Posts Tagged ‘positive psychology’
Join Me 5/14 ON YouTube Livestream-Spring Cleaning for Creative People: 3-Steps to Transformation
Posted on: May 9, 2023
- In: creativity | writing
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Since it’s spring, it’s a natural time to tackle decluttering. Did you know that I consider decluttering a *transformational practice* for creatives? Decluttering includes examining our space, schedule and patterns of mind.
I’ll be talking about the whys and hows of spring cleaning for creative people at a Youtube Live event on Sunday, May 14, 3pm EST. It will be my first livestream event and I think it will be a blast!
Come join me, ask questions and let’s talk about the joys and challenges of decluttering. At the end I’ll do Q&A and take your writing questions.
Also, during that time, you’ll be able to receive my new Spring Cleaning for Creative People: A 3-Step Decluttering Guide.
Hi writing community! I’m really close to wrapping up my long-awaited comprehensive workshop on “Savvy Submission Strategies for Writers”. Writers often struggle with consistently submitting their work to agents, publishers, journal and anthology editors, etc. and dealing with the fear of rejection. We often don’t have efficient processes in place to keep track of our submissions. This workshop addresses those concerns and provide folks the tools to double their submission rate and feel confident while doing so and MUCH more. I’ll be offering my workshop in Nov. But before I offer it, I have a couple of questions. Can you help me out? You can answer the questions in this super short survey (and get a little more detail about the workshop).https://qfreeaccountssjc1.az1.qualtrics.com/…/SV…
THANKS, I really appreciate it!
P.S. We’re still in a pandemic and we’re still dealing with its impact on our writing habits, routines and motivations. My free guide may be helpful to you. Have you checked it out?: Ten Ways to Keep Connected to Your Writing Self during COVID-19 go to: https://mailchi.mp/creativetickle/tenways
Got inner critics? All creative people I know struggle with inner critics that can interrupt their work. What to do about them? It’s an unlikely but important answer–give them new jobs! In the latest Chatham County Line column I show folks how and even get to talk about Sandra Oh, too.
Give Your Inner Critic a New Job
No matter how lumpy or faded or boring you feel, your creativity is of value.
—SARK
Inner critics can sabotage our creative work. More than a decade ago, I began to study how and why inner critics become unwanted residents in our psyches.
Inner critics are the sharp-tongued internal voices that often prevent us from consistently writing and creating. They speak to us with the seemingly definitive voice of KNOWING ABOUT EVERYTHING CREATIVE. Inner critics usually know how to do just one thing and have long outlived whatever protective role they once had. Inner critics want to protect us from failure, shame and embarrassment. Gentle and honest feedback about our work is important and can be gained from a variety of sources. Inner critics go awry when they enter into the creative process at an early stage. They become destructive when they engage us in black or white thinking that may or not be accurate. Inner critics often drive us to abandon work too early, convince us that our ideas aren’t worthy, or that we will never be successful.
Inner critics can have a personal and also a cultural component to their makeup. Read the rest here.
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
Does Your Writing Life Need a Reset? MY NEW ONLINE Fall Writing Retreats Are HERE!
Posted on: September 20, 2020
Hi Writers,
Over the past several months, I’ve heard from so many writers that their old ways of doing things just aren’t working.
Many of us aren’t writing and if we are writing, we’re not having a lot of joy doing it. Many of us are finding it hard to get ourselves to the page and to stay focused when we arrive. We’re often afraid, discouraged, and tired. Very tired. Our inner critics have been very loud during the past few months.
We haven’t danced with, wrangled with or been charmed by our muse(s) in quite a while.
I HEAR you and I’ve designed something for you that you will LOVE.
It’s time to RESET. I’ve found that if I don’t reset every 5-6 weeks regarding my mindset, exercise routine, and writing habits, I hit a wall.
A reset is in order. And FALL is a perfect time for one.
I’ve designed a NEW online monthly writing retreat series: Reset, Refresh and Reclaim
I call these themed retreats reset, refresh and reclaim for a reason—we need these qualities now more than ever to deal with the changing pace of life!
