Posts Tagged ‘affirmations’
Write from the Heart Workshop 8/5 & 8/6: Get Nourished and Get Your Book Done!
Posted on: August 3, 2021
It’s mid-summer. And my morning writing practice is full of it.
Full of summer and full of story.
I don’t know about you, but I love the creativity that summer sparks in me.
And this summer–I have something special for you: A FREE author event that is heart-centered and is about connecting our bodies, minds and imaginations. Feeling embodied and writing with an awareness of the body can lead us to new insights as Herring notes:
Our cells have memories. Our bodies have stored all of our experiences-those expressed and unexpressed, even those forgotten. They are there waiting for us.
-Larraine Herring, Writing Begins With the Breath
I’m delighted to share with you that I’ve teamed up with 10 other amazing writers and writing coaches to bring you:
Write from the Heart: How to create and nourish your fiction or memoir so you can finally finish the book you were born to write.
And what’s more? I’m giving you a complimentary ticket! Yay 🙂
You can claim your seat for this FREE 2-day workshop here: traciskuce.com/mtberger
Check out a few of these heart-centric topics we’ll be covering:
- How to Create a Nurturing Writing Routine
- Developing Stronger Internal Conflicts in Your Novel
- Tap into Your Character’s Impossible Longing
- How to Leverage the Power of Affirmations for Your Writing Life
- How to Create Your Own DIY Writing Retreats
These roughly twenty minute presentations will be packed with tips, exercises and techniques.
My presentation is on one of my favorite topics—the power of positive self-talk: ‘Brain Hacking: how to leverage the power of affirmations for your writing life’.
If you’re ready to nourish your creative heart and dive deep into your story, then you’ll want to register for this FREE event. It happens LIVE August 5 & 6 at 12 pm PT/ 3 pm ET
Get your complimentary ticket here: traciskuce.com/mtberger
Finally Finish Writing Your Book: Join Me at ‘Be a Bestseller: Structure Your Story of Success’ Series
Posted on: April 11, 2021
Feeling stuck in your writing and storytelling? Are you not finishing things because you get overwhelmed with keeping track of your characters and plotlines? Frustrated with how you are plotting your novel or memoir? Are you painting yourself into too many story corners that you don’t know how to get out of?
Want to know how to bring a story full circle, connect the dots and create a fantastic ending? Want to know more about ‘story beats’ and how to effectively employ them?
Want some inspiring writing craft and mindset tips?
Great, my writer friend, Emma Dhesi can help! She is hosting a cool series that you’re going to love.
Emma has brought together 20+ writers, creatives, editors, and publishers for this complimentary training series.
The Be a Bestseller: Structure Your Story of Success series is guaranteed to ignite your creativity. Many speakers will be sharing their expertise for better plotting and story structure and others will be focused on mindset issues. It is geared for novelists, memoirists and short story writers. She is a fantastic interviewer.
And, I’m ALSO one of the speakers! I’ll be talking about how positive self-talk can supercharge your writing life (as you know one of my favorite topics)!
And it’s totally free. Sign up here and see all the speakers: https://masterclass.beabestseller.net/MicheleTBerger
BTW: If you are struggling with motivation and momentum in your writing, you might like my free guide: Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19.
Self-talk is important. What have you been saying to yourself about your writing these past few weeks, or months or even years? Most of us use negative internal language in relation to our creative lives. In last month’s Chatham County Line column I shared how in 2016 a daily affirmation practice changed my life. If you were a reader of the blog in 2016, you may remember this endeavor. Coaches, psychologists and other mental health providers now routinely advocate the use of helpful and positive self-talk. My piece is called “Fruits of a Daily Affirmation Practice”. Here’s a snippet below. I hope you check it out.
I loved making nice images for my affirmations using Canva
The Fruits of a Daily Affirmation Practice
Feeling worthy is a learned behavior. —Beverly McIver, visual artist
In 2016, I committed to a practice that changed my creative life. I posted an original affirmation every day on my blog, The Practice of Creativity, from January 1-December 31.
What are affirmations?
