Write Here Write Now

✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️

Confidence

If you’re a writer, what gives you the confidence to write?  

And if you’re not a writer, what do you think would give you a nudge to become one?  

And also, also...

If you’re a writer that’s lost that spark, what’s the thing you currently don’t have that would make you sit down to write again?  Even if it’s just for yourself. 

Write Here Write Now

Why I Write

Writing for me is, first and foremost, enjoyable. 

I like the frustration and problem-solving of the writing process. The to and fro of constructing sentences and paragraphs that make sense on an emotional level if not always on a rational one. 

Even if I can’t quite unravel the many tiny mysteries that come my way, can I at least have a go at expressing them?

Like a falcon circling the falconer, I keep one eye on the question; ‘How do I write about my personal experience in a way that is deeply personal, but doesn’t necessarily have ‘me’ at the heart of it?’.  

Does that make sense?

I’m saying, here’s my life under the microscope…but oh look, it’s your life too! As the cell is a microcosm of the universe, one human life is a signpost of another. Utterly different from one another and yet patterns emerge nonetheless.

A computerised image of a human cell. Check out the interactive image here to dance from one incredible pathway to another.

Pouring out

When everything we have ever experienced, has been gifted to us by something outside of ourselves, how do we, in turn, gift that away? To gift from our hearts the thing pouring into our hearts.

Life is not happening ‘to me’, nor is it happening ‘for me’. Simply; all of life is happening in me. - Manos Venus

The Flow State

Pouring from a vessel that is flavoured with your story but which isn’t quite your own makes me think of that mental state which is referred to as the flow. It’s been described as hyperfocus where you’re fully immersed in the experience to the point where ‘you’, as the thinker, disappear.

Now if I’m honest, creative flow isn’t something I’ve directly experienced. As a skier or climber, it’s something I could talk about, but never when I’ve sat down to create.

I’d be interested if you guys have experienced it or if it’s something you try to cultivate with your creative practice.

I would say, however, as a yoga teacher and bodyworker and someone always working with restrictions and people (subconsciously) contracting against life and their lived experience…deep breath….I would say, that flow (in all its forms - physical movement, sweat (sauna), tears, conversation, yes colinic irrigation!) is a healing mode of being.

‘Flow’ in the context of yoga might be referred to as ‘Prana’, and in internal Chinese arts as ‘Qi’ (sometimes written as ‘Chi’ or ‘Ki’). Working with, or enhancing, this flow of ‘vital energy’ is fundamental to the whole canon of practice.

It’s not a coincidence that these Eastern practices all use Breath and breathing practices. Breath, after all, is the most fundamental flow of life.

Even in the more mysterious teachings written in the likes of the Bhagavad Gītā, breath-holding is not thought of as cessation. It’s framed in the flow of sacrifice; the in-breath is poured into the out-breath as the out-breath surrenders to the in-breath.

Perhaps, a little too heady to even think about. Let’s get back to creativity as a source of flow…

The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Is all writing created equal?

I think there is probably objectively good and bad writing, but so long as you’re writing from your essence there’ll be some tonic in it. Some medicine to share.

As serendipity would have it (or Carl Jung’s synchronicity - coincidences that have meaning) I stumbled across a young UK ‘rapper’ who goes by the name of Ren.

Maybe I should let his own creativity do the talking so here’s the song, in his words, that he’s most proud of - Ren - Hi Ren.

Ren seems to embody a lot of the themes I’m talking about here. A fearless pouring out from his soul. It might be stark, messy and even frightening to watch as an audience but you only have to check out the comments in his youtube videos to see how much people connect to his writing…not just connect musically but connecting viscerally to something in their own life’s journey. People of all ages and life experiences.

Something I haven’t directly mentioned but that’s inherent in all my writing is trauma and you can find out about Ren’s battle with chronic illness in his live Twitch stream where he discusses the motivation for ‘Hi Ren’. Before his battling his own demons in his ‘underworld voyage’, he was signed to a major mainstream recording studio (Sony) and I can’t imagine he’d have the freedom to create the raw stuff he’s putting out into the world now if they hadn’t cut him loose following his diagnosis with Lyme’s disease.