These well-paced structured retreats are designed to inspire you and connect you to other writers. You’ll get some serious writing done and have FUN while doing it!
Give me the next four months and I will take you from creatively blocked to creatively sparked!
My reset approach has kept me productive, writing and getting published throughout the last six months.
Space for these online retreats is limited. I’m offering this to YOU at these rates, before I advertise broadly, because you are part of my community as an engaged reader of this blog.
Want to see how excited I am to tell you about these retreats and what we will do in them? Here’s a brief video:
If you don’t want to watch the video, it’s fine. All the details are below.
Here’s what people have said recently about my expertise as a coach and writing facilitator:
“Michele’s calm voice and emphasis on mindfulness practices has been a boon to my writing.” Amy T.
“I’ve written more with Michele in two hours during her Write-INs than I have during the last four months.” Francesca P.
“Michele encourages one to do their deepest work in a supportive environment.” Mark J.
“I thoroughly enjoyed September’s writing retreat! You have a wonderful teaching style, and as someone who struggles with ADHD, you kept me fully engaged the entire time.” Rachelle H.
ONLINE WRITING RETREATS
Reset, Refresh and Reclaim
If you’ve found yourself isolated, alone, and struggling with your writing, imagine how much different writing might feel if you had some dedicated and structured time, plus awesome community and coaching support.
Here’s a way to write THROUGH the fear, sludge and anxiety!
You can sign up for ONE retreat or ALL of them.
They all will include writing time (come with work or start something new), a brief writing craft discussion, fun writing exercises and games, mindfulness exercises for focus, and group coaching. We’ll have the option for a short lunch break and/or additional writing time.
Each retreat is curated to the needs and interests of the group. Once you register, I’ll send a brief survey to find out more about you. A few days prior to the workshop, you will receive additional information and any suggested readings or exercises.
Fall Retreat Dates:
*Saturday, Sept 26-The Harvest of 2020
Saturday, Oct 24-Characters
Saturday, Nov 21-Beginnings, Middles and Endings
Saturday, Dec 12–Author Mindset/Goals for 2021
(11am-2pm EST via ZOOM)
(Dec’s retreat will go 11-3, BONUS hour!)
(*tentative topics; each workshop is tailored to registered participants)
That’s 16+ hours of writing, community and support for you over the next 4 months!
Want to feel GREAT at the end of the year knowing that you MADE time for and NOURISHED your writing life? I know you do!
Ready to sign up? Ready to Reset?
Each online writing retreat is $69.00
Sign up for the remaining 3 for $197(discounted!)
I can accept payment in a few ways:
-via PayPal:
(The link above takes you to my Creative Tickle business link. In the comment box for PayPal, let me know which month(s) you are registering for.)
-I’m also on Zelle as Michele Berger (State Employees’ Credit Union)
Questions? Email me at mtb@creativetickle.com
Look forward to seeing you soon!
***
BTW: Your invitation still stands, click here to get your 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’.
It’s the end of the first week of July. We’re in the third quarter of the year.
As I look back over the first two quarters, I can count some successes:
Two pieces of mine are out circulating in the world!
My novelette “Doll Seed” appears in the recent issue of FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. FIYAH is a quarterly, digital publication of fantasy, science fiction, and horror by Black writers. It is about dolls, magic and civil rights! You can read excerpts and even hear a playlist for the issue, as well as buy the issue here.
My essay, “The Poison Our Grandmothers and Mothers Drank” is reprinted in this gorgeous new book whose cover I love:
Available for purchase at all online booksellers.
My goal for the next 90 days include producing a fast draft of my horror novel. I’m aiming for around 60,000 words. I was inspired to do this by Rachael Herron’s YouTube video about why it is a good thing to fast draft a book. Rachael Herron is an author and podcaster. She said doing a fast draft ensures you are the same writer from roughly start to finish. As a writing instructor she said she witnessed many students struggle with projects that were undertaken over many many years. She said these kinds of projects can be beasts to revise because the writing was completed in very different stages of ability. That makes so much sense to me as someone who has had to mine a 400,000 word unfinished novel over the years!
