Tag: inspiration

A Writing Ritual to Inspire Creativity

Jaclyn4 Comments

A routine can be great for creativity. But it doesn’t need to be stuffy or mundane. You can unlock your creativity by just taking small steps to create that magical space where you can connect with your imagination and your muse. Here is a writing ritual to inspire creativity and overcome writer’s block each time they sit down with their words.

A Writing Ritual to Inspire Creativity A Ritual to Unlock Creativity

Why Do a Writing Ritual?

Here I am, staring at the blank page. I know you know this feeling. The trepidation before starting. The pressure to choose just the right word to start. Perhaps even the worry about what that person would think if they read your writing.

Sometimes it can be difficult to get the creative juices flowing. You know you want to write. You know you want to create, but you just don’t feel like you’re in the right mindset. 

One thing we can do to help inspire creativity is to create a writing ritual that helps set the stage for our brain to enter that special space where ideas can flow. Having a writing ritual can help you develop a writing habit and routine, because it’s a way of creating a separate time and space for writing to occur. A ritual can help us limit distractions so that we can focus on the task at hand. 

It can also lower the threshold for beginning the act of writing. If just sitting down and getting started is too intimidating, the small actions of a ritual can get you moving in the direction of your writing with much less at stake. It can be so much easier to light a candle than it is to start that next chapter, or the first line of a poem. Making your first step in your writing process something simple, easy, and an act that you can do without thinking (or overthinking) allows you to get started without the pressure of the blank page.

The atmosphere you set while writing can also help you be more creative by encouraging you to stay in the present. Music, candles, your favorite beverage—anything that engages the senses can help keep you mindful of what you are working on and where you are in the moment so you don’t drift off into the regrets of the past or the worries of the future. These small cues are signals to our brain that this moment is where our attention should be.

Finally, going through the motions of a writing ritual can also make it more likely that you will write again next time. There is a lot of emphasis on pre-writing rituals, and the things you do before you get creative can certainly help prime the pump. But there is also value to closing out your writing practice. A little bit of gratitude or taking stock of what you’ve accomplished at the end of your writing session can give you a little push of motivation to get back to the desk the next time you want to write.

Here is a ritual to help get you in a creative frame of mind. 

Writing Ritual to Tune in to Your Creativity

You will need:

  1. Something scented: a candle, incense, essential oil, wax melts. These can be especially powerful if you have something in a scent that will help inspire creativity specifically, like lavender, clary sage, eucalyptus, jasmine, or tangerine. Look here for ideas about which scents can help increase your creativity. You can also choose a scent that you enjoy, or one that makes you feel more confident or transformed.

Directions:

  1. Dim the lights. Just a small change in atmosphere can make a big difference and dimming the lights is scientifically shown to enhance your creativity.
  2. Use your scent. Light your candle. Cleanse the room with your incense. Dab your essential oil behind your ears or turn on your wax melts. The idea here is to start using a scented trigger that will tell your brain that it is now time to start getting creative. 
  3. Meditate. Spend a few minutes meditating. You might prefer to do this in the quiet alone with your thoughts, but if you need guidance, you can check out this short and effective meditation on YouTube.
  4. Set your intention. You might want to set an actual goal for this session, like “I will finish Chapter 23.” Or you might want to say a few affirmations. Some of my favorites for creativity are: “I am connected to the inspiration from the universe.” “Ideas and words flow easily out of me.” “My imagination is limitless.” You can look here for more affirmations that might inspire you. Whatever your intention is, say it out loud three times. Then let it go and trust that it will be done.
  5. Write. This is, of course, the most important part. The stage has been set. All you need to do is show up and let your words fly.
  6. Give thanks. When you are finished writing, close your ritual by giving thanks. It’s been shown that gratitude can help boost your creativity. So thank your muse, yourself, the universe, or whatever power you connect with for giving you the time and space to write. 

A Creative Daily Routine

The more often you do this ritual, the more it will help prime your imagination and inspire your creativity. Each time you do it, you’ll be sending the signal to your subconscious that it’s time to open the imagination floodgates and slip into your writing. 

Of course, this is just one example of a ritual that you can mold and make into your own personal routine. You might want to create a ritual that focuses on productivity, focus, or intuition. 

We artists can be individual and fickle, with our own quirks and processes, so you could think about creating a ritual that is individually suited to your own style. Maybe you get motivated by music, or by wine, or by Pomodoro sprints. Maybe you work better in certain places or even in certain outfits. To create your own personalized routine, check out this definitive guide to writing rituals. It contains ideas and suggestions for each stage of a ritual to help you find what works best for you.

For more inspiration and help getting started, you might like these writing prompts.

Let me know if you’ve tried this, and if you’ve made it your own. 

Enjoy!

The Definitive Guide to Writing Rituals

Jaclyn15 Comments

What is a writing ritual and what are the benefits? How do you create a writing ritual that boosts your creativity or your productivity? How do you find that special set of actions that will inspire you and help you beat writer’s block? This post is a deep dive into the idea of writing rituals: what they are good for, how to create your own, some examples of writing rituals to try, and how to choose the best ritual for you.

writing rituals: the definitive guide

Writing Rituals

I don’t know about you friends, but sometimes it can be hard to get in the mood. 

Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about writing. 

It can be difficult with so many of life’s distractions to find the time and the space to write. There’s dishes and the post office and three-year-olds trying to show you what they made. There’s Facebook and Netflix and nature just outside beckoning you to take a walk. How do you find the room in your day to write? The answer is you don’t. You don’t find room. You make the room. 

