We love it when the inspiration strikes and we’re in the flow. The thing is we hate all the crap that gets in the way. The work, the stuckness, the setbacks, the pain, and even trauma. Why can’t writing be easy all the time?

The thing is (and I’m sure you’ve heard this before) the ugly stuff is the grain of sand in the center of a pearl. The real insight and depth of your writing comes by taking the tough stuff ugly and giving it space, time, learning to become beautiful. While we’re in it, it’s painful, but when we witness it we see the significance. Without the grain of sand to irritate the nacre of the oyster, the pearl has nothing to cling to.

That’s why, Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning absolutely changed my life and became the center of my philosophy about writing. If Frankl can find meaning in the Holocaust, than obviously, I can do it with my own struggles. I can turn it into art.

Here’s the bad news. When you're on a path of growth, of creative expression, and going ever deeper into your message, the fears and doubts don't go away. They meet you at your edge.

But here’s the good news. There’s a time tested strategy to overcome fear and doubt, and it doesn’t have to be painful. You don’t have to try to think your way out of it. Go deeper.

Back when I used to think that “mindset” was only about the mind, I would get so frustrated. When I try to put myself out there, write something new, or express myself in a way that feels risky, it´s impossible to mentally force myself to that next level. When it comes to confidence, I can’t believe things I don’t believe.

That’s when I had my major breakthrough. Mindset isn’t just about your mind. Fear and doubt come up whenever you’re trying to change your belief system, and evolve as a human being. It’s the natural process of letting go of a belief system that may have served you in the past, and replacing it with a belief system that will support you at your next level, i.e. the belief system of a successful author.

Heartbreak. We fear it in our writing, not to mention our relationships, health, bank account, and spiritual faith/beliefs. That monster comes up everywhere!

One thing is for certain, whatever kind of rejection or heartbreak you’re feeling now is the fastest catalyst to where you want to be. The fact is heartbreak is uncomfortable and it won’t allow you to stay where you are. Even if you don’t make all the right moves immediately, you’re more likely to stay in motion, learn and grow until you cure that discomfort. That’s the advantage of heartbreak.

And believe me, I practically have a PhD in heartbreak at this point because I’m always purposely or accidentally putting myself in that uncomfortable situations that force me to grow.

One of my favorite artist stories is when Matisse began Drawing with Scissors. At the beginning of World War II he was on the cusp of his seventies, and his body was deteriorating in such a way that he could no longer paint as he painted before. Matisse was known throughout his career for his bold paintings, with masterful confident lines that could express a woman in one swift stroke.

But in 1941, Europe was falling apart around him, his marriage of four decades had ended, and he was bedridden because of his illness. What was his reaction? He sat up in a wheelchair and started to cut up colored paper. In the darkest period of his life, he made his brightest, liveliest work.

Drawing with Scissors is such a potent metaphor for creating in life. When we dream up ideas, any possible reality can flit across our mental theater without much effort at all. Thoughts are beautiful, ethereal and comparatively painless. But in order to give it life and make it real on earth, you have to cut, you have to decide, and affirm life, even if it hurts.

There are so many opportunities for writers in social media. These platforms are created for word play. And yet, so many of us writers are baffled as to how to incorporate our craft into this medium that now has more users and views than TV.

And it’s interactive!

And it’s free for everybody!

I’ll never forget the day I had the opportunity to meet one of the most influential writers in my life, Nicole Krauss. I had the opportunity to tell her how much her book affected me. She responded that she rarely got to see the impact her work has on readers.

Well, all that is changing, and social media is the perfect place to develop those relationships.

I know what it’s like to always be scraping for dimes. I know what it’s like to work so hard that making time for the things you love seems like a cruel joke.

In fact, that’s exactly why I do what I do now.

The thing is, a year ago, I experienced one of the toughest days, that lead to one of the toughest months of my life.

Writing a book and growing your audience are not separate jobs anymore. Your book is your social media content plan! Isn’t that great?

Rather than pumping out 30 random ideas a month, you’re engaging people in a journey that culminates in a fully functioning book launch.

The shifting terrain of publishing has created fabulous bubbles of opportunity as unknown authors become Instagram famous when an Influencer features them, or a publishing start-up signs your book offering to cover your publishing and marketing costs while giving you awesome royalties.

Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, I’m going to show you how you can use social media to grow your audience while you’re still working on the book.

You know that phrase, “Write drunk, edit sober.”

Hemingway never said that.

And a good thing too, because seriously that doesn’t make good art. There’s a destructive stereotype about writers being, shall we say, a little off balance..

This year, both in our community, The Writer’s Block and in our Meaning Method programs, we’ll be doing a lot more to balance mind, body and spirit, in order to become more creative.

If there’s something we want in life and it’s not happening, usually we create some habit that numbs us both to the desire of accomplishing it, and the pain of not accomplishing it. Cutting that habit out of our life can be a simple way to bring about change.

After spending years in classes and workshops, I’ve got to admit, nothing has been so transformative to my own creative process as learning about the chakras. Learning about writing on the outside is wonderful. You can improve a lot and achieve great things.

However it won’t change your life in the in the same way that it does when you work on your writing from the level of the soul.

Maybe that sounds corny, but it’s honest, and sometimes honest is corny.