She gives great suggestions on how to fast draft a novel (but could work for memoir, too), including how to outline and how to stay motivated with the writing. Herron backs up her ideas by describing the success stories of her students that she’s taken through this process. In some ways producing a fast draft over 90 days is like doing an extended NaNoWriMo, but without the exhaustion and frantic energy.
Beginning July 1, I committed to writing between 800-1,000 words a day, 5 days a week.
To give me a little more incentive and accountability, I decided to post my word counts on my Author Facebook page. Knowing I am sharing it with everyone there keeps me honest–public accountability = heightened private results.
It’s funny how quickly one can establish a new normal when you commit. I made my goal this week and have almost 5,000 words. Fast drafting is by far the hardest part of my day and so I try to get to it before the afternoon. This pace hopefully will be my new normal for the next 90 days to produce a draft.
I’m also doing Camp NaNoWriMo, a virtual writing retreat that takes place in July. If there’s a project you’d like to set a goal to move toward completing in July, this might be a fantastic way to get support.
Thinking about and writing a fast draft of the novel is going to take up most of this quarter. I’ll still actively submit work, but I won’t be producing a lot of new work. I’m also judging a literary award for the North Carolina Humanities Council and a writing fellowship for the North Carolina Writers’ Network, so I’ll be busy with those service commitments. It’ll be busy but really fun!
What are your third quarter goals?
- In: creative writing | creativity | writing
- 2 Comments
“Meditation is push-ups for the mind.”- Rachael Herron
As some of you know, I’ve been a long-time advocate of meditation. I use meditation as a tool in my life and I have often taught secular meditative techniques to writers.
Clinical research supports the claim that meditation helps to strengthen the mind, increase concentration and slow our thousands of thoughts down. This is so helpful for writers!
Why do meditation techniques work? Because all human minds, despite their great diversity and capabilities feel and experience the same basic emotions that include joy, fear, rage, happiness, sadness, etc. We also tend to experience similar thoughts both positive (‘I’m great!’) and negative (‘I’m horrible!’). We all also get distracted, frustrated and irritated on a routine basis in relatively the same ways (though about different kinds of things).
There lots and lots of meditation styles and techniques out there from a variety of secular and spiritual traditions. You’ve probably heard a lot about a type of meditation called ‘mindfulness’, so let’s start there.
Mindfulness is a practice of maintaining an awareness of your thoughts, feelings and environment in the present moment. Slowing down and paying attention to the present moment allows us to be more available to what’s happening right now, instead of living in the past or racing ahead in the future. Mindfulness also involves getting some distance from your thoughts and mind chatter without judging them.
Cultivating mindfulness can mean focusing on one’s breathing and being quiet.
Mindfulness can support your writing in a few ways:
-Mindfulness can get us back in the body
“Whatever stories we have, they are organically connected to our physical bodies. Cultivating that connection—that pathway between our heads and our bodies—creates deep writing.”
Larraine Herring
Ever have that experience where you don’t know where time went and not in a good way? Ever realize that you’ve been on autopilot and not in the moment? To write well, we have to be connected to the body, our experience, the pain and joy of being alive. Taking a few minutes to recognize we are in a particular place in time and space and we are actually breathing is quite helpful when writing. Sometimes I’m working so intensely, I have hunched my shoulders, clenched my jaw and have tightened up all my muscles. It’s good in that moment to stop, breathe and readjust my body. Mindfulness can open us up to sensations in the body that we tend to ignore. And, indeed in slowing down, we can connect as Herring notes we can open ourselves up to greater bodily knowledge in service of storytelling.
– Contributes to Writerly Equanimity
Mindfulness helps us stay the course. Bad writing day? OK, we all have them…tomorrow will be better. If we have cultivated equanimity, when we hit an impasse in our writing, we’re more likely to be open to tapping our resources (including connecting with writing buddies, groups, etc.,), trying out other techniques (like taking a walk, freewriting) as opposed to thinking we have to solve it all ourselves or because we can’t figure it out, or that we’re bad writers.