There is a great secret which successful writers and creators from all backgrounds use – affirmations. That’s right, affirmations, phrases that affirm our work and value. And, they help us direct intention into our work. And, they can work for you. Many psychologists, mental health workers and coaches advocate the use of affirmations.
An affirmation is a short, simple, positive declarative phrase that as Eric Maisel says, in Coaching the Artist Within, “you say to yourself because you want to think a certain way…or because you want to aim yourself in a positive direction.” You can use them as ‘thought substitutes’ to dispute self-injurious thoughts (as a cognitive behavioral approach), or to provide incentive and encouragement when those seem to be in short supply. Affirmations rewire our assumptions about what’s possible.
The imposter syndrome is a universal one among writers. Established writers can have bouts with it as often as emerging writers. We combat it through affirmations, having a writing community and persisting.
In 2016 what I needed as a writer was lots of practice in self-kindness, plain and simple. I had craft, discipline and perseverance in spades. Many creative people struggle with simply being self-accepting. As you know, we can think the meanest things about ourselves. I don’t know of any writer who hasn’t felt like giving up on their writing dreams. I don’t know of any writer who couldn’t benefit from helpful, kind self-talk on a regular basis. Anxiety, unhelpful self-talk, and inner critics often stop us before we can even get to our projects.
…
https://chathamcountyline.org/pdfs/CCL.april20.web.pdf
Your invitation still stands, click here to get your ‘Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19’.
- In: creative writing | creativity | writing
- 2 Comments
Hi creative peeps,
Winter Solstice is almost here! We’re about to enter the season of winter: Quiet. Reflection. Incubation. Going Inward.
Doesn’t that sound lovely?
OK, so right now you might not feel like you’re experiencing any of those states of being. But, I want to put Winter Solstice on your radar. Winter Solstice brings us the opportunity to pause, at least for a moment, and invites into the mystery of creativity.
Winter Solstice signals the start of winter. It is the day with the least amount of daylight. Also referred to as “the longest night” or “shortest day of the year”.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is Thursday, Dec 21.
After Thursday, we get about one minute more daylight each day until Summer Solstice. Isn’t that magical? What will you do with that extra minute?
Winter Solstice (and the beginning of winter) provides an ideal time for you to take stock of the light and dark aspects of your creativity.
So much of creating is about cultivating the willingness to explore the unknown, uncharted and mysterious places of the imaginative psyche. Often it feels as if we are in the dark while creating.
We can use the cycle of the season to go inward. During winter, you can review your creative accomplishments of the year and plant dream seeds for the future. As you turn inward into the muck of your own fertile landscape, you mirror the outward cycle of the earth.
If you have a moment on Thursday, cozy up with a journal, go to a café, or take a walk and enjoy playing with one or more of these winter inspired prompts:
Three new ways that my creativity expressed itself this year were…
What continues to interest me about my creative practice is…
I took the most risk this year in creating…
The fresh new project that wants to be born in 2018 is…
The project that needs more incubating time is…
One successful way that I kept my inner critic at bay this year was…
Harnessing support for my creative life during the winter season looks like…
One affirmation about my creative practice that I could create for 2018 is…
Time and energy wasters that take me away from creating are…
A self-limiting belief I have about my creativity that I could release into the light is…
I’m thrilled that my essay about Octavia Butler is now in print in the new collection: Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler.
In celebration of what would have been her 70th birthday and in recognition of Butler’s enormous influence on speculative fiction Twelfth Planet Press has published a selection of letters and essays written by science fiction and fantasy’s writers, editors, critics and fans. There are letters from people who knew Butler and those who didn’t; some who studied under her at the Clarion and Clarion West workshops and others who attended those same workshops because of her; letters that are deeply personal, deeply political, and deeply poetic; and letters that question the place of literature in life and society today.
I write about Octavia Butler’s use of affirmations to support her writing and how I have viewed her life as a model for creative practice. Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time know how important a tool I think affirmations are for creative people. In 2016, I committed to a daily practice of writing an original affirmation about creativity and posting it on this blog. This practice provided tremendous nourishment for my creative life.
