Practical Magic for Writers
By Barbara O'Neal | October 27, 2010 |
I am all for writers educating themselves on every aspect of the publishing business. Ditto (and double) that for the study of craft, learning how to put words, plots, characters, ideas together on the page. Together, business and craft can carry you a long way.
But you also need a little magic, some spiritual voodoo, some nourishment to encourage miracles, big and small, to keep you going when things get tough. When you’ve had another rejection on something you really, really, really thought was going to sell. When your agent fires you, or your imprint or publisher goes under. When you’ve been writing ten years and think maybe it’s time to give up.
I know some of you will dismiss this idea almost immediately, and what I would ask you is, “what does it hurt?”
What if it really could help?
In her excellent, mesmerizing, funny book Making a Literary Life, Carolyn See devotes an entire chapter to this idea. She writes:
“I hope I’m wrong, but I imagine that about 90 percent of the human race is snoozing along, just going through the motions. And 100 percent of us dull out some of the time. It takes miracles, white magic, wonders, to jug us from our slumber. What if we really were master of our mind and life? What if we are God-in-action? What would we write then?”
Science has been uncovering some astonishing things about the nature of physics, and some of it points strongly to the action of particles reacting to external belief. What if it really is true that your belief about your work and your goals is what will carry them forward to completion?
What if you really are in control? Not in a greedy, dominating, Darth Vader kind of way, but in a light-drenched, positive, Force-like sort of way?
Ready to try? Here are a few tools to get you going.
1. Affirmations.
I love affirmations, though I use them much less now than I once did. They are Practical Magic 101, a simple, straightforward way to begin thinking positively about your work and your goals. Affirmations are always expressed in the positive: I have all the time I need to accomplish my tasks. My dialogues are natural and engaging. I have a powerful sense of place. I easily find the right connections.
One of the original affirmation gurus was Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking), who uses a Christian-based structure and affirmations straight out of the bible (“I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly”). You might also have heard of his more worldly counterpart, Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich). Current favorites are Abraham Hicks and Louise Hay.
The web is thick with affirmations—Google them and find a few that might work for you.
2. Visualizations.
Visualizations can take almost any form you might want to imagine, from meditations to treasure maps to collages. I love Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain for its variety of useful techniques. Others love The Secret, which seems to speak clearly to more practical types. There is an abundance exercise in Gawain that is very powerful for helping those who come from a “lack” perspective to recognize that we are all part of the flow of giving and receiving. It alone is worth the price of the book.
Treasure maps and collages are simply concrete methods of visualizing. The mighty collage of wealth as presented by The Secret is one form of this, but why not create one for your book? Things you would like to see happen to it? Maybe you want a photo of your ideal reader, or a handwritten letter from a fan or another writer. Maybe you want to visualize a book cover, and write reviews.
I’ve noticed that this seems to work a little better if I am not terribly specific. For several years, I kept focusing intently on the New York Times Bestseller list, but I honestly really didn’t believe it was possible. So instead of focusing on that single marker of success, I came up with some others: to have many printings of my book, to win awards and get good reviews and so much reader mail I would have trouble keeping up. All were things I could imagine. All went on various treasure maps. All eventually showed up in ways I found sometimes startling.
3. Worry Box or God Box. This is a place to let go of things that are standing between you and your ability to think positively. Worry about money, perhaps, or the need to have more time to write, or the cleverness to solve a difficult tangle. You simply write your concern on a piece of paper, fold it up, and put it in the box for the universe to address.
Another aspect of this is what Esther Hicks calls the Placemat Technique, which is especially helpful for those periods when you feel overwhelmed. She draws a line down the middle of a piece of paper (it started with a paper placemat at a diner), and writes on one side all the things she can address and plans to deal with. She writes everything else on the Universe’s side to take care of.
4. Gratitude lists.
Just like what it sounds like. Gratitude is a powerful force for reasons that I don’t even have to understand. Thankfulness for whatever IS seems to help release resistance and create more flow. I would find myself broke beyond all imagining and force myself to write lists of everything I could think of that I was grateful for. Socks. Dog food. Sunny skies. The cover of my new book. The song I was singing this morning. My good eyelashes. Running water.
Whatever. Then give something away—clothing or canned goods or money to a beggar or a charity, which is a symbol of trust in the abundance of the universe. Even if I didn’t break through the money block by suddenly winning the lottery or getting a royalty check in the mail, I always felt better, less tragic. Often, a solution would come to me as I wrote the list.
These days, I have a gratitude wall in my office, where I stick post-it notes and pictures, whatever I think of. (I notice a child has written, “your son” on a pink heart shaped post-it and stuck it to my wall.)