–Don’t Worry about What You Can’t Control
Practicing mindfulness allows us to see when negative thoughts arise, but also let them go (especially helpful when trying to write!). It helps us recognize what we can’t control. If we overemphasize what we can’t control, over time that leads to stress. The only thing we can control is what we create, how much we create and over time, the quality of what we create. We also have a say in how we show up and interact with industry professionals. We can’t control an audience’s response to our work, nor the shifting and fickle interests of the publishing industry.
-Quieting the Inner Critic
A practice of mindfulness helps keep us connected to our inner creative self. I don’t know about you but I have gone through cycles of having a very active inner critic. For me, I’m less susceptible to believing the words of my most upsetting and vicious inner critic if I’ve been practicing mindfulness. Also, if I start to have an attack of the inner critic, if I soften my breath and tell myself, OK, I’m going to take a five minutes and watch my thoughts. Do this can give me the perspective I need to return to the work after the five minutes is up.
–Less Easily Distracted
Mindfulness cultivates a resistance to being easily distracted. Practicing mindfulness teaches us about distraction and keeping with something, even when difficult. If we are to succeed as writers, we have to develop both our attention and our intention. Then over time, we become better able to resist the false siren calls of distraction that are always around.
Something to Try:
One easy way to start to practice mindfulness is to start with the breath. You can practice the following before you write. Breathe in and out a few times (breathe in through the nose and exhale through the mouth a few times to get relaxed). Then breathe in through the nose for a count of four, pause for a moment at the top of inhale and gently breathe out through the nose to a count of four (over time you can do a longer exhale to six or eight counts, which tends to relax the nervous system). Continue this breath cycle for a minute or more and then build up to 3 minutes or more.
Don’t try to stop your thoughts, notice them and then keep returning to the breath. Visualize thoughts as passing clouds over your mental landscape.
Another way to practice: You can place one hand over your heart and one hand on your belly and observe your breath. Ask yourself the following questions:
-Where am I breathing? (meaning where do you feel the breath the most—the belly, at the nostrils, in the expanse of the lungs)
-What’s the quality of my breath? (Slow? Shallow? Tight? Rapid)
Observe without judgement and then take a few more deep belly breaths.
You can also begin by pausing to notice your breath for a minute and then the next week, up it to two minutes and so on.
Interested in learning more? I particularly like Dr. Sara Lazar’s Ted Talk about meditation—she is a neuroscientist at Harvard who started studying the brain changes in people who meditated regularly.
There are lots of apps (many are free or at least free for 30 days) and places on line to investigate mindfulness and meditation.
I’d love to hear your experiences with mindfulness or meditative techniques in support of your creativity!
It’s been a week into this challenge (giving away or tossing/recycling 27 items daily for 9 days) and I am still loving it. More about the origins of the challenge here. What’s surprised me are the items that I am tossing/giving away and the areas that are getting decluttered because of actions that I am taking. Case in point–tonight’s work was organizing my packing/wrapping boxes/bags/ribbons area over my washer/dryer. That area is always a hot mess as I am constantly trying to save wrapping paper to recycle/reuse, gift boxes to recycle/reuse and store future hostess gifts. Since things are stored willy-nilly, I’m always frustrated when I look at that area and can’t find anything very easily. When I took everything down and went through it, I discovered that much of what I was saving was old, unusable, or multiples of items that was overkill. I’m actually not doing that much shipping or wrapping as it turns out, lol.
Every time I do this exercise, I feel lighter and more peaceful…and that has got to be good for my creativity.
Some folks who follow my author Facebook page are also doing this challenge. If you are too, let me know how it is going!
Just thought of a good prompt for those of us writing fiction–What items does your main character need to get rid of? How would they go about decluttering their workplace or home? Are they very tidy or are they drowning in clutter?
The Practice of Creativity 