Meditation to make writing less dreadful

The God-honest truth about writing is that it’s hard.

 

Writing is hard.

 

I don’t ever argue against the fact that is, but I wanted to make sure that I said that, just like that. It’s hard. It can be spiritually and financially rewarding, therapeutic even, but it can also be stressful.

 

I just finished writing a novel in two months. Fiction usually takes me a year at least to complete, so this is, by far, the fastest one I’ve written. 

 

Now it’s time to go back and re-read it and fix the parts that I don’t like. And I feel like instead of being allowed to go outside and play, I have to clean my room. I dread opening the laptop and I actually avoided it altogether yesterday. 

 

My deadline is tomorrow at midnight, so no more dodging. I gotta get it done.

 

I tried this AMAZING meditation before I started today and it was so…nerve-settling. I felt relaxed and capable. That might sound extra, but if you’ve ever been through the trenches of writing, then you feel me. Feeling capable before and especially during a writing session is a piece of manna from heaven.

 

For the meditation, you need:

 

• 37 minutes of me-time

• Laptop or something to write with

• Alarm (I used my cell phone)

• Desire to write 

 

Part 1:

1 Read steps 1-5.

2 Get comfy.

3 Set an alarm for 1 minute and 11 seconds.

4 Close your eyes and do nothing until it rings.

5 Don’t time yourself, but take about 30 seconds to write about the meditation.

Part 2:

6 Set an alarm for 3 minutes.

7 Chill until it rings (meditate).

8 Write about it for 30 seconds.

Part 3:

9 Now start working on your project for 20 minutes (instead of timing myself, I just knew my end time).

10 Break for 5 minutes without timing yourself.

11 Set alarm for 7 minutes.

12 Meditate.

13 Write about it.

 

If you want to keep writing after the third meditation, which I did, go for it. If you don’t, you’re done. You got in 20 minutes of writing (or self-editing). Whenever that dreadful feeling shows up, try this three-part meditation and see if it helps. I got a helluva lot more accomplished than when I drag to the computer and huff and puff the whole way through.

 

Try it and let me know how it works for you.