Creative Writing Tips
Write A Way: Journey to Creativity
By Sandra Lee Schubert
Party Like It's 2005: Making Dreams True
"In absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to
performing daily acts of trivia."
~ Unknown
The start of a new year - how wonderful, glorious and promising it is. We can't
help but feel the excitement of new beginnings. Or that knot in our stomach.
"What if I fail again?" There is a mixture of feelings when faced with
the possibilities of a brighter future. Our hopes and dreams are important to
us. What are your dreams for 2005? What possibilities are in your future? The
landscape is wide open to make plans and watch goals come to fruition.
"We find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to
conquer and goals to achieve."
~ Maxwell Maltz, Communication Bulletin for Managers & Supervisors, June 2004
Follow Your Longing
When you're sitting quietly sipping a cup of tea - pay attention to your idle
daydreams. Do you find yourself sighing about leaving for work? What is the wish
that comes right after the sigh?
"I wish I could stay home and write."
"I wish I lived somewhere nicer." "I wish I could…." Fill in
the blank. These daydreams reveal more then idle meandering of thoughts. Your
conscious mind is out of the way and your secret longings can bubble to the
surface. Follow your longing and let it lead you to your hearts desire. Set your
goals from this place of discovery. Take some time to meditate and reflect then
begin to write down some possible goals.
"Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into
manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big
achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement."
~ Florence Scovel Shinn
Goal-Setting Begins Now
In the December column, I proposed that we make a deal with each other. That
was, put our dreams on the table and agree to begin to fulfill them. Each day,
take one step closer towards that dream.
If you want to write - then write.
It is a fairly inexpensive endeavor. A 99-cent notebook and a ballpoint pen will
get you started. Want to create art? Borrow the art supplies of any
eight-year-old and make art. Want to have a healthful lifestyle? Start walking.
Eat one extra veggie a week.
Let's begin today - a year from now what will we have created?
There are all sorts of ways to set goals. You can peruse the paper, surf the
web, watch TV and experts will espouse on the subject of proper and efficient
goal setting. So says Stephen M. Shapiro of
Goal Free Living,
"One of the problems with goals is that they are often not your own.
According to the Goalaholic survey, nearly 50% of the population
believes that they are living their lives in a way that satisfies
others (friends, family, co-workers) more than it satisfies
themselves."
Goals should represent your values and your dreams not anybody's idea of what
you should do. Also when setting a goal down how does it feel? Do you get a rush
of excitement? Some mild anxiety is normal but if your stomach is churning and
this goal seems like more work then worth - reconsider it. Choose a goal that
supports your life values.
Dream Big, Live Large
"I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts
and words with the intention to require more from yourself."
~ Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ) O Magazine, December 2003
Citing Oprah Winfrey as someone who started from humble beginnings and made it
big, really big, seems fitting. Don't be afraid to dream big when choosing your
goal. It is easy to live just as you do now, no matter your circumstances.
Stretching those unused muscles can be a challenge at first but think of the
rewards. If you want to win the Pulitzer for Really Great and Fabulous
Literature, then go for it. Take big steps and see how far you can go.
Robert Bly in his book,
The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart
says the following about being wild. "To be wild is not to be crazy like a
criminal or psychotic, but mad as the mist and snow. It has nothing to do with
being childish or primitive, nor does it manifest as manic rebellion or
self-damaging alienation." The marks of wildness, Bly adds, "are a
love of nature, a delight in silence, a voice free to say spontaneous things,
and an exuberant curiosity in the face of the unknown." Remember to dream
big and be wild in all your expectations. Be mad as the mist and snow.
Creative Writing Tips
Choose one goal. Make it a big goal. Don't wimp out now. Or, choose many
creative goals you would like fulfilled this year. Support is available in this
monthly column
and
online course.
If so moved, post your goal(s) on the forum and I will too.
Keep these following
creative writing tips
posted where you can see and use them often - right next to the goals you are
creating.
Visualize: Image what your life will look like with dreams
fulfilled. How do you look? How do you feel? Visualizing helps draw the desired
result closer to you.
Write the story of your goal fulfilled. Is it a review of the
book/movie/play you finally wrote? Put lots of detail in there. Describe picking
up your award. What are you wearing? Who do you thank? How does it feel?
List your creative goals/dreams. Write all of them even the
unbelievable ones. Be outlandish and wildly outrageous. Writing down your goals
brings them into reality and closer to fruition. Dare to be bigger then you are
today.
Create an image of your fulfilled dream(s). Draw it. Or create
a collage of images cut out of magazines or the paper. What does it look like?
Create the cover of your completed book or your byline in a newspaper
Sandra Schubert is the creator and instructor for the Self-Healing Expressions
e-course
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own.
To learn more about Sandra and her course, click here:
Copyright © 2005 Sandra Lee Schubert. All rights reserved. If you are interested
in publishing this article, please email
.
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