At this time of year, we should be conserving energy. Instead, artificial lights give us a false sense of the day’s energy. We are burning the midnight oil as we jump into action. While we are busy like ants on the hunt for a sugar source, nature is the opposite. Trees and plants go dormant. Animals burrow to conserve energy. Water in many places is frozen, suspended in time.

In the Five Element Theory of Chinese Traditional Medicine, water is the element that pairs with the winter season. Yin water is the deepest manifestation of the thinking process. It is the force of creation, the power of originality and creativity. Water moves with effortless progress. Winter is our best season as creative beings.

When you are in harmony with the energy of the season, your path will be clear for success. Each small step with the right intent will open the door to the next. You will effortlessly flow along the river of your creative journey. But if you jump from one thing to the next without slowing down, your energy will swirl in circles like an eddy in a stream.

In winter, take time to listen.

It is important to take this time and be crystal clear in your mind about what you want to say, who you want to reach with your writing, and what publishing options are best for you. Strengthening your will is a key component of Zhi, the spirit of the water element. When you clearly see your vision as a writer, every decision or project that crosses your path throughout the year will be the right one.

Give yourself creative space in the winter months for deep quiet. Winter is the season to nurture your vital essence. Take this time to nurture ideas for future projects. A dormant seed in winter stores everything it needs to become a strong tree in the growing season. Like trees, we need time to slow down, focus inward, and conserve resources for the right season to branch out and grow.

I love the quiet of a pre-dawn morning in winter. I use this precious slice of time to let ideas percolate. They appear effortlessly in these dark morning hours. As tempting as it is to rush to the keyboard, I quietly listen instead, storing these ideas for later.

Go with the creative flow

Water’s superpower is flow. Water sinks naturally without being forced. It is gentle but all powerful. It flows around obstacles. Let your creativity be fluid during the winter.

Water is all-powerful, but be careful with this energy. Using too much energy when you feel constricted leads to problems, much like water bursting a pipe. When the pipes at my house backed up, the plumber used water at high pressure to blast out a root ball in the main line. Water now moves freely through the pipe, and I am free from worry that the plumbing will back up again.

Winter is not the season to blast through a root ball, metaphorically speaking. Be mindful of your energy flow. If you feel a strong resistance to a writing project, move on to something where the words appear easily. Work on aspects of your writing that go at a slower pace. This is the time to work on outlines and world building.

This season is tough for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder. Shifts in barometric pressure can be a trigger for migraines. When the pressure drops, so does my blood pressure and I have to go lie down. If you aren’t feeling up to a project, don’t worry about it. Tuck in, rest, then find what works best for your energy.  

Slow down your creative energy during the winter. Take the time to listen. Be clear with your vision. Like a smoothly flowing river, your creative work will find its own way in harmony with the season.

Ambre Dawn Leffler is a Tai Chi instructor, gardener, and weather geek who writes about vegetables, seasons, communing with nature, and the interconnections of mind/body. She loves trees and cherishes time in their presence. Learn more about her tree time, garden residents, and wellness practices at her website ambredawnleffler.com and seasonal inspiration from her newsletter Sky Earth Water. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The post Use Water’s Superpower of Creative Flow in Winter appeared first on DIY MFA.

The advice I’ve heard across all writing groups is to write each day with a small goal to get back in sync. Shane Doan, captain of the NHL Coyotes, was unexpectedly told he would no longer play for the team. He got through the following difficult days by sticking to his routine of making his bed every morning. No matter what else happened, he knew he accomplished one thing each day.

I teach Yang style Tai Chi with 24 forms, which are groupings of steps. If I taught all 24 forms at once, my students would feel frustrated and lost. Instead, I teach one form at a time, breaking each step into moving the arms and the feet. When I see that my students feel confident in one form, I move on to the next. It takes time, but with these small steps everyone progresses in learning the entire sequence.