Let me to explain. Chakras are energetic organs, kind of like the anatomy of your soul. They first appeared in writing in the earliest Vedic writings, so before that, who knows how old the teachings are. I say they’re like organs because they actually map directly onto the endocrine glands. But that was just discovered in the early twentieth century.

But I digress.

They provide an incredible map for your creative energy and spiritual growth.

One of the disadvantages to being abundantly creative is that you have so many ideas and you can’t let any of them go. In the past year, plenty of people have come to me overflowing with projects, and I love helping them get started with the single step that has the highest emotional charge.

For some people, letting go of all the possibilities to focus on just one can feel like a small death.

I get it. I’ve been there.

I often start out writing two books, before one really starts to take momentum and then I go full speed.

The fact is, nobody ever decides NOT to write their book. They simply don’t make a clear decision to go through with it and make it a priority. They miss out on becoming an author by default. That’s why the most powerful gift I could offer this season is a tool I use every time I achieve a goal to help me decide what to do next. Check out the blog to get the free guide inside!

We made it! Here come the holidays! For many of us, this is a wonderful opportunity to step back, reflect, and feel rejuvenated for the coming year. Get ready for 2019 baby!

But I have a question for you…

After you retreat from your life, do you actually feel renewed? If you put your work down for a brief vacation, do you want to pick it up again, or are you truly running out of energy?

I ask this question because I know how it feels to be burnt out and exhausted. You feel there are so many demands on your time, that you’ve lost track of those creative hopes which lit you up as a kid. You work long hours and have so many family obligations, that you feel guilty about taking time to yourself.

After a while that kind of lifestyle takes its toll. You lose your verve and excitement for the things you do every day. Then inspiration and creativity arise, but you lack the energy to do anything about them. You never write your book.

So, what do you do when you run out of energy?

I never knew how much my body is connected to my writing habits until Holly Blazina showed me how my Aryuvedic type effects my creativity. As soon as I started studying this I was fascinated and realized how much it can help you become the prolific author you want to be.

For instance, as you read the creative types below, you’ll surely see your own habits reflected in one more than the others. I saw myself in Pitta, and I realized there are all things I can do to feel more inspired, balanced and energized based on that information alone.

It's such a fun way to get a better handle on our personalized creative process.

Everybody wants to write a book, but only about 1% of the people who talk about actually get to work and get it done.

Obviously, this comes down to whether or not you’ve established a regular writing practice. Not one that lasts a week or just the length of a specific project, but one that continues to grow and develop with you. The more you honor your imagination and follow through on the ideas that come to you intuitively, the happier you’ll be in general.

Four months ago, I started a coaching program that pushed me so far out of my comfort zone, it should have counted as an out of body experience.

It was the biggest investment I’d made since I bought my car. During this program I started doing video and Facebook Live, opened an Instagram account, did my first official product launch, and created an online course.

This from a girl, who in July 2018, didn’t own a phone, and had never even taken a selfie.

The best advice I ever received about writing a ending to a story was that it needs to be “surprising yet inevitable.”

I know that sounds impossible, but I’m serious.

Think about your favorite book. It was probably inevitable, in that it made perfect sense with the plot, and yet there was also something about it that caught you off guard.

Anyone reading this must be familiar with the magnificent moment that an idea for a book first visits your mind. You’re taken up on a wave of inspiration, you see all too clearly what life could look like as an author. It’s a vibration that permeates your whole body, and it’s all so real.

And it is real. It’s unfolding right there before you!

Until 48 hours pass and your inner critic tugs you down from those amazing heights.

But let me tell you a secret. The inner critic is a liar. All of your imaginings are all too possible if you can only sustain them over a period of time.

Writing is a safe place to put fear, anxiety and all your challenges. Stories give the entire spectrum of human experience meaning and value.

Being strong isn’t about repressing emotion, or slapping on a smile when things are tough. It’s about expression how you feel and transforming it.

I love teaching how to use your setbacks and emotions as material for your writing. It enriches your characters in fiction and memoir, and makes weaves examples of greater depth into your self help.

It’s much easier NOT to believe in yourself, than it is to believe in yourself.

Don’t I know it.

Writing a book and publishing it, isn’t just one and done. You have to sustain that belief and keep saying yes, day after day. The strength and perseverance you gain by writing a book is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself. When you finish, your whole life is different.

This quote by George Eliot that has always been one of my favorites.

"It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees."

This is the reward of continually saying yes to yourself as an author. You create that foundation, you plant that rose bush, and then you continue grow from there. It’s why I love my job!

Buddha said, “Nothing is forever except change.” In other words, the only thing that doesn’t change is that everything always changes. And that’s why we have stories.

They show what it feels like to go through all the tumultuous adventures of life. They show what it means. Or in the case of self help, they guide us through that transformation.

A good book is a tale of change.

That’s why I want to talk about scenes! Writing vivid scenes turns regular information into an experience.

This was one of my favorite moments in September. I was kind of spinning my wheels on a project, when a thought from left field popped into my head. Suddenly I wondered if people in my Facebook community would be interested in learning about muses.

Within the first hour there were a dozen amazingly supportive responses encouraging me to go for it! People were interested. Comments never flood in that quickly.

It stunned me that people would actually be interested in the idiosyncratic talents and experiences I had to offer. It made me nervous to take another step out of the spiritual closet, but I felt like if I was honest with people who already knew me, this might work.