There are many writers in this collection that are well-known in the science fiction community including Nisi Shawl, Nnedi Okrafor, L. Timmel Duchamp, and Steven Barnes, but also you’ll discover newer writers (like myself) in this hefty 405 page book.
A few months ago, Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal, the editors of LT gave a great interview here.
If you’re a Butler fan, you’ll want this work in your library. If you have friends that are OB fans, please pass on info about this book!
It’s so easy to talk ourselves out of submitting our work. Rejection is painful. Even though I am a coach and a creative writer, I, too, find ways to ‘self-reject’ my work. It’s never a good idea. Always get your work under review, submitted, in the pile, seen. It’s a simple fact that if we creatives want to have an audience, someone has to read, see, or hear and experience our work. The only way we can do that is to submit our work to others.
In January, I taught a workshop called ‘Charting Your Path to Publication: Tips, Techniques and Lessons for Writers.’ An amazing group of writers came out to learn how to beat the odds of rejection when submitting to journals, magazines, etc. We talked about strategies to submit our work, the courage to send it out and the perseverance to keep going in the face of rejection.
I shared how inspired I was by a great interview with the writer Laurence MacNaughton on Mur Lafferty’s “I Should Be Writing” podcast. He shared that he struggled for many many years getting his fiction published. He had many cardboard boxes filled with rejection letters. When he moved into a new home, he decided to open up those boxes and count his rejection letters.
He counted and stacked up 100, 200, and 300 rejection letters. As I listened to the story, I held my breath. So many questions ran through my mind. How many did he have? Where was he going to stop? How many rejection letters did I have a decade ago? He kept on counting and found himself at 500, 600, and then 800 rejections. He stopped when he reached a 1000 rejection letters. He stopped counting them even though he had more letters! He felt so bad about it that he stopped temporarily writing. He felt like anyone who could amass 1000 rejection letters should not write.
He said that that not writing was really hard and that he soon came to the realization that writing was essential to his mission and purpose on the planet. It’s what gave him joy. He decided to write, no matter whether he was published or not. He kept submitting his work and soon after that sold one of his novels. He’s now a full-time writer.
I was very moved by this story as it reminds us that all we can control is what we send out and although we will inevitably get rejected, we have to submit our work. And, we have to find joy in the writing itself, no matter what the outcome. As Laurence says, “Rejections mean you are doing what you need to do, you just need to keep going.”
Recently, I almost talked myself out of submitting work. Last fall, I saw this call:
Octavia Estelle Butler was born on 22 June, 1947, and died in 2006. In celebration of what would have been her 70th birthday in 2017, and in recognition of Butler’s enormous influence on speculative fiction, and African-American literature more generally, Twelfth Planet Press is publishing a selection of letters and essays written by science fiction and fantasy’s writers, editors, critics and fans.
I got goose bumps reading this call. Octavia Butler is one of my favorite authors. I teach her work and her nonfiction essay, “Positive Obsession” is one that I credit for inspiration in pursuing my writing life.
I put it on my calendar to submit, but as the deadline approached, I found myself saying:
“Every prominent speculative fiction writer is going to submit something—I can’t compete.”
“I want to write about the impact of her nonfiction on me and her use of affirmations to boost her confidence. The editors probably won’t be interested in that.”
And on…
I was about to talk myself right out of submitting due to fear. I was going to self-reject. Thank goodness a writing friend messaged me with the link and said, “Hey, I know you’re a Butler fan, you’re submitting to this right?’
That little encouragement got me in gear. I decided to write the essay. I told myself, if it gets rejected, I can pitch to the speculative fiction magazine. Someone could want this essay.
I sent it off, pleased with the essay, but not expecting anything.
I’m thrilled to say that my essay WILL appear in the anthology. I am so honored to be in this collection. See details below.
Always give others a chance to evaluate your work. Never self-reject!