I look to nature to avoid FOMO (Fear of Missing Out” with writing projects. Trees start as a seed, then send up shoots as a sapling. Layer by layer, they build strong trunks. Branches and leaves grow in proportion to the trunk and roots at the tree’s pace. 

Hummingbirds don’t think of all the pollinators they need to visit each day for nutrients. They only focus on the flight to the next flower they have memorized on their route.

Here are my approaches for getting your writing back on track:

Build a Creative Scene One Brick at a Time

Composer Eric Whitacre uses a creative process in songwriting called the golden brick. Eric felt he had something really important to express but couldn’t get there when thinking of a full score. Looking at the entire composition paralyzed his process. 

So he intentionally chose only five notes to compose a phrase. Solving the puzzle with this constraint opened the door to the next step. He then created a new brick of just five notes, building each brick until he had an entire composition.

Try writing a description with a limited number of words. This could be the characteristics of a creature, details of an important clue, or features of a historical object. The key is to keep it small. 

Draw a Picture Grid

As an artist, I like to use a picture grid when drawing a complex object. This exercise helps you take in the small details right in front of you. You only look at the one detail in the one square.

It is easy to do, even if you don’t think of yourself as an artist.

1. Choose an organic shape to draw. For this exercise, I chose a leaf.
2. Draw a grid of even-sized squares.
3. Match each section of the grid with what you see in that same section of your object. Only look at that one section. Draw what you see in one square.
4. Fill in one section at a time until the drawing is complete.

This is a great exercise for anyone overwhelmed with world-building. Instead of trying to draw the entire map, focus on just one square. Is there a forest there? A desert? A path? When you’ve filled in that square, start an adjacent one. In time, you will fill in the complete picture.

Create a Timed Soundtrack

Part of DIY MFA’s virtual writer’s retreat included themed soundtracks. Each soundtrack was timed to be exactly 30 minutes. Initially, I was drawn to the ambiance of the background sounds. Later, I found that I was more productive during that time constraint.

While listening to an ambient track, I know I have a limited amount of time. My focus sharpens and I get right to the point. Time flies by and I have to remind myself that when the music stops, it’s time to take a break.

Create a timed soundtrack that works for you, whether songs or ambient sounds. 

Or set a timer if you work better in silence. 

The important thing is to give yourself that time limit to stay focused while honoring the parameters of your well-being.

An Inspirational Book about Getting Back on Track

One of my favorite inspirational books is The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. This charming winner of the John Burroughs Medal grew from the author’s observation of a snail on a violet plant while bedridden with illness. 

With her heightened senses she could not tolerate anything above a whisper. But she could hear the snail eating, and from her bed she could track what the snail did each day, matching her pace of living.

One snail led to more snails, reference books on snails, and eventually the book she wrote about snails. It was a sequence of small events that led to a new creative path for her. 

If you want to listen to the sound of a snail eating a carrot compared to the sound of the author eating a carrot, visit Elisabeth’s website.

Be patient with yourself. And kind. You will get there, one brick, square, or soundtrack at a time.

Tell us in the comments: How do you get your writing back on track?

Ambre Dawn Leffler is a Tai Chi instructor, gardener, and weather geek who writes about vegetables, seasons, communing with nature, and the interconnections of mind/body. She loves trees and cherishes time in their presence. Learn more about her tree time, garden residents, and wellness practices at her website ambredawnleffler.com and seasonal inspiration from her newsletter Sky Earth Water. You can also follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The post Three Small Steps to Get Your Writing Back on Track appeared first on DIY MFA.

Adding to this is the overdevelopment of one sense: sight. Hours of staring at a screen is nothing new for writers, but now we spend additional hours staring at the screen during Zoom calls and webinars. Absorbing that much blue light isn’t good for the human body. And focusing on just one thing a short distance away for long periods of time isn’t kind to the eyes.

At a writing workshop with Jane Cleland we were asked to describe a scene using senses other than sight. She narrated walking into a room and smelling something bad: “I went to go see what the smell was.” She had us think about that for a moment. Why do we go “see” a smell? My cat investigates with his nose first. But present-day humans are wired to use sight as our dominant sense.

