My Writing Process

Blogging. It's a funny thing, don't you think? A funny, beautiful, ever-evolving thing.

I realized that I've never shared my experience with blogging or how it all came to life, and to be honest, it's been a huge part of my own journey of self-discovery. So when Erika asked me to participate in The Writing Process blog tour, I was pretty stoked about the idea of peeling back the curtains and sharing a little of what goes on behind the scenes.

Three years ago, I was sitting in a cubicle working a job that made me feel depleted, unfulfilled, and flat-out bored. Countless minutes and hours were spent staring at the clock waiting for time to pass, and it seemed like every waking moment the same thought would whirl around in my mind, "There has to be something more than this."

My creative spirit was lying dormant and I was looking for a way to express myself, to just do anything that made me feel like me.

I didn't have a plan of action, I just knew I had this love of writing that I'd been neglecting, and so, a blog was born.

Since that time, what you see now doesn't at all resemble what this space once was. In the beginning, I wrote for the sake of writing, wrote about topics I didn't care about, posted for the sake of 'getting something out there', I've been sucked into the world of blogging do's and don'ts, subjected myself to major blog-guilt, and I rarely (if ever) knew what I was doing. I've changed the name of this blog three times, redesigned the look on more than a few occasions, deleted countless posts, and decided to create on my own terms.

In the three years that I've been coming back to this space, I've quite literally found myself in the process. I shifted my focus from sticking to rules, trying to get as much traffic as possible, and kicking myself because I didn't have thousands of followers to making my own rules, creating quality content that feels damn good to write, and being extremely grateful for every single person that I have had the honour of connecting with through this space.

It's easy to get sucked into the world of comparison, focusing on the numbers game, and wishing, hoping, striving, and pushing for results. It's easy to fall in line, and despite your best intentions, wind up going in a direction that doesn't entirely suit who you are, and before you know it, your blog doesn't feel like your blog at all, and you take a step back and realize you'd rather burn everything you've ever written.

What I've come to realize is that there are no mistakes, it's all part of the evolution of our spirits. (Tweet this!)

If you want to take the flame to your archives, redesign your entire look and feel, you can, because the only rules are the ones you choose to go by.

These days, those rules are a lot more light-hearted for me.

It's about sitting down to a blank screen or page, and asking, "What wants to be written?"

It's following the direction of my energy, and allowing myself to be moved by the ebbs and flows of life. Never forcing, never pushing. Inviting in more space and ease. Always trusting that the words will come when they're ready.

It's shifting the perspective of what connection means to me and instead of thinking about Google Analytics, my reach, and number of followers, thinking, "How can I connect deeper to my creativity?" Leading with my intuition, always.

It's redefining what success means to me with these questions: How can I bring joy? How can I provide value? How can I be more generous?

Leading with my heart, always.

What are you working on right now? 

With a grateful heart, I'm completely overjoyed to say that over the past couple of months, I've been dipping my toes into the world of coaching, and have had the amazing opportunity to coach some incredible woman, who continue to inspire me daily. Connecting on a deep, soul level and diving into this work is something I'm beyond passionate about, and I can't wait to witness how this journey will continue to unfold.

I'm also incredibly excited to announce that I'm working on an e-book! In the coming days, I'll be hiding away in my creative cave and letting this idea of mine come to life. I can't wait for the day when I can share it with you. Keep your eyes on this space!

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

It's written by yours truly!

I believe that there is no such thing as competition, that there's room for all of us. We all have a unique voice and every single one of us has a story to tell... we just have to be courageous enough to do it. It's not always easy, but there's one thing I know for sure: If you show up authentically and embrace who you are (shaky boots and all), you will move mountains.

When I look outside of myself and start to compare, I diminish my own worth. When I live by the mantra "Just do you" - I allow myself to expand, learn, and grow. I'm filled with curiosity and wonder. Life flows.

It's much more interesting that way.

Why do you write what you do?

What a question!

I write to discover. I write simply to see the words spill out of my heart and onto the page. I write to make sense of the thoughts that are bouncing around in my mind. I write to make sense of it all. I write to connect with myself on a deeper level.

What I write about sends shivers down my spine. It's opened up my heart in ways I never thought were possible, and continues to do so.

When I sit down and ask, "What wants to be written?" I listen - because it pushes me, challenges me, gets me outside of the box, and ignites this sense of curiosity that makes me never want to stop exploring and discovering. I believe that we are so much more than what's on the surface and when we begin to dig deep beneath those superficial levels, we are met with the truth of who we are.

And that's a beautiful thing.

I write what I do because it moves me - because I'm called to.

How does your writing process work?

I've spoken briefly about the kind of energy I bring into my writing - and when I start to feel like I'm forcing it, pushing to get it done, or feeling guilty, I take that as a clear sign that I need to step away. Get outside, flip upside down into a handstand, crank up the music and dance it out.

When it comes to actually "getting shit done", normally that means setting aside definite "do not disturb" time, awesome music playing in the background (anything from meditative tracks to chill indie tunes to make you wanna get up and dance kinda music), no distractions from social media, and patience. It means getting past the blank screen staring back at me and just writing that first sentence, even if it's total rubbish.

One of my core desired feelings is freedom, so more often than not, I resist structure and perfectly laid out plans. I'm more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants type of girl.

It might mean candlelight flickering in the corner of my eye, grabbing a last-minute crystal just because (rose quartz, flourite, and citrine are go-to's), listening to the bird's chirping in the background, getting my hands on the closest computer/ notebook and just going for it, or a couple of hops on my trampoline in-between paragraphs. Chilling on the couch in the living room, laying in bed, sitting at my desk, or outside on the patio. Whatever feels right.

Thank you so much for being here - I really hope you enjoyed digging into this one as much as I loved writing it! And another big high five to Erika for passing over the baton :) 

YOUR TURN: Why do you do what you do? All the juicy details - spill it! 

Image via cassoday harder

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