5. Community
Why not create a Law of Attraction or Power of Positive Thinking pact with a friend or two, just for a month, and see what happens? Each of you can keep a journal, and you keep each other thinking positively throughout the thirty days, then see how it’s going at the end of 30 days. Maybe you’ll want to keep going.
How do you feel about positive thinking? Does it irk you, or do you find it powerful? Do you have favorite tricks and techniques to share, or a story of positive thinking that worked for you?
Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in more than 20 countries and spent many months on the Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. Barbara lives on the beach in rugged Oregon with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent and their zoo of cats and dogs. You can find more information on her newsletter and where to find her on social media at barbaraoneal.com.
I do believe in the power of belief — in oneself or whomever or whatever else – as long as it doesn’t enable a writer to bequeath responsibility or blame or anyone but him or herself.
I have a scene that I replay in my head (leftover from childhood) when I’m distracted. After that i can refocus on the work at hand. It also is effective for pushing aside all kinds of negative thoughts. I suppose it puts me in a happy place. Unlike many writers, I’m only productive when I’m on an even keel, happy, content etc. So it benefits me to stay on track. Probably benefits the people around me too. ;-)
Nice post!
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Wow. Every word of this post resonates! I will add it to my (brand new) gratitude list. Thank you!
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I completely agree with this. Especially point 1 and 2. You have to see yourself somewher. It’s going to drive you forward. Great article!
So true! You are what you believe. In my opinion positive thinking is vital to success. Sometimes it’s hard to think positive, but with practice it becomes the norm. I no longer need to push myself to think positive, it’s just who I am now.
Being positive has helped me through many difficult days, not only with writing, but life in general. I figure I can go through the same situation and feel either horrible (because of negative thoughts) or I can feel pretty good because I know it won’t last forever. It’s up to me what my experience will be. I can’t control external forces, but I can control me. :)
Thanks, really enjoyed this!
I read Norman Vincent Peale back in 1992. Then went on to Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins and Mark Victor Hanson.
One of the commonly taught lessons were affirmations. In 1995, when I was between companies and struggling to move ahead financially, I posted a large sign on the door to my apartment that said “Financial Freedom”.
Every day when I left my apartment to go to work that was what I read as I walked through my door as that was my goal.
Within a few short years that came true. By 1999 I was the owner of two retail outlets. They turned in over a million in gross sales per year by 2001.
I’m still a very positive person. I follow Tony Robbins on Twitter and listen to his seminars. I’d have it no other way.
“Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear.”
“As soon as you commit to making something happen, the ‘how’ will reveal itself.”
-Anthony Robbins
Great post. I am a longterm affirmation and visualisation user, and I actively practise gratitude. Right now, I’m busy being grateful to the universe for that magic feeling I’m going to feel when my agent sells my novel.
Iiiiinteresting. Whether or not science backs this up (and I think it’s fascinating that science might!) I do believe in the power of positive thinking, even just as a self-motivator. I mean, this biz is SO easy to give up on! So there’s got to be an encouraging voice egging us on, or none of us would ever make it!
Also, side note: Practical Magic (the movie adaptation of Alice Hoffman’s book) was on TV last night, and I loooove that movie!
I love this. It’s absolutely important to learn as much as we can about the craft (and the business), but it’s also amazing what the power of positive thinking can do. So much of this industry is based on connections with others, and I think that makes it easy to forget sometimes that we really do have to believe in our own work and our own goals. After all, if we don’t, how can we expect anyone else to do the same?
My husband and I were talking about this exact thing last night! He gave me weird looks when I started talking about visualization. I can’t wait to share this with him. Thanks, Barbara! :)
Love. Thank you, Barbara.
Absolutely wonderful. How interesting that the universe has given me exactly what I needed to know today. Much gratitude.
Positive thinking…spiritual medicine. Very good indeed.
Great post! I use many of these techniques to good effect. In fact, I begin my daily writing session by “going within” and meeting with my “muse team,” who have been hard at work on my ideas. It never fails to launch the creative flow.
I really believe there is something about the way that we are created that causes us to react to positive and negative emotions. I’ve been through times when all of my confidence was lost and find that surrounding myself by positive people, art, faith, and activities fueled my writing again. I love your post. Thanks!
Barbara, so glad you shared a variety of tools for keeping positive in our thoughts and environment.
Some strategies work for some while others will be great for another person.
It seems to me that the end result is a happier, more content, focused writer person. Creativity abounds!