Any time you engage only one sense the others get muted. Awakening other senses creates new pathways, stimulates other areas of your brain, and gets the creative juices flowing again.

Engage other senses to awaken other parts of your brain for expanded creativity

Taste

At college I spent break time with culinary school students, many of whom were heavy smokers. I asked one student how he could taste what he was cooking since smoke dulls the sense of taste. He said he stuffed fresh herbs in his mouth once a week to remind his taste buds of that flavor.

Reawaken your sense of taste. Try something new, or go for something spicy. I have been craving curry, stir-fry, and anything Mexican more than ever. Focus on the flavors and what feelings or memories they evoke. For an added layer of creativity, sample dishes from the setting of your book.

Smell

In a nature writing class my assignment was to write on my connection to water. This topic is my heart and soul, and a magical trip to Banff, Canada a cherished memory. It should have been easy to write about my trip there. But I couldn’t reach it. 

Author and writing instructor Kathryn Aalto uses perfume when she writes, so I borrowed a page from her book. I spritzed my wrists with a fragrance that evoked the memory of this trip, and voilà! I was back at the mineral pools, feeling again the snow crunching under my bare feet. Line by line I was able to write this essay.

Revitalize your sense of smell. Experiment with aromatherapy to evoke different moods. Energizing scents include sweet orange and peppermint. To rejuvenate your space try lemongrass, lemon, or rosemary. If you seek relaxation use lavender, or sandalwood to feel centered. You can also play with fragrances to match the seasons. 

Sound

To this day when I hear the opening notes of Champagne Supernova I am back in college in early spring at the sandwich shop on the edge of campus where I first heard the opening guitar riff. I vaguely recall the walls were yellow, but it’s the song that brings back this sense of place.

Experiment with soundscapes or music in a genre slightly out of your usual playlist. I’ve gotten out of a music rut by listening to the musicians who have influenced my favorite band or solo musician. It’s familiar and yet extends my boundaries too.

Touch

During the pandemic I found my fingers clutching the soft blanket on the chair like a wooby while watching movies. It took me a while to realize I needed to feel that soft texture. My sense of touch had been dulled by the overuse of sight.

Get your hands messy. Invest in finger paints. Dig in a garden. Anytime you get your hands in the dirt, it literally grounds you. Go for the trifecta and plant a small window box herb garden. You can smell the herbs growing (to get the most scent, rub a leaf between your fingers), get your hands in the dirt, and taste the fresh herbs in your cooking.

Combine elements to create a rich sensory network for inspiration

At the beach, squish the sand between your toes, hear the waves hiss on the shore, and smell the tang of sea salt air. Pick up a seashell, feel its spines and ridges, and hold it up to your ear to hear whispers from the ocean.

Go for a walk and engage the other four senses. Pause for a moment to close your eyes and smell what is around you. Find a pine cone and bring it back to your writing space to engage with something new.

In the city, find a favorite tree in the park. Sit underneath the tree and close your eyes, inhale the scent of bark, and listen to the bird song around you. Place your hands on the bark and feel the texture under your fingers. Lie down on the ground and feel your shoulders relax into the dirt or grass.

Experiment and see what works for you. Amplify one sense in your writing life for a week, then layer another sense the following week. Feed your other four senses and enjoy the bounty of creativity.

Ambre Dawn Leffler is a Tai Chi instructor, gardener, and weather geek who writes about vegetables, seasons, communing with nature, and the interconnections of mind/body. She loves trees and cherishes time in their presence. Learn more about her tree time, garden residents, and wellness practices at her website ambredawnleffler.com and seasonal inspiration from her newsletter https://ambredawn.ck.page/newsletter-page.

The post Feed Your Senses for a Bounty of Creativity appeared first on DIY MFA.