We are excited to announce the contributors of original letters and essays for Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia Butler. There are letters from people who knew Butler and those who didn’t; some who studied under her at the Clarion and Clarion West workshops and others who attended those same workshops because of her; letters that are deeply personal, deeply political, and deeply poetic; and letters that question the place of literature in life and society today. Essays include original pieces about Butler’s short story “Bloodchild” and whether we should respect Butler’s wishes about not reprinting certain works. All of these original pieces show the place that Octavia Butler had, has, and will continue to have in the lives of modern writers, editors, critics and fans. Our contributors include:
Rasha Abdulhadi
Raffaella Baccolini
Moya Bailey
Steven Barnes
Michele Tracy Berger
Tara Betts
Lisa Bennett Bolekaja
Mary Elizabeth Burroughs
K Tempest Bradford
Cassandra Brennan
Jennifer Marie Brissett
Stephanie Burgis
Christopher Caldwell
Gerry Canavan
Joyce Chng
Indra Das
L Timmel Duchamp
Sophia Echavarria
Tuere TS Ganges
Stephen R Gold
Jewelle Gomez
Kate Gordon
Rebecca J Holden
Tiara Janté
Valjeanne Jeffers
Alex Jennings
Alaya Dawn Johnson
Kathleen Kayembe
Hunter Liguore
Karen Lord
ZM Quỳnh
Asata Radcliffe
Aurelius Raines II
Cat Rambo
Nisi Shawl
Jeremy Sim
Amanda Emily Smith
Cat Sparks
Elizabeth Stephens
Rachel Swirsky
Bogi Takács
Sheree Renée Thomas
Jeffrey Allen Tucker
Brenda Tyrrell
Paul Weimer
Ben H Winters
K Ceres Wright
Hoda Zaki
Luminescent Threads will also include reprints of articles that have appeared in various forums, like SF Studies, exploring different aspects of Butler’s work.
Luminescent Threads will be published by Twelfth Planet Press in June 2017.
Scratching can look like borrowing and appropriating, but it’s an essential part of creativity. It’s primal and very private. It’s a way of saying to the gods, “Oh, don’t mind me, I’ll just wander around in these back hallways…”and then grabbing that piece of fire and running like hell.
-Twyla Tharp, choreographer
Where do you get your ideas? How do you generate small ideas that lead to big writing projects? It’s springtime and as we put away our winter coats, boots and hats, we naturally desire to generate fresh ideas for our writing life. Twyla Tharp, world famous choreographer, in her understated, but powerful book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use it For Life, uses the concept of ‘scratching’ as a method for finding and incubating new ideas.
‘Scratching’, she observes is what we do so we aren’t always waiting for the “thunderbolt” of inspiration to hit. Tharp says, “That’s what I’m doing when I begin a piece. I’m digging through everything to find something. It’s like clawing at the side of a mountain to get a toehold, a grip, some sort of traction to keep moving upward and onward.”
Twarp notes the importance of reading, as a place to scratch for ideas. Many writers reread the classics or work by mentors they love as a way to sharpen their senses and generate new perspectives. Tharp likes to read ‘archeologically’, backwards in time, working her way from a contemporary idea back to an ancient text. When working on an idea for a dance she began with Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy which led her to Dionysus and then studies of Dionysus (worship of and symbols connected to), which led her to Euripides and his The Bacchae. These readings led to her choreograph ‘Bacchae’, a dance that explores hubris and is loosely based on the Euripides text.
Inspired by her strategy, years ago, I made a list of the subjects that I typically read about both as an academic and as a creative writer.
List: self-help /’how to’ in yoga, health and wellness, women’s health, women’s empowerment, public speaking; craft of writing books; cookbooks; leadership; 18-20th century African American history, spirituality; creativity; women’s spirituality; African American women; black feminism; dreams; sociology of race; women’s and gender studies; elections and campaigns; feminist theory, history of the American university; genres: speculative fiction, thrillers, literary fiction
When finished with this list, I felt pretty impressed.
But then I asked myself, what are the subjects I rarely read in, have no working knowledge of, couldn’t put two sentences together about, or even avoid?
Here’s that list: general biographies, colonial American history, world history, geography, travel memoirs, animals, romance, celebrities, sailing, cars, history of language, math and science, sports, nature, children’s books, plays, poetry, Christian fiction, true crime, technical books
Doing this exercise motivated me to dig into many unexplored subjects.
