The Permission to Write
Plus- win a FREE mentoring call with me!
Do you feel like you need permission to write? Do you find yourself prioritising everything except writing, even though writing is the thing that you most want to do?
I think so many of us writers are waiting for someone to come along and give us permission. Like as if someone in an authoritative business suit with 1980s shoulder pads is going to walk into our front room and say, “You! You’ve gotta write and you gotta do it now!” And then somehow we’ll have no choice, because who can argue with that?
I see how many caveats we put on our creative world. I am allowed to write if it brings in money, I am allowed to write if I am good. I am allowed to write if I am writing towards something or as long as all the paid work is out of the way and all the family are happily occupied.
Do you recognise yourself here?
I get it. It can feel hard to prioritise our creative lives in this world. We are trained to believe that things only have value based on their outcome (money, recognition, publication, prizes).
But I wonder if you can grant YOURSELF permission to do this thing that you so love just for the sake of doing it? After all what is life for if not doing things that bring us joy, at least some of the time.
While writing has become easy for me to prioritise, I still struggle with reading during ‘working hours’. I could end up scrolling social media for thirty minutes, watching something on YouTube (often kidding myself it’s for story inspiration, or very important Formula 1 news I must see now) but for some reason I won’t give myself time to sit on the couch and read. Reading is very much part of my job and yet there is a disconnect. It’s like my brain says, but reading is such pure, unadulterated joy, you can’t possibly do it during ‘working’ hours. It makes no sense but it's such a hard belief to break.
When I enjoy the fruits of the life that I have chosen and worked so hard to create (which like all lives involves certain sacrifices and prioritising some things over others) a very British voice pipes up, very loudly (well loudly for a Brit) and says, “Well lucky for you, some people have to work for a living.” This is what happens when I read. Does something similar happen when you write?
I wish it was as easy as me writing you a permission slip to write (and if it is, send me a message I will draw some up). However here are a few tips to help you start giving yourself permission to make space for writing in your life.
1) Schedule a short piece of writing time (maybe 15 timed minutes) one or twice a week. Even the busiest people can pop a 15-minute writing session in the week if they really want to. I recommend keeping it at the same time each week and keeping it sacred. See how it feels. (You can ritualise it if that helps, light a candle, make a delicious cup of tea, pull a tarot card, read a poem that you love, invite your writing self in). And make it fun! Do writing that feels exciting, that gives you that hit of creative joy.
2) Join an online writing hour (like the one hosted by London Writers’ Salon). Writing together with other people in a silent Zoom box can be a magic way to give yourself permission to write. Seeing other people making their writing a priority is a great tonic. It can also help you to carve out writing time without over explaining (to yourself or others), making permission that little bit easier. Another option is to create a writers hour with a friend (where you meet on zoom and write together once a week)- sometimes our commitment to others is easier than our commitment to ourselves.
3) Having an goal to focus on can help. Pick a short story prize you want to enter or a literary magazine with a deadline that you want to submit to and write towards that goal. Having a deadline and goal in mind can help you find space and once you’re writing you may find you want to keep giving yourself permission. Just don’t put too much emphasis on the outcome. If you win, wonderful, if you don’t, you were writing and that’s the main thing
4) Know that you are allowed to have unadulterated joy in your life and watch that when you do, you inspire other people around you to do the same. Giving yourself permission lets other people see that they can also give themselves permission. So really, it’s a humanitarian act! :)
5) Work with a mentor or coach. Many of my clients have said they would have stopped writing if it hadn’t been for the fact that we were meeting or that they had promised to send words to me. I also ensure that my clients are keeping the joy alive! When it simply becomes homework, it loses that joy and the point, in my opinion.
Read my Short Story, ‘Pulse’
I was delighted to have my story ‘Pulse’ published last week in the Fall 2024 edition of South 85 Journal with theme of Metamorphosis. The story started with fireflies and went in a direction I wasn’t expecting when I first sat down to write it. I am delighted that it found a home among so much beautiful writing. I’d absolutely love to hear your thoughts on it, it’s so fun to have others interact with my writing.
Gratitude Giveaway! - Win a FREE Mentoring Call With Me
I have had a wonderful year full of sessions with incredible mentoring clients. I have worked with novelists, memoirists, short story writers, journalists, children’s book writers and more. A few clients have finished their books this year, one just shared the proof copy of her book out very soon. Others have just started writing, or are back in to writing after many years away, some publish a lot and others write simply for the joy of it not intending to publish anywhere. This work brings me so much delight and, as is often the way with this kind of work, I also learn so much from my wonderful clients.
So, in gratitude for this lovely year, I would like to offer a FREE hour-long session to a reader of Write As You Are 💜
If you’d like a chance at winning, all you have to do is:
Subscribe to this newsletter
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The deadline for entries is next Wednesday, December 4th. After that, I’ll pop the names in the proverbial hat and pick the winner.
Please share with anyone who you think might be interested! ✨✨
Writing this newsletter is an act of love and joy. I am committed to delving into the beautiful, the messy and the sublime that is this act of creating through words. Ultimately, my goal is to remind you that you are Write As You Are.
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Transmogrification is my favourite word 😎
Miasma is a favorite word!