I hate being stuck. Whether I’m stuck in the middle of a project or wondering where to start and feeling a lack of ideas, this is what I do. I take a break and pull out blank pieces of paper (whether they are in a journal or printer paper).

I find a writing prompt, set a timer for 10 minutes, and write. 

My goal is to turn my analytic brain off and to get lost in the words and the sound of my pen moving over the paper. I love the shape and sound of words being written or clicked into a keyboard. As my imagination takes over, I am lost in the moment. My feelings of being overwhelmed and stuck recede as I regain power over my pen. Many of my best ideas are born through timed free writing in response to prompts.

Each morning I freewrite, by hand, three pages in my journal.

This exercise, called morning pages by Julia Cameron, has proved invaluable to my personal processing of life and to my writing. When I give myself the space of three pages, all kinds of creatures emerge: book ideas, secret feelings, and unexpected insight. Creativity has the power to heal us because it links us to the Creator. <tweet that>

As I free write each morning and in response to writing prompts, I find that ideas and themes emerge that guide me to bigger projects. My first eBook Living with Dragons was born out of freewriting and a series of blog posts I wrote on the subject.  My current book project, Elise, was born from a writing prompt.

If you are currently dreading the blank page, the advice continues to be true: just.keep.writing.

Set aside your analytic brain that is FREAKING out that you are stuck and wondering how long you will be stuck.  Tell it to take a break – your going to have some fun and freedom playing with words and writing everything that comes to mind – as quickly as possible. Then keep doing that. An idea, a character or a theme will emerge to guide you forward. It always does.

This is the gift of writing: we step into a river overflowing with ideas, people and experiences. Come to the river! Even if you are afraid of walking away empty-handed (we never do) or of lacking the skill required to give life to what we catch (this is a process). When we set our pen to paper – we are declaring to ourselves and to the river that we are ready and receptive.

You will be surprised how quickly and easily words flow when we turn off our analytic brains and enjoy the process.

If you’re interested in learning more about Julia Cameron’s morning pages, I am starting a book club on her book The Artist’s Way and would love for you to join us. Simply subscribe to my blog HERE and the details will be on their way to you within the week.

You can do it!

Keep writing!

Deanne