Writing-can get to your heart!

writing ~ it can get to your heart

~~No I’m not talking about the beautifully penned words of other people ~ though often those go straight to the heart.

~~ I’m talking about letting your pen, keyboard, crayon, or quill reveal what is in your heart.

~~ I have been blogging for all of ~~ mmmm 48 hours maybe ~~ but being back into the writing world has quickly reminded me of the power of writing to help us know ourselves.

~~ One summer, long ago, I took the huge risk of entering the National Writing Project for 6 weeks. I was not writer and I knew I was getting in over my head but I wanted the challenge. I wanted to experience what students experience when asked to write. I wanted to be pushed to improve my skills. I was right about being in over my head ~ just not the way I thought.

~~ I will never forget our leader/teacher/fellow sojourner Dave addressing us with a warning. These aren’t his exact words but this is the message I took away.

“In the end, writing is the fastest way to reveal your heart. We write for many reasons, to inform, to express, to entertain but the most powerful reasons to write are to figure out what you think and to reveal your heart.

For some of you this will not be a comfortable journey. Six weeks from now you will know things about yourself that you do not now know. Maybe things you wish you could put away and not remember, maybe attitudes or bents that surprise you, maybe passions or loves that have been pushed aside.

I cannot promise you that you will ever publish a bestselling book, I cannot promise you the world will embrace your poetry, I cannot promise you that your idea for the great American novel will get any farther that the first page, but I can promise you a journey, that if you embrace it, will change your life.”

~For the next six weeks I was enveloped in a community of writers that cared about each other, took risks in writing and relationships and grabbed the ring of challenge to let writing reveal our hearts.

~When I look back, it feels more like a six week therapy session than a writing project. I did gain skills and confidence in writing and went back to school armed with loads of strategies. However the most meaningful part was the 2 hours we spent each day in our 6 woman writing group, sequestered away from the others. Day after day we listened to each other’s writing, challenged each other to go deeper, critiqued and took criticism. We tried poetry, prose, non-fiction, we found niches and types of writing we hated. We also formed a searing bond as we shared our hearts through our writing.

~ Natalie Goldberg, in her book Writing Down the Bones offers a strategy for getting at what is in your heart. I call it the “Magic Pen” with my students. I have used this strategy alone, with friends, with classes of 2^nd graders and college kids. I am always amazed at the results.

~ Are you interested? Are you a believer or a skeptic? Are you willing to take a risk? Here goes…

(Disclaimer- I haven’t read Natalie for a while so I’m sure I have modified her strategy. These are the rules that work for me)

“Magic Pen” Strategy for Revealing My Heart

You will need a timer, paper and a pen that writes quickly and easily. Natalie suggests a fountain pen.

You must make and stick to two decisions before you begin.

1. Choose a rescue word- this can be any word. It is the word you will write over and over when you get stuck. I usually choose a positive, easy to write word like love. If I am angry and trying to figure out why I might choose mad or stomp or yell.

2. How long will you write? You can not violate this decision. You must stop when the timer rings. This is important especially if you want this to work for you again.

Get Ready

1. Set the timer. ( 2-5 min. is a good place to start)

You may want to choose a topic ahead of time ~ it will be your starting place. You might start with a question. How do I feel about my new living room couch? Or How do I feel about my relationship with my son? You might start with a topic ~ football, marriage, cooking, women’s rights. You might start with pondering what makes me happy, sad, tired, cranky etc.?

2. Get set up in a comfortable place. Have an extra pen ready.

3. Follow the rules

The Rules

1. Once the timer starts you have to start writing and not stop until the timer rings.

2. Write as fast as you possibly can.

3. Write what every thought comes into your brain. Don’t worry if you are jumping all over the place, if your thoughts are disconnected. Don’t worry if what you write makes no sense or seems sill. Just keep writing.

4. Do not go back and reread.

5. Do not cross out or correct. If you make a mistake just pretend it is not there and keep writing.

6. If your mind goes blank use your rescue word again and again until something else comes into your brain.

7. Make sure you stop when the timer rings. (This is a safety net for your brain and emotions.) You may finish the word or sentence you were writing but don’t take more than 30 sec. to do it.

8. Give yourself a minute or two to decompress, get a drink, take a deep breath.

9. Debrief right away. After the effort of writing you may feel like walking away but don’t. If you are with a group take turns reading your writing to each other. The read may ask for comments or not. If you are alone, ask yourself what you notice about what you have read.

*Don’t be surprised if you are saying ~ Hmmm that didn’t work for me…

But ~~~Are you ready to start again? Push yourself to at least 2 timed writings at a time. Your sub conscious is just getting warmed up after the first one.

~ My guess is you will be amazed! Soon I will share the story of doing “magic pen” with two college friends one summer. The results were revealing, helpful and brought healing! It took us 3 ten minute sessions to finally get to the important stuff. Don’t give up.