Clues Those Writing Prompts Are Keeping You From the Writing Your Soul Wants
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Are you hiding in your morning pages?
Have you been "feeling into" your next writing project for months?
Do you follow the #writingprompts hashtag on Instagram so you can always tap into the latest journal prompts?
All because you want to write more.
Or you want to write something big, like a book.
Or you know you need to start writing in a different direction, telling a series of stories, or starting a new business.
Whatever it is you think you want to write — you're not doing it.
Consciously or unconsciously, you head down a journey of searching online for writing prompts. Or maybe you gathered some from my book, Intuitive Writing.
Or you finally read the Artist's Way and decided you'll make your way through all the exercises and prompts each week. Plus, daily morning pages before you write.
Besides, you're supposed to follow a prescription first, right?
You're searching for something, anything, to give you the answers you're looking for to be able to write. Hoping you'll find it in tomorrow's prompts.
Morning pages and following written prompts are perfectly fine to get you started. They only become a problem when you hide in there and are considering following prompts action taking.
Yes, following a writing prompt is giving you an action. But something's leaving you unfulfilled. Something's missing. Your heart is yearning for more.
It's as if you're worried about heading down the path of writing, spending a year working on a big project, and having it not work out the way you expect.
If you could guarantee that you'd reach your goal with your writing project, would it be easier to start?
When was the last time you finished a piece of writing?
If it's been months, years, or even forever since you've started and published a piece of writing, you want to write and publish more, but you're all up in your composition notebook — it might be time to put them away.
If you're healing, trust yourself and your process. If you sense you need more time to heal, and are peeling back the layers of wounding, you may not be in a place of being ready to publish yet. That's fine. This article is intended for those who have a sneaking sense that you're hiding in prompts behind pen and paper when you're longing for something more — something different. Something your soul is calling you to.
Is your soul calling you to write morning pages, or is your soul calling you to write the hard thing that you've been avoiding?
This blog is for you if you sense you're hiding in the pages of your journal instead of sharing.
How do you know if you're hiding? You think about publishing. You hear a whisper about sharing a new kind of work. Can you? Should you? You feel a strong pull in your gut to write more, write different things, share, and connect with your words, but you're keeping them all on the page.
"Should" isn't soul language. Should is the voice of everyone outside of you.
When you're immersed in morning pages, following writing prompts, and NOT taking action on the writing you keep saying you want to do, it's hard not to overthink. Could overthinking be keeping you from publishing?
Or are you spending most of your time lost in a sea of journal prompts and morning pages?
What if instead of writing morning pages tomorrow, you took a few deep breaths and wrote for 20 minutes on the piece tugging at you?
Even if that piece doesn't logically fit into your business model.
Even if the writing will challenge you.
Even if you'll have to think about things you've been avoiding.
Journaling and morning pages and following some prompts are fine. Their intention is to clear your mind so that you can write. Clearing the cobwebs to get to the stuff that wants to come through. They're intended as a warm-up.
Writing morning pages and keeping your book or blog in draft form without ever publishing is like going to the gym for an hour to warm up. You never make it to the squat rack. You keep doing the warm-up. Thinking maybe there's a better or different warm-up to do instead, so you try new warm-ups. Watch all the reels on Instagram, pointing to a different warm-up you could try. When what you really need is a kettlebell workout.
But are you learning anything about how to write?
Are your prompts teaching you anything or are you using them to procrastinate? You'll know if there's writing that keeps tugging at you.
Are you taking action?
What to do if you think this is you:
Start writing — today.
Look at your schedule for the rest of the day, block 30 minutes (or more if you like), and write. Consider it an act of self-love. I've deliberately left out suggestions for additional reading to keep you from going down any rabbit holes after reading this article. Use the time to go and write something right away.
You'll either be taken in another direction, or you'll get the energy to go all the way.
You can't think your way there. Trust me, I've tried.
I'll offer only one prompt in this article:
Are you taking action on your writing?
If yes, keep doing what you're doing.
If the answer is no, write three actions you'll take this week. Put each action item on your calendar. Show up and do it.
Here's the kicker…
Do it even if your brain tries to convince you not to, that it'll be too hard, or you're too busy.
Show the fuck up and write anyway.
If your inaction is because you're aiming for a big writing project when you haven't posted on social media in months, try writing a social media post first with your subject matter in mind.
I love social media for taking fast action. If you overthink every social media post, you could look at it like it's some precious, overly special snowflakey thing.
I've been posting daily or almost every day on social for years.
Here's my social media posting strategy:
Pull up Instagram on my computer.
Look at the graphics I've created and downloaded in advance and decide which one to share.
Write a blurb.
Maybe give it a quick once-over (I don't do this often) and move on.
No overthinking. Only action.
Try using social media as a playground to test out your ideas, see what topics feel good to write, and try new kinds of writing as you create your voice.
Challenge yourself to write a post a day. It can be three sentences. Just post daily. There's no need to use every allotted character.
Keep yourself accountable to that daily habit to create momentum.
Then move on to the writing you want to do — writing 500 words daily for your book, drafting a page of SFD words for your blog post, or creating a fast sales page draft for your next offer.
Happy writing!
🩵 Jacq
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