You hear this advice all over the writing world. When I first heard it, I thought it was harsh. It seemed to imply that I needed to cut other things out of my life so that I could write. Spend less time with the kids. Sleep less. Don’t do anything for fun. Just sit at the keyboard and bleed, was what I heard every time someone lectured me about making the time and space to write.

But I am realizing I have been thinking about it all wrong. Making the time to write doesn’t have to be so harsh. What if making the time to write just means creating a special time, a special place where you can really just focus on your creativity? A special experience outside our mundane expectations where you can let yourself get lost in the words. You make the time and the space to write by creating a ritual around it. 

There is a long tradition of writers needing rituals. We’ve all heard the stories of idiosyncratic writing rituals of famous writers. Fredrich Schiller reportedly needed the smell of rotting apples to write. Colette would pick fleas from her bulldog until the muse arrived. Dan Brown hangs upside down and Victor Hugo could only write nude. Creativity requires a bit of magic, a bit of being outside of ourselves and being open to a wider, larger perspective. So how do we become more creative? More productive? How do we beat writer’s block and connect with our muse? We create the right conditions.

What is a writing ritual?

A writing ritual is a particular set of actions that you do over and over again in order to better your writing. It’s something that you do time and again to make the sacred space for creation. A signal that you are leaving all your worries and cares about the mundane behind and giving this time over to connection and grounding in your practice. It doesn’t have to be magical or woo-woo. It just has to be something that works for you. That special sauce of things you know you can do that will help you get in the mood.

Why do a writing ritual?

What are the benefits of creating a daily writing ritual that works for you? There are actually quite a few. You can think of it on a magical level, as if you are calling your muse, or you can think of it as something scientifically proven to help you get into the flow. Either way, there are clear benefits to having intention in the actions and atmosphere around your writing. Here are some reasons to create a ritual to help your writing process:

  1. Creates a separate space and time that’s devoted to writing. Creating a writing ritual allows you to transform yourself or your space into something special where you can let go of other distractions and concentrate more fully.
  2. Primes your brain for writing. The little things we do can send signals to your brain that it is time to write, and therefore help you begin sooner. As Stephen King puts it, “The cumulative purpose of doing these things the same way every day seems to be a way of saying to the mind, you’re going to be dreaming soon.”
  3. Lowers the bar to get started. Psychologically, creating a writing ritual helps you lower the bar to start. It’s easier to light a candle than it is to write the first line of your novel. But all you have to do is take that one first step, and then the next step and the next. Creating a writing ritual allows you to control that first step, perhaps even the first few steps, to make them small enough that you never have an excuse not to start.
  4. Allows you to connect more to the process and the muse. There is quite a bit of talk of pre-writing rituals—about what to do to get started. But I think it is equally important to take stock of our actions while we are writing. Creating a ritual around your writing can help you stay more in the present moment and broaden your senses to things you don’t ordinarily stop to pay attention to.
  5. Increases motivation by creating time to take stock. In the same way that your actions before and during writing are important, so are the actions you take right after you finish. How do you leave your writing or story in such a way that you are eager to come back to it?

Parts of a Writing Ritual

Part 1. Separation: Setting the tone

To start your ritual, you want to set the tone and mark it as a special time and place. This should be an action that helps lower the bar to starting, something that is easy for you to do and tells your brain “Ok, it’s time to write!” Here are three ways that you might begin to prepare yourself to write and separate yourself from your daily distractions.

  1. Open and welcome. This is a chance for you to light the spark. Choose one small thing to be your opening signal, the signal to yourself and your muse (or perhaps your family) that the sacred time has begun. It’s good if this first step takes very little time, in fact, just a moment is best. Think of this as the moment that everything begins. Here are some ways to begin marking the moment: Ring a bell. Dim the lights. Light a candle. Say a special phrase that inspires you. Maybe your way of opening and welcoming is to gather with a group. Join a Discord group or plan to sit down and work with a friend. Community can be a powerful motivator.
  2. Transform yourself. You can transform your state of mind, by meditating, taking a walk, going outside, doing yoga, having coffee, etc. What puts you in the right mindset? Or you can transform your outer appearance. Maybe you throw on your most comfy sweater to settle in, or your most sassy lipstick. It could be as simple as taking a shower, or saying a prayer. Or it could be as ornate as getting all dressed into your “author” costume. Say affirmations to get yourself in the right mindset. Maybe you even free write for a few minutes. Get all those other pesky ideas out of your head so you can concentrate on the creativity in front of you. Have a glass of wine, even. Whatever you need to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind to write.
  3. Create a sacred space. What could you do to make the space special, to make it different than your living room or kitchen table? Or the place where you do your schoolwork? Sometimes it only takes a very small thing to transport you to a sacred space. Lay out a cloth. Put on white noise or ambient sound. Change the way the space smells with essential oils or candle melts.

Part 2. Liminal Space: Doing the Work

You’ve welcomed the muse. You primed your pavlovian writer-dog. You’ve set the stage for writing. It’s time to do the work of the ritual. Make it happen! The universe is supporting you. All the conditions are right. Then make it so. This is the part where you write! You have transformed your space to make it sacred, made yourself sacred. Now manifest it. Get writing!