1) Tapping

I start class with this warm up and use it when feeling fatigued from hours staring at a screen. When your thoughts are scattered so is your energy. Tapping gathers energy to your body, reduces mental stress and fatigue, opens up stagnant energy which registers as tension (headaches, neck strain, etc.), and relaxes your brain.

To begin a writing session, clap your hands a few times. Use the fingertips of your right hand to lightly tap your left arm. With your left palm facing down, tap in rhythm (about three taps per second) from your shoulder down to your hand, then back up to your shoulder. Repeat with your left thumb pointing up, then with your left palm facing down. Switch hands, using the fingertips of your left hand to tap your right arm. Finish by clapping a few times.

At the end of a writing session, use your fingertips to lightly tap your head, working up from the base of your neck to the top of your head, down the sides to your temples, and across your forehead. Finish by brushing your palms from the top of your head, across your shoulders, then down your shoulders three times, “sweeping” away tired energy.

2) Stretches

I use this five-minute stretching routine when tension creeps into my shoulders and my thought process slows down.

Bounce your shoulders for a few seconds. Rotate your shoulders backwards four times, then forwards four times.

With your arms extended to the side, rotate your wrists slowly four times in one direction, then in the opposite direction.

Stand with your feet together. Interlace your hands in front of your belly, palms facing up. Slowly breathe in and lift your palms to the ceiling, rotating your hands outward until they again face up above your head. Stay there a moment, pressing your hands up and your feet into the ground. Slowly breathe out as you lower your hands. Repeat two more times.

3) Breathing with hand movements

Whenever I get stuck in a writing project, I use this to synchronize mind and body. The pace of breathing and thinking are connected. When your thoughts ramp up it’s time for a breathing break. This breathing relaxes your nervous system and frees you from over thinking.

Sitting or standing, close your eyes. Focusing on your belly, breathe in slowly, expanding your belly, then breathe out slowly, relaxing your belly. Repeat for several breaths. Now lift your hands so they are at waist level, palms up. Breathe in slowly, lifting up your hands at the same pace as your breathing, up to shoulder level. Stay there a moment, then slowly lower your hands back to your waist as you breathe out. Repeat five times.

Lower your hands and bring them close together in front of your belly, facing your palms without touching. Breathe in slowly, pulling your hands apart to a comfortable distance. Stay there a moment, then slowly breathe out, bringing your hands close. Repeat five times.

I recommend listening to instrumental music during this exercise because it keeps your breathing at a slow pace, tracks time without looking at a clock, and transports you to another place.

4) Singing

My writing schedule includes singing breaks. When writing, your shoulder muscles tense up over time. Writing flows from your brain, down your shoulder, and out your fingertips. When those muscles tense up, that energy flow is disrupted and so is your creative process.

Singing expands your chest, opens your shoulders, increases oxygen circulation, and engages different parts of your brain.

Have fun with this! Try singing songs from the setting of your book.

5) Tree Posture

My favorite posture creates the proper energy balance of a cool head, warm hands and feet. With a cool head, your thinking is clear and focused. All energy is concentrated on the present moment which reduces “shiny object syndrome.”

It also increases circulation and releases tension from your back and legs when you have been sitting for too long.

This is best done standing, though you can sit in a chair. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart (if you are sitting, keep your feet flat on the floor). Bend your knees as you are able. Press your palms together in front of your heart, as in prayer. Relax your neck and shoulders, keeping your chin level. Close your eyes. Breathe in slowly, expanding your belly, then breathe out slowly, sending all energy to your legs, the trunk of your tree. Continue this process for two-three minutes, focusing only on your breathing in the present moment.

Take a break once during every hour of sitting, using one of these techniques. You will feel refreshed and refueled with creative energy!

Ambre Dawn Leffler is an author, gardener, designer, lover of trees, and weather geek. She writes about vegetables, seasons, the interconnections of mind/body, and the environment. Learn more about her work in harmonious living at her website ambredawnleffler.com and on twitter @AmbreDLeffler.

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