G is for Get Ready

Congratulations! You found some writing time in your busy day. How do you move into writing mode? How do you call in the muse? Some of the things I’ve written about in the A-to-Z posts help.

• A writing group (as in AWA) can give you Accountability. If you put deadlines for other people ahead of promises and commitments to yourself, get motivated by checking in with others.
• B stands for breathwork, another way to quickly change your energy and your mood.
• C stands for Chanting or lighting a Candle. These small actions help raise Creativity, too.
• D is for Darjeeling, a cup of strong, milky tea. I drink coffee in the morning, but an early afternoon cup of tea tells me it’s writing time.
• E is for making writing time an Event. Your soul needs this time. I’ve recently found an online cowriting group that suits me. It’s called “A Very Important Meeting.” The groups begin with a short mindfulness meditation before we turn off our cameras to write, followed by an optional chat with the others who show up. (A bonus is the reminder text message ten minutes before the meeting starts.) Yesterday I met someone who was reading my book, and she loves it!
• F is for Freewrite. Don’t know what to say? No worries. Just start your hand moving across the page, three pages or three minutes. First, the water which runs from the creative tap is rusty. It’s been sitting in the pipe too long. Keep going. Keep the water flowing. Eventually, the water becomes clear.

Now you’ve done what you can to Get Ready to write, to cross over into writing time and writing brain. It takes a simple ritual. And dailiness helps. Maya Angelou said “You can’t use up creativity. the more you use, the more you have.”