  1. Set intentions. What are you going to make manifest while you are writing? Is your intention just to write the most authentic piece you can? The most beautiful? Maybe you want to finish the next chapter, or write a certain number of words. Maybe you are editing, and your intention is to transfigure the rough draft you have into something beautiful. Maybe your intention is to spend some time looking within, or to connect with someone or some truth. What’s your purpose for this session? Write it down. Say it out loud. Keep it in mind. Hold it close.
  2. Be mindful of your time and your actions. Set a goal—an amount of time, an amount of words, finishing a chapter. You might do writing sprints, taking mindful breaks. Or write until you reach your daily goal. You might set a meditation bell timer to ring every fifteen minutes to remind you to stay on track. How can you keep yourself focused on the work at hand?
  3. Engage your senses. Play music that inspires you. Light incense. Lay out crystals that help empower you. Use your favorite pen. Pour a cup of your favorite tea. This is about keeping yourself in the experience. The more you engage your senses, the more present you will be in the moment, and that’s exactly how you get into that beautiful state of flow. 

Part 3. Reassimilation: Coming Back

Honestly, I think this is one of the most important parts, but also one of the most overlooked. You need some way to bring the power of what you’ve created and the sacred time and space you created back into your everyday life.

Though ritual creates a special space, the idea is that the work we do in the ritual continues to impact our daily lives. Maybe we leave the writing at the desk, but the growth we’ve experienced because we have created, the ways we have been changed by our characters, by the worlds we build, the lessons we force our characters to learn because we also have to learn them ourselves: these are the things we need to bring back with us as we re-enter the world of laundry, mac and cheese, and finally cleaning the oven.

This makes the symbolic return to the world pivotal  part of the ritual. This is the step that carries us through until the next time we get to visit the sacred space. Here are some ways you might honor that closing time.

  1. Give thanks. Once you’ve done the work, it’s important to recognize what has transpired and to give thanks for it. Find ways to be grateful for the work you’ve done. Wherever you think your creativity comes from, any beauty that we can create is a gift, and sometimes all we need is to recognize that we are creating and give thanks for that. Find your favorite line and share it with someone. Thank yourself, or your muse, or the universe or your creator or whatever source you feel your inspiration comes from. 
  2. Recognize your progress. Sometimes progress with writing can be slow. It can help keep the motivation up to celebrate every win, to recognize that every word you wrote was a step in the direction of your dreams, or of your work getting out in the world. You might keep a short journal of how you felt each day. Or back up your draft and make it so! Check your goals from this writing session off your list. You might even give yourself a reward of chocolate or stickers.
  3. Plan to be back. Blow out the candles and promise to return. Set a goal or intention for the next session. Do one very small thing to let the universe (And yourself!) know that you are finished, but only for now. 

How to Create a Writing Ritual

I am not suggesting that you do all of these things every time you write, of course. Some of these will work for you and some will be a waste of time. Think of this list as a menu. Choose one bit from each “course” to try. 

See how the music affects you. See if you are drawn to certain smells. And then choose the ones that seem to make an impact on you and the way you feel about your writing. 

It’s important to make sure that your writing ritual supports your writing and does not take away from it. The elements of the ritual shouldn’t take so long that it eats into your writing time. You want these to be things that support your writing, not procrastination, and it’s important to keep that in mind. 

The point is not for it to be something stereotypically “magical.” It just needs to be transformative to you. You are creating this experience for yourself. You are conjuring this other world and these other people in your writing. You are creating the magic. What makes sense to you?

Daily Writing Ritual Examples

This post is all about creating the perfect combination of actions to get you in touch with your creativity as quickly as possible. My advice is to choose one from each of the above parts of a ritual that feels like it speaks to you and give it a try. That being said, here are a few examples of writing rituals that might help spark your creativity or give you more focus:

  1. Light a candle. Do pomodoro sprints for a preset amount of time. Track your progress and thank your muse and/or yourself for showing up. 
  2. Put on your favorite writing outfit or article of clothing. Set your goals for this writing session. When you’re finished, read through what you have written and choose your best line. Express gratitude for that line.
  3. Lay out a cloth. Play some music that inspires you while you write. Set an intention for the next writing session, committing to show up for yourself. 

How to Choose a Writing Ritual

Here is the thing about us writers: none of us is quite the same, which is why we all have something peculiar to say. This also means that finding yourself as a writer is in large part a journey of finding your process. 

Writers give all kinds of advice: You must write every day. You must write by hand. You must write first thing in the morning. You must write drunk and edit sober. I call bullshit on this kind of advice. Some of us are binge writers, and write best one day a month. Some of us have overzealous inner editors when we are too loud when we’re by hand. And I, for one, felt like I never wanted to write at all when I tried writing first thing in the morning.

Your writing ritual is going to be the same. You have to find what works for you. This may sound counterintuitive, but I think we should treat our creativity, our inspiration, our magic, and our connections to our muses like science. Try different things. See what works. Record how you feel, or how much comes out. 

So here is my advice: try anything that speaks to you and record how it affects your work. Maybe you want to put on your sassy writing lipstick before each writing session for a week. Record how it goes. Then try a ritual with lighting a candle and some music. How does that go? Use what works for you. But in order to find out what works for you, you have to do some trial and error, so definitely find some way to keep track.

So much focus on craft (both the craft of writing and the craft of magic) is about doing things the “right way” and places value on what’s received. But connection with the past isn’t the only reason to do a ritual. People pass on this kind of wisdom because they find it works for them. Try things that have worked for others, but also try things that feel right to you. 

