When I write fiction, I always struggle with myself. How deep is too deep? How much is too much?
Writing is undoubtedly an intense activity. It takes a lot from within in and adds a little from outside. And, yet the most difficult task of a writer is to find a way to activate the writer's unique voice. It is a lonely, difficult, somewhat confusing task.
Lonely because nobody can help the author in this journey. It is for the author to listen to her voice and to the voice of the story and the characters that reside in there. Difficult because of the games we have played and we continue to play, both with ourselves and with others around us. It is time for me to become honest, in the deepest spiritual sense, and not indulge in any form of pandering, people pleasing or adjustments for the sake of others and society. It is time to unlearn and connect with the rawness of human experience I am living through. Scary stuff for all grown ups! It is confusing because we do not often realize the connections. We are not completely in the game and will never be, because I cannot possibly know how a person could react to my words.
And so here I am, looking for clues and directions on how to be both compassionate to myself and to grow in my art and craft. Imagine finding a list that can help me through the process.
Here is an article for guidance:
http://bit.ly/1AXDatF
Some lead questions are:
- How comfortable are you in your own skin?
- When are you comfortable? When are you not comfortable?
- What is the difference between when you’re comfortable and when you’re not?
- What has to happen in order for you to become more comfortable?
- What thoughts do you think that are toxic?
- What is the damage of these toxic thoughts?
- What are the healthy thoughts you can think?
- What toxic words do you repeatedly use?
- What are your new words? What do these new words sound like?
- What do you have to do in order to transform your thoughts, words and actions?
- What parts of yourself have you been unwilling to acknowledge?
- Are you willing to acknowledge them now? Why or why not?
- What would happen if you decided to love and embrace all of you?
- When have you felt whole?
- What does whole mean to you?
- What makes you feel whole?
- Do you feel like the experience you’re currently having is leading you to wholeness or drawing you away from it? How?
- What does this information tell you about where you need to go from here?
- What do you really want?
- What would your life look like if you had this?
- Why do you want this and not something else?
- What needs to happen in order to bring this into your life?
- If you could do anything, what would it be?
- If nothing stood in your way, and you could truly do that, would you? Why or why not?
- What is needed right now? (Conner suggests writing this question on
the inside of your journal because you can always ask it. “It applies to
all times and all situations.”)
- What question should you be asking?