What would your reading lists look like?
Here are three scratching strategies:
-Flirt with a different genre (or even subgenre)-It’s always fun to explore a different writing genre than the one that’s become your norm. In a recent writing workshop, the instructor encouraged us to take a short piece that we were working on, keep the characters but rewrite it using a different genre. This exercise felt so liberating. I found myself exploring space opera with what had started out as a realistic story. I have little working knowledge of space operas, but it was fun to use my imagination to fill in the gaps.
-Visit a writer’s residence or historic site-Traveling to see a writer’s home is a kind of pilgrimage that can bring us fresh insights. A few years ago, I traveled to Edenton, NC to learn a bit more about Harriet Jacobs, a fugitive slave, writer and abolitionist who penned Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl under the pseudonym Linda Brent. My literary pilgrimage was so rejuvenating.
-Mine Magazines-Acquire ten magazines that you never read (you can buy some and collect others from friends, the doctor’s office, libraries, etc.) and read them from cover to cover. Keep a list about the trends, ideas and musings that spark your interest.
Where are you going to scratch for ideas this spring?
Affirmations-366Days#366
Posted on: December 31, 2016
- In: creative writing | creativity | writing
- 1 Comment
Affirmations-366Days#366: I create the internal focus needed for writing success.
For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.
Make Good on Those 2017 Writing Resolutions: Webinar Replay, Invitation +Fast Action Bonus!
Posted on: December 31, 2016
We had a blast on my ‘Affirm the Writer in You’ webinar on Thursday! Here is the replay, available through the end of Jan 3.
A way to be connected to your Writing Self is through having what I call a strong ‘creative core’. I talked about this revolutionary concept on the webinar. The concept of the creative core is the foundation of all my work.
Just like you have a physical core that stabilizes you, you also have a ‘creative core’. For many of us, our creative core is underdeveloped. We’re often easily knocked off course, produce inconsistent results and struggle to keep our focus.
As you’re making plans for your writing success in 2017, I’m inviting you to join me in my signature 4 week ‘Tone Your Creative Core™’ Program which helps creative people deal with the universal blockers and dream killers that ALL creative people struggle with.
My program is designed tackle the areas that creative people, ESPECIALLY writers struggle with most: time, abundance and prosperity, feeling worthy to create and goal-setting. Through this program you will get to experience your best creative self.
This program shapes your ‘creativity core’ so that it unleashes your potential. You will be rewarded with a new level of energy, focus and commitment!
- You’ll strengthen a relationship with your Writing Self
- You’ll learn how to create with consistency, passion and purpose.
- You’ll learn how to recognize and conquer your internal and external saboteurs.
I have a special FAST-ACTION Bonus-– if you act by 11:59 Jan 3rd you will ALSO receive a personal coaching session with me! I bring my experience as a published writer and creativity coach and provide structure and accountability to support you. If you’ve been wanting to work with a coach to receive individualized support, here’s your opportunity.
2nd Bonus: You’ll also receive my 40 day Affirmation workbook. In this workbook, I share 40 powerful affirmations about writing that will inspire and encourage you every time you face the page. As you know, my daily practice of using affirmations has changed my life. I did a recent guest blog post talking about lessons learned.
3rd Bonus: MP3 audio file of how to generate energy for your creative work (esp. when you just don’t feel like it). I interviewed successful writers, artists and coaches about how to generate more energy for your creativity, even when you don’t feel like it! They share their secrets and phenomenal tips. You’ll hear from Eric Maisel, SARK, Amanda Owen and many more. You’ll have at your fingertips numerous strategies to combat feeling overwhelmed and just TOO TIRED TO CREATE!
The investment for you is $67. Start the New Year by investing in your creative life and guaranteeing transformation!
Sign up here.
Affirmations-366Days#365
Posted on: December 31, 2016
Affirmations-366Days#365: Every day, I welcome the opportunity to write.
For new readers, here’s why I’m committing to writing affirmations, about the creative process, during the next 366 days.
The Practice of Creativity 