You know what resonates with you. Are you a person inspired by goal-setting and planning? Choose a ritual that speaks to that. Do you know that you respond to sensory experiences? Maybe a candle and music is right for you. The best person to craft a ritual for you is yourself.

Remember, Edith Sitwell used to lie in a coffin to get ready to write, so you do you. 

Do you already have a writing ritual? What other things help you reach that state of flow? What do you do to inspire your creativity?

28 Creative Writing Prompts to Celebrate Imbolc and Inspire Your February

Jaclyn3 Comments
creative writing prompts for imbolc

Can you feel it in the air? It’s the depths of winter, but there’s something stirring. Even as the snow is still coming down, the end of winter is in sight. Even here in Alaska, the birds have started singing. 

It’s Imbolc! Imbolc is the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and it’s a great time to start new projects. In celebration of the day, I’ve created 28 creative writing prompts based on the sabbat. 

Imbolc is the first day of February, and in the year this post is written, it is also a new moon and the lunar new year. So, the number 28 is no accident. Try one writing prompt for each day of February, if you feel inspired. Or, you could think of it as one prompt for each day of this Snow/Storm Moon. A moon’s worth of writing prompts. Write your way out of winter, and start your lunar new year off right!

What is Imbolc?

Imbolc is a traditional Celtic holiday that falls halfway between Yule (winter solstice) and Ostara (spring equinox). It’s the day the tide changes in favor of spring. The world is waking up from the slumber of winter’s darkness. The sunlight is coming back in a way that’s actually noticeable and though the world is still covered in snow (at least here!), the earth is beginning to awaken with the light.  We are now closer to the balance of the equinox than we are to the drastic darkness of the solstice. It’s a time for hope and preparation.

It’s also celebrated as Candlemas, St. Brigid’s Day, or February’s Eve. Imbolc honors the goddess Brigid, especially in her roles as the goddess of the hearth, of fertility, and of creativity. It’s traditionally a fire festival, a time when baby lambs are on the way, and when there is the promise of spring and new life. 

Imbolc is, to me, one of the most underappreciated pagan holidays. One of the things I love about Imbolc is that it is really a time for a fresh new start. Imbolc is a recognition that you need a period of rest and readjustment after the busyness of the winter holidays. It’s hard to start fresh the day after New Year’s Eve, especially if you’ve been out celebrating. If you are already falling down on your New Year’s resolutions, never fear! Imbolc has your back. It’s time to start anew.

How to Celebrate Imbolc as a Writer

Imbolc is an especially powerful holiday for writers. Why? It’s Brigid’s day, and Brigid, in addition to being the goddess of hearth and home, is also the goddess of poetry. This means that anything we do to boost our words and our creativity will be supported. 

There are lots of ways to use the Imbolc energy to move your writing forward. It’s a great time to start a new project, to daydream and to plan. It’s the original spring cleaning. Here are some ways that writers can observe Imbolc to support their writing practice:

  1. Spring Clean your Writing Space. Out with the old, in with the new inspirational space. Imbolc is a great time to declutter, rearrange, and create a space that will inspire a new year of writing.
  2. Start a new habit. It’s a great time to start something small and daily that could have a big effect in the long term. Read a poem a day, start a new writing habit, start a new hobby, pick something new to learn about, journal, or pull a tarot card each evening. Find something small and manageable that will help support your writing. 
  3. Set some new writing goals, or spend time daydreaming about your vision. It’s time to focus on the new year and this fresh start. Now that the hustle and bustle of the depths of winter is over and we can finally see the light again, it’s a useful time to make a new vision board, or create goals for the new year.
  4. Create a new writing ritual. Especially if you (like me) are the kind of person who has trouble getting in the mood for writing, a little ritual to start you off could be just the thing to connect you with your muse. Put on some music, light a candle or some incense, do a meditation, wear your sassiest lipstick or cozy up in the sweater that makes you feel like your best self. This is the time to think about how the small actions you take can be seeds that grow into a new way of being. 
  5. Spend some time writing outside. It’s not always easy to get outside this time of year, but Imbolc is a great reminder that it still does the soul good to be out in the trees and under the sky. 
  6. Try something new. Imbolc is a time of new beginnings, and sometimes the most refreshing thing you can do for your writing is just to try something new and get out of the same-old-same-old rut. You could do this with your writing (take a playful stab at a new genre, or a new voice), but I also think trying any kind of new thing can revitalize our writing. Go ice skating, go to a new park, or try a new activity. Anything that can give you a fresh perspective also helps make you a better writer.
  7. Start a new project. See below for prompts to help with this one! 

