Four Key Steps I Take to Begin My Writing Day

by Alissa Lukara

Photo by Alissa Lukara

I learned so much during my dive into “being” on my medical odyssey these last 3 months, much of which relates to how I want to approach my own creative writing. I opened to profound lessons in being, surrender, letting go, staying present, trust, listening and receiving, and more that apply not only to my life, but also to how I write a book, a poem, an article, a blog post, essay or anything else.

Here are four key steps to how I now begin each writing day, integrating the lessons and gifts I received during my mind/body/spirit healing journey. Feel free to draw from any for your own writing.

Each day as I renew my “yes” to writing and to serve love in my writing, I make these four conscious choices:

1. I let go of all I know about writing.

Of how writing has to look or feel.

Of any and all shoulds. Of what or how or how much and when I should be writing or what I should be doing instead of writing.

Of what I think my life has to look like or include or not include for writing to happen.

Of efforting and struggle to write.

Of how I perceive my writing was in the past and will be in the future.

Of what it takes to be a professional writer today.

Of any attachments and stories I tell myself around writing.

2. I Surrender.

I surrender the novel (or anything else) I am writing into the hands of the divine, the muse, creative source.

I surrender the characters, the subject matter, the scene, the topic, the theme, the plot, each page, paragraph, sentence, word.

I surrender my present image of my writer self and open to new potentials.

I surrender any doubts and fears and emotions around writing.

I surrender all writing successes and failures from the past and projections of writing successes or failures in the future.

I surrender all concepts of what needs to be accomplished and in what time frame.

I surrender how I think I need to write my book, what method I need to use, even where I need to start writing that day.

I surrender all I think I know about the state of the publishing industry and what is required to be published or to self-publish.

I surrender all judgments and opinions of what good writing is and how it needs to happen and forgive myself for all mistaken beliefs and identifications around writing.

I surrender to the call to write this novel and be the vehicle for its manifestation.

3. I Forgive Myself:

For any and all mistaken beliefs or identities around writing.

4. I Stay Present and Trust:

I am grateful that each time I sit down to write is new, a new beginning.

Emptied, I welcome the spaciousness and the grace available in the present.

I become one with the present.

I rest in the stillness.

I rest in the arms of the divine, the muse, the writing guides and the creative source.

I trust in the silent awareness.

I listen to the spaces between and beyond the mind chatter.

Heart open, I receive and write what emerges from the stillness.

I express gratitude for the words and writing guidance I receive.

What about you? What do you think of this new approach to writing? I’d love to hear about yours, too. Please leave your comments and share your own experiences in the comment section of the blog post.

Want support to begin — and complete — your book? Explore your call to write by registering here for the free eCourse, Write Your Book — Transform Lives: 7 Key Steps on the Writer’s Journey. Registering for it automatically subscribes you to Transformational Writers updates with Alissa Lukara. Alissa Lukara, the author of the memoir, Riding Grace: A Triumph of the Soul, also supports you to start and complete your books in her online writing workshop, Writing Books that Transform Lives. Reserve your spot here for the next session of Writing Books that Transform Lives.