of losing the love and replacing it with worry, want, fear and shame.
Sound familiar?
I’m guessing this might be true about writing for you, especially if you ponder publishing. What that shift can bring is a worry of failure, a fear of judgment, a sense of competition with other writers and more. I can tell you that there is and always has been enough room for everyone in the writing and publishing space. If you want to write, you will have readers who appreciate you. If you want to publish, people will buy what you have to sell. Sure, there will always be people for whom you are not the ticket. But rather than take this as a commentary on you and your talent, I’d strongly encourage you to consider understanding this as a simple truth: they are not your readers and you are not writing for them.
What if writing could just be FUN? Remember when it was?
Let’s stop for a moment and actually remember it. Spend the next 5 minutes taking a walk down memory lane and identifying one time in your life when writing was fun. Write a little bit about what you remember, and what it felt like.
Now, how do you feel? Did something shift when you recalled that earlier you?
So, what has changed?
The best writing comes from the core of who we are, unabridged by judgment, fear or other intrusive emotions. So how do we get there? How can we separate the surface-self in the real world from the creative-self?
Creating Separations
I always encourage writers to set aside time to generate new writing separate from the time to edit drafts of existing writing. Likewise, I suggest making a different time to work on submissions for publication, separate from any writing time. Why? Because these are different energies that need to live separately, and we will be more successful at our endeavors if we respect this truth.
The best way to rediscover the joy of writing is to make a definite and deliberate separation between the everyday-you and the creative-you. How can we do this?
- Meditation
In my Accountability Cohort, we always begin with a Meditation to separate from whatever we were doing before and settle the mind so that we can inhabit a writing space. It’s short and easy, but deliberate breathing exercises combined with a short mind journey helps us settle into writing time and access creativity quickly and effectively.
Let’s try one together.
MEDITATION FOR WRITING:
Close your eyes. Sit comfortably and let the chair or couch hold you. Inhale deeply and exhale fully through your mouth.
Now let’s take a few measured breaths. Breathe in for a count of four, hold at the top for a count of two, then exhale for a count of four. Do that three times.
Now let your breathing get easy. Every breath you take, you bring air and light into your body and rejuvenate your cells. Picture a light shooting through you, invigorating your blood and your bones. Imagine taking in positive energy and possibility with every breath.
You are exactly where you’re meant to be. There is no better place for you in this moment. Every time you breathe in, you become stronger. Every time you breathe in, you become more comfortable in your body. Every time you breathe in, you are reminded that you are alive and well and filled with unique talent and voice.
With every exhale, another worry or fear leaves you. With every inhale, another possibility joins you. You can do anything you set your mind to. You can create from the depths of your soul. Writing is your soul speaking.
You were born to write. Within you is a strong, creative voice that can help other people see the beauty of this world. Within you live stories and characters and insights that are important. Within you is a flickering flame of creativity that can ignite a fire of understanding and connect you to others who need this.
In a minute, when we come back to consciousness, there will be a blank page before you. All that is expected of you is to play with the words, to put the words on the page, one word after the next. No pressure to please. No obligation to perform. Just the deep knowing that is already within you waiting to come out.
Now, let’s open our eyes and begin to write.
PROMPT: What fills you with joy? Write about a particularly joyful experience.
Here are some resources to try on your own!
The Mindful Sigh
This is a great exercise for reliving symptoms of stress like shallow breathing, tense shoulders or an increased heart rate. It’s also a weigh to shift from one mindset to another.
Start by sitting comfortably.
- Take a deep, long inhale through your nose for five seconds and hold.
- Take another quick inhale for one second and hold for three seconds.
- Sigh a slow, long exhale through your mouth for six seconds.
- Repeat the cycle three times.
That quick second inhale causes the air sacs in the lung, which collapses when we’re done inhaling, to reinflate with air. As a result, the surface area in the lungs increases, and releases carbon dioxide from the body more efficiently. This helps to relax the body.
Long exhales cause a slight increase in pressure to the receptors in the heart, signaling the brain to slow down the heart rate.
- Location
Changing up your physical location can also be a helpful tool to bring creativity closer. You can either create a nurturing and inspiring space in your home that is ONLY for writing, to train your brain whenever you’re there that this is writing time, and you can run free with whatever comes to mind.
Or, you can go somewhere else to stimulate your creative juices. It can be a coffee shop that serves your favorite frothy drinks or a library’s quiet stacks or a museum courtyard with works of art all around to inspire your imagination. Or all of these and more!
Finally, sometimes taking yourself on a walk without headphones, podcasts, music or a notebook is just the ticket for sparking curiosity and igniting creativity. It could simply be a stroll in your own neighborhood or a wander in the woods or by a body of water, and it doesn’t have to be long! Just 15 minutes can change your focus and settle your nervous system
- Writerly Influence
Connecting with other writers can boost your endorphins and spark your feel-good sensors because you’re in creative company that encourages you to write! This can be when you meet up with a writer-friend to talk shop, sit together while you each work on your own projects, or even when you read.
Reading just 10 or 15 minutes before your dedicated writing time can shift your energy and build your curiosity as you explore how other writers put words on the page. I often spend an hour in the early morning reading with a cup of tea and soft music on the speaker before I begin my writing time. It helps me enter writing in a contemplative, calm state, which is great for generating creativity.
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Finding the joy in writing is essential for creating your best work. It’s that important. If there is a way to separate your worries and desires from your writing mind, do it. And do it often! Two ways to let go and have fun with writing are to journal regularly and to write to prompt. This way, there’s nothing riding on what you produce.
Consider picking up Lisa Tener’s The Joy of Writing Journal as a resource to inspire you to journal. And consider signing up for Suleika Jaouad’s The Isolation Journals newsletter to receive weekly prompts that might spark your creativity. These are two of many resources to inspire you to play with writing, which will lead you to writing important works with ease and without judgment.
Making writing playful is the best way to rediscover the joy. And the more you do that, the more great writing will come. Play. Explore. Make it fun. Remove the stakes. Just do it for the sake of writing. That’s the best reason anyway.