Creative Writing Prompts for Imbolc

  1. Celebrate Brigid with some poetry. Use the Poetry Foundation to find one line of poetry that really speaks to you, and start there. You could create a poem, a story, or even nonfiction. Use the line of poetry that spoke to you as the starting point for your own writing.
  2. Write about something waiting to be born. 
  3. Write about someone who meets the goddess Brigid.
  4. Go outside and see it with new eyes, and ears, and… Use synthesia to describe what you see. What do the colors taste like? How does the sky smell? Bring us there by mixing all your senses and letting your metaphors run wild. 
  5. Write a story about a character who finds something magical while cleaning out their home. 
  6. Use this Image, from Tiffany Laura Danyelle on Unsplash.
  1. “The world has been still. But something has started to stir underground…”
  2. Write about what happens when the snow starts to melt. 
  3. Check out the Ace of Wands tarot card. This is the card of new growth and emerging to a new state of being. Use this card as the jumping off point for your writing. 
  4. What happens when St. Brigid and the Goddess Brigid meet?
  5. The nuns of Kildare, the monastery founded by St. Brigid, were tasked with keeping an eternal flame. Write about keeping a flame alive. 
  6. It was rumored that if a man crossed the hedge of the Church of Kildare, he would be cursed or be driven insane. Write a story about a man who crosses the hedge and goes insane.
  7. Clean it out! Do an erasure poem of the wikipedia page of Imbolc. (Or another related page of your choosing).
  8. Use this image from Foundry Co on Pixabay.
  1. Write about making a bed that never gets slept in. 
  2. Write about a girl made of reeds who comes to life.
  3. Do a meditation. (You can find Imbolc-specific meditations here.) Jot down the images that come up and create your work from there.
  4. “It’s time to burn it all down. She lit the match…”
  5. Write a story that begins with an initiation. 
  6. Find three things that need to be cleared out of your house. Use those three things to describe growth, without using the word growth.
  7. “When I looked into the water of the well, it was not myself looking back at me…” 
  8. Write about something that has died within you, thank it and lay it to rest.
  9. Winter is ending, and this means new beginnings are on the horizon. Write a story that begins with an ending. 
  10. Write about something unexpected “in the belly.”
  11. “The serpent awakens…”
  12. Write a story that takes place at the exact moment between seasons.
  13. Write about starting a small new habit that changes the character’s life (or yours!).
  14. Use this image, from Annie Spratt on Unsplash.

As always, if any of these prompts inspire you, I would love to read what you create. Drop a link below or send me a message. Truly, nothing makes my heart happier than helping people create, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this special time of year than to write new possibilities into being. 

Enjoy!

For more writing prompts, click here.

Top Blog Posts of 2021

Jaclyn2 Comments

It can be so important to reflect every now and then. I am taking a moment to look back on the top Lightning Droplets blog posts of 2021. These are the posts that were most popular last year. Maybe you will find them useful as well?

Enjoy!

Most Popular Blog Posts of 2021

  1. Planning and Goal Setting for Writers: A blog post that takes a look at Sarra Canon’s HB90 Planning Method, which is designed especially for writers but can work for any kind of creative entrepreneur. The method walks you through the process of visualizing your ideal life, outlining specific goals, and making a plan to see them through each quarter. This way of planning has been a game changer for me!
  2. Dangerous Plants: A Writing Prompt for Character Development: A unique writing prompt paired with craft advice about developing characters. It includes instructions for the prompt, the three most important to ask any character, and an explanation of why this prompt works. If you do this prompt, definitely share it with me. I would love to see what you come up with. This was my personal favorite blog post to write in 2021. I would love to create more posts like this, so if you like it, let me know!
  3. Seen Like the Sea: A poem for my daughter’s third birthday. This was the only bit of poetry that I shared this year, and it was a hit. If you’re a parent or love the ocean, check this poem out. You might like it!
  4. Writing Roulette: Plot Generators to Spice up Your Literary Life: This is one of the oldest prompts I posted (2014!), and it’s still a favorite. A round-up of several online plot generators to get your creative juices flowing. Sometimes inspiration out of nowhere can really get the juices flowing in new directions. Also, you can see my own response to this prompt here.
  5. How to Design a Writing Life: This blog post looks at Publish and Thrive, a course by Heart Breathings that is designed to give indie writers all the info they need to launch their career, or develop their skills even further. It is a five-week course that encompasses the process of developing your ideas into publishable books, marketing those books, and building a writing life that will bring more than money (but also money!). This course really changed the way I think about my writing and the possibilities of a writing life.
  6. What Counts?: NaNoWriMo Days 16-18: A possibly-controversial blog post about how to decide what to include in your word counts for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I did a whole series of blog posts for NaNoWriMo this year and this one was the most popular.
  7. Falling off the Horse, A Haiku for NaNoWriMo Days 9-12: An ode to all those who are trying to grab the reins of their goals and still sometimes fall behind.
  8. 20,000 Word Reward: A blog post about the importance of celebrating your wins, even when you are behind, and about appreciating and loving your cheerleaders. All progress on that novel is something to celebrate. Don’t forget that!
  9. Novel Excerpt from the WIP: A small snippet of The Snow Witch, my current work in progress. It’s a surreal scene in which the main character falls into a tree well. Did you that’s something that’s possible? I love the places novel research can take you.
  10. It’s November!: NaNoWriMo Day 1: Another post from the NaNoWriMo series. An announcement about my intention to blog every day during November, which I turned out to be a very inspiring goal. This post got lots of love, which ultimately inspired me to keep going later in the month. I so appreciated that.

Looking back, you do really learn a lot just looking at what readers responded to most over the course of the year. I know January 2022 is mostly over already, but the Mercury Retrograde has been calling me to look back and reflect, and sometimes, that’s the most useful way to move forward.

Thank you for reading!

How to Make the Most of Mercury Retrograde For Writers

Jaclyn2 Comments

Mercury Retrograde for writers

I have been thinking a lot about how to link my writing practice more closely to the cycles of the seasons, moons, and stars. There is a part of me that feels some dread every time Mercury retrograde approaches, and because of Mercury’s connection with words, this dread is especially acute when it comes to my writing. Though Mercury retrograde has a terrible reputation, we can work on using the energy of the messenger slowing down to rethink our direction with writing, revise our work, and refresh our plans, our spaces, and ourselves. 

