Another member of my Twitterunity is G.L.Hoffman, who has a blog called "What Would Dad Say?"
My dad is no longer around, but I imagine he would have been as pleased as I was to receive an invite to guest post on G.L's blog. Part of the email reads as follows:
"You can discuss ANY topic that YOU think the readers of WWDS would enjoy... I already know what and how you write, so I am sure I will be OK with anything you submit."
I thank G.L. for this great opportunity to share and also to review something I already knew, but seemed to have forgotten.
Oh, how I wanted to do a good job for G.L.! However, in that desire to do well, I became very head-based. I pondered every word, wondering if there was a better way to say it and if the grammar and punctuation were correct. I was out of the flow and sitting on very dry land.
My best writing comes from my heart. It is as if the words flow directly out of my fingers, onto the paper and my brain becomes dormant, which it isn't. It's just operating at a very different level.
Late last night, I realized that I was stifling my creativity by forcing the writing. So, I began again - this time I applied heart and wrote about what I knew.
After sending it off this morning to G.L., I received this response:
"This is very, very good Marianna, thanks so much. Thanks again for doing this...I hope it was fun for you...and, it will surely help some people...just a lovely article. You have a gift for writing."
This is where the "Reverberational Effect" comes in. It began with a generous offer by G.L., which allowed me to do something I love. In the process, I was taken through a refresher course - something we can all use from time to time. His positive and encouraging feedback makes me feel great and that is good for my heart rhythms, which positively affects those around me and how I do what I do.
I was especially thankful to read this: "...it will surely help some people." That was one of my intentions in writing "Stressing the Job Market".
Like sound that continues on and on and on and on and on, so, too, do the good feelings generated by this experience. A heartfelt thanks, G.L.!
Speaking of reverberation, I highly recommend Dig Your Job by G.L. Hoffman. It's filled with wonderful, practical tips to transform your workplace and job-search stress. What a way to impress Auntie Stress!
I'd love to hear from you:
- How do you know when you're in the flow?
- What feeds your creativity?
- What is the quality of your performance when you are not stressed? How do you feel?
- What lessons have you recently reviewed, thanks to the knowing or unknowing help of others?
I feel that I am in the flow when I start writing and the words simply flow. What inspires me to write is boredom.
If you’d ever like to do another guest post I’d love to have you over at OCD Lives Here!
Ramana, so glad to see you back!
Did you do much writing while you were working?
Kayla, I’d be honoured to do a G.P. at your blog! Guess what I call this? Reverberational Effect in action! Thank you!
You are an excellent writer, Marianna. Whatever starts it for you and whatever your process, the results are excellent.
For me, I get an idea and just run. Then I correct course a few times and by the time I’m done, I almost always end up in a place different from any original design. I like to write that way. It grows organically as I write, each paragraph flowing from the former. Then I make a cleanup pass.
Your emphasis of the heart is right on. It is the emotion behind the idea that drives me, a love of the topic. It feels so good to me, that it actually relieves stress for me to write about something I have a passion for or find humorous or just intriguing.
I think that were I to do it differently, it would be somewhat like the centipede that when asked how it can walk ends up in the ditch with its legs entangled!
I am in the flow when my desk and head are clear – which never happens simultaneously it seems. That means I have to write in chaos a lot of times.
You know what I love a lot about your posts – the photos. They are really appropriate.
Keep it up!
Conrad, Thanks & back at you!
I’m always interested in how life is breathed into someone’s writing. Although the process is different for everyone, I believe that the heart does speak, when allowed.
I’ve had more than my share of being the centipede! 🙂
Marcia, it makes me happy to hear that you like the photos. I’m always amazed how they seem to pop out at me when I’m looking for them on http://www.stockxchange.com.
You talk about your desk and head being clear…how about starting at the beginning? With your heart. The rest will fall into place.
Great stuff. Writing from the heart definitely seems to work for me as well. Some head, or a small checklist can help as well… but I’ve recently discovered that much of the head stuff is just distractions to not move forward. A friend said it really well “DON’T JUDGE! JUST WRITE!”
CouchSurfingOri,
You have a wise friend. H/she is a “keeper”! 🙂
The trick to using the brain wisely is to recognise the “distractions”, as you’ve said, and move forward.
Enjoy the flow!