Unknown Rap Artist

Staying True to Yourself

I’m not suggesting you’ll fall in love with Ren’s music as I have. And if you didn’t grow up listening to rap maybe you’ll find it hard to connect. But what I’m saying is, can you see his fearlessness to express himself?

Can we all learn from this young musician who’s already had a lifetime of young experiences taken from him and stay true to ourselves even if that means we’re hard to pigeonhole? Even if it means we don’t get universal praise or what we typically might call ‘success’ for our efforts.

I know if I stray into writing just because it’s in fashion - authenticity, vulnerability, embodiment - to talk about, I’ll lose my voice. I see people trying too hard to give whatever on-trend topic a unique twist.

Van Gogh didn’t see ‘success’ in his lifetime but is rightly regarded as one of the greats today. It must have been a huge sacrifice to paint things as he experienced them even though people weren’t ready to connect to a tree being a ‘burning tree’…a vibrant tree…a tree with a soul every bit as burning as our own

Knowing What I’m Not Good At

I guess my worst nightmare would be to have to write some instructional how-to booklet.  If I had to write something clear, logical, and systematic I would fail miserably.  Put another way, the roads would be absolute carnage if the Highway Code was left in my incapable hands.

What about you?  What’s the writing that you find most natural? 

As much as I like to read novels, I don’t think I could write fictional prose either. I’m not sure I have the attention span to hold the web of all the characters and plot lines long enough to make sense of it. 

So I write about my inner landscape and hope that somehow it lands somewhere in your interior.  Maybe a spot that’s lay quiet for some time.  

Quiet but not sleeping, just as bluebell seeds can wait four years in the soil for the conditions to be favourable before bursting into life.  

Your Readership

And what about your audience? How do you relate to your readers? Are they here to hold you accountable or to cheerlead? Does your writing blossom or shrivel when you keep them in mind?

I think I can say that I write from my heart and trust my people are sophisticated enough to conclude I’ve not lost my mind. To the unobservant, my life looks messier than it is. People often feel the need to ‘rescue’ me in some way.

The thing about writing from the heart is the awful vulnerability hangover once it’s out in the world.  

And in today’s cultural climate, it’s unlikely you’ll find a hangover cure in the form of an attuned audience.

In a world chasing followers, what would it take to stand alone and write what you want to write?

And I’m not saying 1000 (true) fans wouldn’t be a lovely thing… I mean it would be a solid and reliable income for one - each paying only 8 sheets per month is nearly one hundred grand in revenue! 

What I’m saying is, don’t chase numbers at the expense of overlooking your own direct experience of the world.

I think it’s clear this soul stuff is the stuff that’ll be medicine for other souls in the world. Whether it’s in your lifetime or not you might never know.

Finally, I’d say never underestimate what it is to have one single reader appreciate your writing.

A person taking the time out of their busy day to read what you’ve written is remarkable.  A person with a life as equally colourful and complicated as your own. With hopes, fears and dreams not too distant from yours. 

Your writing could touch a person in pain. A person may be in search of solace or succour.

Your writing could be the break in the storm that some needs to bring some perspective on their current situation. 

Imagine by some unseen grace that your words provide shelter to one person in their time of need and you’ll have all the reason you need to put metaphorical pen to paper. 

I’d love to take this opportunity to the people who have encouraged me in my own writing. The one or two folks who saw something in my writing even when I didn’t. I’m deeply humbled by your Grace to read and make space for my writing but also for your willingness to hold the gaps and mistakes and immaturity in my work gently.

Thank you.

Now go write from your Heart! 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My Substacks take a long-ass time to write. My life has unfolded in many difficult, and often contradictory ways, and to distil it into anything that remotely resembles useful advice takes a lot of time and even more care.

A bee looking for succour

I think my voice is important. Not more important than anyone else’s but I’m saying the most important things I personally can say.

In a time where compassion is regarded as weak - especially by men and young men have zero role models in this area - I’m committed to not putting a paywall between those young men or anyone who might find some succour in my writing.

So I ask those who can pay for a subscription to support the work that I do here. And by paying you’re paying not just for yourself but for those who aren’t in a financial situation to pay just now.

And if you can’t pay for a subscription, don’t worry about it, enjoy the writing knowing that someone out there has been gracious and heartfelt enough to pay for a complete stranger’s space at the table.

Isn’t that a lovely thing for us all!