What is Mercury Retrograde?

Mercury retrograde is the time when instead of traversing forward in its march through the night sky, the planet Mercury seems to move backwards. In Greek astrology, Mercury is the messenger of the gods. The planet symbolizes language, expression, and communication. When Mercury goes retrograde, all kinds of things about our communications can go haywire. We might get in arguments, be misunderstood, or have trouble with our words. Mercury also rules technology and travel, so people often report computer problems, vacation hiccups, and trouble with contracts.

A lot of people dread Mercury retrograde. It’s famous for creating trouble and basically gets blamed for every single thing that goes wrong. Ex back in town? Mercury retrograde. Computer on the fritz? Mercury retrograde. Stubbed your toe? Mercury retrograde! 

Mercury retrograde is so famous, there’s a whole slew of memes about it.  And I mean, A. Whole. Slew. 

Why Mercury Retrograde Matters for Writers

Are you a writer? Mercury is the planet of communication, self-expression, messages, and verbal communication. He is all about words, ideas, speech, and language. My writing friends, Mercury is our guy! So it’s no wonder that when he goes retrograde, we feel writer’s block or the story doesn’t flow or we lose our last draft or whatever. It’s a time when we accidentally hit send on that unfinished email to our publisher, drop our notebooks in puddles, or send out messages that we haven’t actually thought through. 

But it’s not all bad! When Mercury goes backwards, he’s just slowing down, and with that, he’s also asking us to slow down, to look within a little more than usual, and to take care with our words. 

This is not the time to send things out in the world. It’s the time to look within. This can be so difficult because we want to always be moving forward, getting in our word counts, or sending out submissions. But instead of working against the energy of Mercury retrograde and trying to force our way forward, we might be better off trying to slow down with the Messenger and use that energy to our advantage.

How to Work with (not against!) Mercury Retrograde

My favorite way of thinking about Mercury retrograde is to think of it as an opportunity to slow down and do “re-” activities. A big shout out to Stephanie Gailing at CreativeLive.com for introducing me to this way of thinking. She writes, “Mercury Retrograde is an amazing time to rewrite, re-edit, revise, reorganize, et al. Put “re”- at the beginning of any communication activity and discover the great new insights that this time period can offer.”

Basically, this is a great time to reset and re-evaluate all of your communications, self-expressions, and messages. If you are a writer, there is lots of room to move forward in purposeful ways while avoiding some of the troubles that Mercury retrograde can bring. 

Revise

Probably one of the most useful things we can do for our writing during Mercury retrograde is to revise. Mercury is inviting us to slow down and take a hard look at our words before we send them out into the world. If you are a writer, this is a clear sign that the universe has your back on any revision. Have a short story or poem that hasn’t felt quite right? It’s time to look at it with fresh eyes and get the words right, slowly and carefully.

Re-read

Often, we are told to re-read contracts during Mercury retrograde because those teeny tiny details can really come back and bite you. But for writers, this is an excellent time to read over old work. Maybe the last book in your series needs to be re-read before you start the next one. It might be useful to re-read an old favorite for fresh inspiration. Maybe it’s time to re-read that old draft before you start an edit, or maybe it will be useful for you to re-read some of your old work from decades past. You might be surprised at what you find. 

Re-envision 

Perhaps the retrograde is calling you to revise in a different way, perhaps it is telling you to rethink the vision you have for yourself and the direction of your writing or your life. Mercury retrograde is actually a great time for introspection, and maybe you, like me, need to rethink the words you use when you are talking to yourself and the story you tell about yourself. I am currently working through Rewrite Your Story: Get Unstuck, Reach Your Goals, and Become the Empowered Author of Your Life by Dan Teck. The book is focused on rewriting the narrative you tell yourself and it is geared specifically toward writers. I think this is an excellent use of some Mercury retrograde down-time.

Replan

I don’t know about you, but I often make plans that just don’t seem to stick. This might be a good time to re-evaluate what’s most important, what’s working for you and what isn’t. Can you do less and get the same results? Do you need more direction in your writing career? Remember, this is the universe explicitly asking us to slow down and rethink our direction. You couldn’t ask for more support in doing this. 

Reset

This is also an excellent time to reset your space. Maybe your workspace has you feeling uninspired or frazzled. Use this energy of going within to revisit that space and make it work for you. I wouldn’t make any large changes, like painting or buying new furniture. But it’s an awesome time to refresh. Move your desk to a new spot. Hang that picture that you haven’t had the chance to hang. Put up some inspiring quotes and get out some candles. Get your space looking spiffy, comfortable, and inspiring. Then when Mercury goes direct, you will be ready to go!

Reorganize 

This would be a great time to reorganize your files. I don’t know about you, but my folders often get messy because I feel like I don’t have time to sit down and organize them. Perhaps you want to create a Google Drive system, organize your thoughts in Scrivener, or finally dive into Notion.  Think of retrograde as the universe giving you time. Just make triple sure to back everything up! 

Reflect

Mercury retrograde is a great time to just sit with your thoughts. Maybe if your creative writing is not moving forward in the way you would like, you can use this energy just to journal about what you want for your writing. If you are looking for some introspective prompts, you can find a whole month’s worth here. Mercury retrograde usually lasts about three weeks, which is a great amount of time to start a habit. Perhaps this is an excellent impetus to commit to sitting down each day, just for the period of retrograde, and take a little time to journal. 