Patricia
https://pmpoetwriter.blogspot.com/
Belief and positive thinking can take one a long way. The danger is in letting positive thinking become deluded thinking. It’s important to balance some realism in with your hopes and dreams and goals. These techniques seem well-balanced and useful, though! I hope they’ll help many people soldier on.
Awesome and inspiring. I need to print this article and read it every day!
I guess I’ve connected with a bunch of other positive thinkers here. That’s great.
On my desk is a stack of colored index cards that each has one affirmation written on it. I flip through them randomly and prop one up on the desk, and it’s always fun to see how that influences my week.
A favorite lately: I believe in brilliant surprises!
Kristin, right: a person must still act, not just think.
Sometimes what I need to remind myself of is that positive thinking can hurl me into the actions I need to take. If I can get into a habit of thinking positively, and then act accordingly, wonders never cease.
Right now, I’m visualizing a long, fast walk in the morning, followed by writing the next chapter of the manuscript. Magic happens if I make it. And I can.
I’m a proponent of this, Barbara. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve written down a wish and had it come true. The latest was when I designed a book cover for the manuscript I’d tried to sell two years ago. Within a month of designing some remedial black and white graphics on my computer and printing it out, my agent called to tell me we had an offer on the book. Thank heavens the publisher gave it a much prettier cover!!
Thanks for sharing the power of visualizing our greatest dreams.
I like this a lot. I think we are a little bit afraid of believing in magic, though, even when we see magical miraculous things happen around us all the time. We worry about being tricked, or swindled, by magic. Yet writing is one of the biggest forms of magic, creating something out of nothing. :)
I loved the “Placemat Technique”, and the thought of telling the universe, “Yeah, you’ve got to take care of ALL that.” LOL
Thanks for such an inspiring post. I do all of that (affirmations, visualization, gratitude exercise)and use the power of intention as well (setting goals on word count, etc.).
What works for me, too, is trusting that I am exactly where I need to be. That I am learning what I need for the next step. And trusting in the creative process.
To me, what makes real magic is writing from the heart – the book that’s in us now, waiting to be expressed. If our writing touches us at a deep level, chances are it will touch readers as well.
Okay, I don’t want to be the skunk at the outdoor wedding, BUT…..
While I think there is much value in positive thinking, gratitude and giving to others, I counsel moderation. Positive thinking can tip dangerously over into delusion, as we recently witnessed in the housing bubble i. e. “real estate will always go up in value.” Or “I will get an amazing offer on my house if I just wish hard enough.”
Some parts of The Secret bothered me. Instead of pondering the nature of God and the universe, the author seemed to be saying “you are God, just tap into your power.” Nope. Can’t buy that.
Thank you — perfect timing!
Outstanding post, Barbara! https://fpdorchak.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/down-the-rabbit-hole-%e2%80%93-the-art-of-observation/
Oh, yes, I think these are incredibly powerful approaches. As with anything, if done without conviction, and in action, they become empty motions, but that’s no limitation to the magic. :-)
I have done most of these, especially saying what I will have/accomplish, etc. Of late, tho, I’ve fallen off on ‘affirmations” and visualizations. I tend to think of it as rehearsing success. :-) I think I need to start again.
And I’d never heard about giving something away after making a gratitude list! What a great idea. I also really like the God box/placemat technique, giving those problems to God or the Universe to deal with, since we can’t. I like that a lot, actually.
Thanks for the reminders, Barbara!
Another thing that helps smooth the creative process: deep relaxation. That is why I still listen to my Hypbobirthing tapes even though I’m done having babies. It helps when I get that knot in my stomach over my novel-in-progress.
One thing I have trouble with is gratitude. I guess I am a natural-born ingrate. But I WILL try your suggestions, and try to enjoy trying them.
Thanks for this Barbara! Your advice is certainly timely for me!
Wonderful post and just what I needed today. Julia Cameron, Shakti Gawain, Natalie Goldberg…I learned the power of affirmations, visualization, and meditation from these writers, and I have seen amazing things happen in my life and my writing career.
Thank you so much for the inspiration! I will start a few of these suggestions today. :)
Coming late to this, but fab post, as usual. The Serenity Prayer, gratitude lists, community… All are vital to me in my greater life as well as when faced with a blank page.
Another resource for thinkers to undo negative thinking: Byron Katie’s “The Work”, which amounts to accessible Cognitive Therapy. It’s online and free.
I just bookmarked this post. LOVE it. :)
I am a believer in positive thinking and I have pulled myself (or, I should say the universe has) out of many unwanted situations.
Thank you for the reminder of where to go when things seem bleak.
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