Creating Safety in Your Writing Practice

When I feel the urge to write, or see my daily calendar reminder, I often also feel a strong urge to swerve, to not do it, to put it off. When this happens, I know I don’t feel safe. And when I don't feel safe, it's hard to put my butt in the chair and write. But I have to write. I will explode if I don't write. (Or do some other not-very-good-for-me practice like disappearing into my scroll.) So I create safety. Yes, it's my own invention, but it works. And in truth, a war isn't breaking down my door to force me to flee. I am relatively safe here at my desk. The scariest part is my mind.

But the mind can be terrifying! So I create ways to say yes to my work - and many of you know how dark my work can be. How do I do this? I invent safety.

Each time I sit down to work, I promise myself an ending.I set a timer.I make sure I give myself an out. This means that even if I fail to invent safety, my time in a dangerous place will be limited.

Then I work on creating the safety itself. I set an intention. I'll decide to work on scene 4 only. Or I'll do character work. Or I'll have some sort of plan. I'll write a poem inspired by something specific. I keep a list and lots of poetry around for this purpose. Poems often take me into other kinds of writing, not just poetry. So the intention I set doesn't sound too scary. I never sit down to write "a book about my life." I never sit down to tell "a story about my traumas." But I might write a list of 3 things about my mother 's intense need to compete. Or I might write a story about when my father was accused of being a spy in the army.

I set an emotion I want feel while working, even if the feeling in the writing will be different. I didn't believe this would work for me - I didn't even fathom it was possible! But deciding how I want to feel for the next 15 to 30 minutes is helpful! And possible!

With a few deep breaths I can pull that feeling into my body. It usually makes me smile. Smiling makes me feel even more of that feeling whether it's peace or joy or calm or blanketed in warmth, I can enjoy my writing session more deeply once I've set an emotion for myself to live in while I write.

We are imaginative creatures! Why not write by the ocean today? Feel the sand at your feet... Your writing practice is for you. So I hope you will take a few simple steps to be in charge of it. That way you’ll get the writing done that you want to do. Set a safe place to write and you will not swerve the next time you think about sitting down to get some writing done.