Relax and Rejuvenate

Sometimes it can be difficult to give ourselves permission to just relax and take care of ourselves. There are so many things pulling at our attention and asking for our time that we might feel guilty if we are not constantly being productive. Think of Mercury retrograde as the heavens expressly giving you permission. With all the mishaps that can happen during this time, the universe is practically forcing you to relax. Take a bath. Do some yoga. Take a walk. Play video games or whatever fills your cup. During Mercury retrograde, rejuvenating might be a much better use of your time than accidentally sending that embarrassing email to all your coworkers.

Recommit 

Maybe all you need to move forward after Mercury retrograde is to recommit to your writing practice and your goals. This is such a great time to think about what you can do to support yourself moving forward. Maybe you start working with writing sprints, start giving yourself rewards for your accomplishments, join a writing accountability group, or even just find a friend that can help you move in the direction you want to go.

We do not need to be scared of Mercury retrograde. Like all the cycles of nature that ask us to slow down and look within, Mercury retrograde can be a gift. If we work with the energy of slowing down and looking within, we can actually do some really important writing work during this time. Remember, when it comes to our writing, all of the “re-” actions will be supported at this time. So revise that manuscript, reread old work, re-envision and replan, relax, rejuvenate, and reflect. Mercury has got your back!

But also, recheck and reconfirm that you’ve backed up your work! 

How to Win NaNoWriMo: My 2021 Journey

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I am stoked to say that I won NaNoWriMo, for the second year in a row! Woohoo!

Here is how the whole month went, start to finish.

It’s November: NaNoWriMo Day 1

There Must Be Fifty Ways to Track Your Word Count: NaNoWriMo Day 2

How to Set Daily Word Count Goals: NaNoWriMo Day 3

Why Do NaNoWriMo? NaNoWriMo Day 4

Rest and Double Down: NaNoWriMo Day 5

Novel Excerpt from the WIP: NaNoWriMo Day 6

Week 1 Review: NaNoWriMo Day 7

10,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 8

Falling off the Horse, A Haiku for NaNoWriMo Days 9-12

Novel Excerpt from the WIP: NaNoWriMo Day 13

Week 2 Review: NaNoWriMo Day 14

What I Have Learned Halfway Through: NaNoWriMo Day 15

What counts?: NaNoWriMo Days 16-18

20,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 19

Saturday Snippet: NaNoWriMo Day 20

Week 3 Review: NaNoWriMo Day 21

Writers in Relationships: NaNoWriMo with your SO Days 22-25

30,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 26

Saturday Snippet: NaNoWriMo Day 27

Week 4 Review: NaNoWriMo Day 28

40,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 29

Final Results: NaNoWriMo Day 30

Week 3 Review: NaNoWriMo Day 21

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Another weekly NaNoWriMo check-in!

Word Count Goal Per Writing Day: 2000

Actual Average Word Count Per Writing Day: 2918

Planned Writing Days: 6

Planned Writing Days: 4

Day 15 Word Count: 0

Day 16 Word Count: 0

Day 17 Word Count: 719

Day 18 Word Count: 3005

Day 19 Word Count: 0

Day 20 Word Count: 3896

Day 21 Word Count: 4050

Planned Words This Week: 12000

Actual Words This Week: 11670

Planned Words So Far: 36000

Actual Words So Far: 28010

I was so close to my word goal this week! 

Again, I wrote less days than I intended. Maybe 4 days a week is my process? But, I also had much bigger word counts per day than I planned. They were not enough to catch me up, but they are definitely moving me closer. 

How did Week 3 go for you?

Saturday Snippet: NaNoWriMo Day 20

Jaclyn2 Comments

Saturday Snippet: NaNoWriMo Day 20

This is the place. I have been feeling the memories of trees all over the forest, but this is the tree that I want for this child.

I set to work peeling the bark. I have only done this in early summer and the tree feels like it has tightened itself against winter. 

“I choose you to watch over this child, to help me find my way back to this sapling. I choose you to be the dark signpost amidst white trees and white snow that will guide me any time I want to make my way back. To show me the way when I want to come back to my little seedling and give her thanks.”

I keep talking to the tree while I work the bark slowly off. 

I slit down the trunk with a knife and then carve around the sides. I push the knife gently under the paper leather of the bark and peel slowly around the tree until the bark lets loose in one large sheet.

It is only when it releases that I realize that I am bleeding again. That my fingers are frozen, numb, and so are my cheeks. My tears have frozen in small lakes under my eyes.

The sheet of bark curls in on itself, aching for the curve and structure of the tree. I place the swaddle in the embrace of the bark, letting the natural shape coil like a hug. 

I wish there was more I could give this sapling, this life. But this was where our physical journey together ended. I chant over it before burying it as well as I can in the snow. 

The ground is too hard, frozen solid, so a little nest in the snow is the best I can do. All I can do is hope that something beautiful will grow from the destruction.

Note:

This is a snippet from the novel I am working on for NaNoWriMo. I hope you enjoy it. I’m documenting my journey each day. 

Here are the stats for today:

Progress:

Day 20 Word Count: 3896

Total Word Count: 23960

Where I Planned to Be: 34000

1667 words per day: 33340

20,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 19

Jaclyn2 Comments

20,000 Word Reward: NaNoWriMo Day 19

I have reached 20,000 words! 

The truth of the matter is that I am very behind. You might have seen in yesterday’s post that I was nearly 12000 words behind where I had hoped to be by this time, and about 10,000 words behind the NaNoWriMo projected word count of 30,006 words for yesterday. 

I am even more behind today because again, I have not written.

THE IMPORTANCE OF REWARDING YOURSELF

If I am being honest, the overachiever in me does not feel like I should get a reward when I am this far behind. But this is probably also the reason that giving yourself rewards is important. I have written more than 20,000 words this month. This makes it one of the best months of the year for me so far in terms of volume of writing, and there are still 10 days left to write more. 

This is something to celebrate. I’ve been more consistent than usual this month. I’ve made the novel I am working on a priority in a way that I don’t often do. 

So, here she is: my 20,000 word reward, plant #2 this month, my reminder that progress is progress even if it is slow: a lemon button fern! 

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHEERLEADERS

This girl is a little scraggly and in need of some TLC, but she sure is making me happy. I did not have time today to go out and get myself my reward, so I sent my significant other and daughter out to pick one for me. 

I do love ferns and this one is a cutie, so they definitely did a good job.

Now the fern’s sitting on my desk and she is this lovely reminder that I have people supporting me and that I am moving forward, still.

I highly recommend getting your support system involved in helping you get through NaNoWriMo! 

How are you all doing out there? Have you found ways to let the people in your life support you? What kinds of community and reminders are helping you get through?

Here are the stats for today

Progress:

Day 19 Word Count: 0

Total Word Count: 20064

Where I Planned to Be: 32000

1667 words per day: 31673

WHAT COUNTS?: NaNoWriMo Days 16-18

Jaclyn4 Comments
What counts? Nanowrimo days 16-18

What counts in NaNoWriMo?

I have heard a huge range of perspectives about what “counts” for NaNoWriMo. Some people only count words that are going into a brand new novel. Some people count rewrites and edits. Some people count plotting and planning. Some people count school work or words written for other projects. Some people count every word that has come out of their fingers and onto the page even if the words are “I don’t know what to write.”

There is no NaNoWriMo police that will come to your door if you count gibberish words, or even make up your word count. It used to be that you needed to copy and paste your text into the NaNo site and they counted your words, but these days you just need to put in a number.  

So, how do you decide for yourself what your parameters are?

How do you decide what counts for NaNoWriMo? 

To me, deciding which words and writing to count toward your NaNo goal is pretty personal. We all have different reasons for doing NaNo, different ways of working, and different kinds of projects to work on (shout out to those NaNo rebels out there!).

I think what you decide about what to count depends on why you are doing NaNoWriMo in the first place. So, why are you doing NaNoWriMo? 

If your main goal is to finish a novel, it makes sense to only count words that will end up in that novel. If your main goal is building a writing community, you might want to count everything you write during sprints with a group, whether those words are a novel, a blog post, or the ramblings of your brain. If your reason for doing NaNo is to build a daily writing habit, maybe it’s more important to count whatever words you write than to be persnickety about which words are “usable.”

How I am deciding what counts for me

Listen, y’all. I have felt blocked. It’s been days since I have felt like I was “in” my story. I have been writing, but honestly, I am not sure any of these words even count, because they are more thoughts about writing and how it’s going than they are words that are going to make it into the novel. 

But maybe this is an important reminder. Maybe these words are even more important than the story itself, because they are helping me think about my process, helping me think about my attitudes and beliefs that are holding me back. Maybe in the long run, this will help me even more than moving forward in this one book. Because in the long game, I want to be writing much more than just this novel. I am trying to develop consistency, learn my process and establish a habit that will support me for the next book and the next. 

I made the decision at the beginning of this quarter and also at the beginning of NaNo that I wasn’t going to split hairs over which words were “usable” and which were not. Everything I write is fodder, so it all goes on the heap of words that make up my NaNoWriMo word count. 

It’s hard to keep that in perspective when I feel like I am not moving forward as quickly as I had hoped in this story. 

So I need to keep reminding myself that the purpose here (for me) is not necessarily to move forward in the story. It is to show up and I am showing up. 

I also know that I know the first day or two I show up after a break are difficult, and a lot of times I need to sideways write myself back into the story, by writing about what’s happening in my life or other things that are on my mind.

One thing I have learned about my process is that I need to just let the gates open and allow whatever writing needs to come out to come out. It might be a blog post, a poem, or the novel I’m working on, but I need to let myself write it all out so that I can get into that state of flow.  

I will take the ideas and the words as they come, and count them all equally and be grateful that anything is coming out at all. 

I need to keep telling myself that this is a time of year where everything goes within. The trees are dormant. The bears are hibernating. It’s like a long exhale. 

So, if I need moments of introspection, journaling, or processing to get to the point where the novel can make its way out, I will count those words as just as important as the words that do ultimately make it into the novel. For me, it’s all part of the process.

Even these words will count.

How do you decide? Do you let yourself count plotting, or editing? Do you count blog posts or letting your imagination wander into possible scenes? 

Are there any NaNo Rebels out there? How are you rebelling?

Stats for Days 16-18

Progress:

Day 16 Word Count: 0

Day 17 Word Count: 719

Day 18 Word Count: 3005

Total Word Count: 20064

Where I Planned to Be: 32000

1667 words per day: 30006