Writing Down Your Soul

By Malena Lott

Have you ever had a book that screamed at you from the postage-stamp sized cover on the computer screen? That happened to me last month with WRITING DOWN YOUR SOUL by Janet Conner about her process of deep journaling, which she says has the benefits of journaling, prayer and meditation all rolled into one.

As a writer, I’m drawn to anything that will enhance my creativity and clear my cluttered mind to make way for new ideas and guidance and connecting with the Voice – you know, the all-knowing, Higher Self Voice that seems to know what's best for us. What I found fascinating wasn’t her how-to or process on deep journaling, but rather the research and interviews in the book with experts on theta waves. And, get this, artists, when we are deep into our creative endeavors, we’re riding the same theta waves that monks surf when they are meditating. This photo is my little zen spot in the spot where I sit under the tree with my morning cup of coffee and try just to "be," which is hard some days!

I’ve written before about the zen of writing – and am now also writing about zen, period – but Conner’s book had some nice takeaways for writers, whether we’re trying to tap into our books or ourselves, which we know can more often than not be the same thing.

1. On the subconscious mind: She quotes Bruce Lipton, from his book, THE BIOLOGY OF BELIEF, “When it comes to sheer neurological processing abilities, the subconscious mind is millions of times more powerful than the conscious mind.” (See, writers, plenty of room for our characters to roam!)

2. On listening to the Voice: “Listen beyond the story to the story behind the story – the deeper joys, deeper sorrows, the deeper fears.” (A necessary step in our character’s goal, motivation and conflict and determining a story’s theme.)

3. On asking “why” (when whining): “The truth is, there is no one to blame…The sooner you give up the victim mentality, the sooner you can dive into and explore your soul’s truth.” (Something to chew on while we’re waiting for that big break and bestseller.)

My favorite part of writing is the discovery – the journey my characters and stories take me on. It’s also my favorite part of marriage, motherhood, friendship and work. I’ve realized I can’t force anything to happen – if anything, the more I resist it, the more it feels like quicksand. By opening up space for creativity to flow, I’ve got plenty of room for more.

What about you? How do you try to connect with your Voice?

Malena Lott is the author of several women's fiction novels and works as a brand and creative strategist. Her e-book novella, Life’s a Beach, about two unlikely friends and one bad case of karma, is available for Kindle, nook and Apple. Visit her blog about mojo, zen and creativity at www.malenalott.com.

It's a WE Party

by Malena Lott

As a recovering Type A personality, I have a tough time doing tasks that don’t involve some brainpower. My search for zen includes finding “joy in the mundane,” which I happily discovered thanks to TED Talks, because the laundry gets folded and I feel like I learned something. The zen part is that I walk out of that tiny room without a single curse word uttered, even when I can’t find matching socks.

My recent panty-folding viewing entailed Howard Rheingold talking about collaboration, which you gals know is a lonely writers B/F/F. We may write in solitude, but eventually we are working with a CP (Critique Partner) or getting notes from our agents or editors and on the line we go. If you think about it, life is a plastic lunch tray that gets slid down the line for mustached lunch ladies to plop that day’s rations onto the designated square.

Lately, my collaboration tray runneth over, and it’s all applesauce and mac and cheese comfort food. While I’ve been on Twitter since the dinosaurs tweeted, it’s only this past year that I’ve truly banded with other writers, such as adding more lit-kicking “bookettes” to Book End Babes and putting together a winter anthology with other cool Girlfriends authors Jenny Gardiner, Sam Wilde, Maria Geraci, Maggie Marr and an up-and-coming lit girl, Jenny Peterson. And, of course, this amazing blog, which continues to provide grapevine goodness.

When we push our stories from their beloved nest, we depend on each other then, too, to provide trust-worthy arms to pass our tales across the mosh pit. Word-of-mouth has never been more critical in the book biz, and I’m so grateful we’re in this party together.

Malena Lott’s e-book novella, Life’s a Beach, is in the Kindle store now. Information about her huge June Life’s a Beach giveaway can be found on her website.

The Zen of Writing

           

By Malena Lott

I’m not unlike you: scurrying through life with the keys to the mini-van in one hand and my second cup of (strong) coffee in the other. My children’s voices fill the air (fighting) until it’s replaced by Katy Perry’s “California” blasting through the car speakers as we head out to school, dance, and doctor’s appointments.

Tap into the nature of all things through writing.

            I’m Malena Lott of Many Labels: mother of three, wife, brand and marketing consultant, zumba enthusiast, seeker, Starbucks lover, writer. Ah, there. That last one. Out of all the “I AM” statements, that one speaks closest to the Me-Without-a-Label, the inner sanctum that takes me from everywoman to my divine purpose.

            Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, what I needed was within me all along. I’m not sure if writing found me, or I found writing, but I’ve been scribbling stories since I was in sixth grade, filling notebooks with monsters in closets, unpopular girls and journeys big and small.

            I’m also unsure if I find stories or if they find me, but I know if I practice awareness, staying in the moment, I See what would otherwise stay hidden. I do force myself out of my comfortable bubble to explore, including estate sales: you know, when someone has died and those left behind sell off the house and all the contents within. I love figuring out the story of someone’s life by perusing the stuff they couldn't take with them. Every house and every life has a story. This summer, I found a coup on the bookshelves: The Zen of Seeing and The Book of Angelus Silesius, both hand-written, translated and drawn by Frederick Franck, a very talented artist. I snapped them up and have spent many a quiet night in the bathtub soaking up the beautiful language.

            He quotes many Zen sages, explaining that it is not some Buddhist sect or school of thought.

            What then is Zen?

            Zen is: being in touch with the inner workings of life.

            Zen is: seeing into the nature of things, inside and outside of myself.

            Zen is: when all living things of the Earth open their eyes wide and look me in the eye.

            I get there most easily when I’m writing. I’m taken both within myself and outside of it, for I get to explore the nature of things and do my best to articulate it with words. Franck did this with pictures. Every artist has his or her preferred palette.

            The Zen of Writing is not judging, but submitting completely to the characters, to the story. Time and space seem limitless. We are “lost” and only realize where we’ve been when we bring our eyes up and step from one world back into another.

            I’ve had two novels published, both journeys about women, and my next, Fixer Upper, will be an ebook about a woman searching for her purpose long after she’d thought she’d found it. Can we change our minds, change our futures, even if that means destroying the order of the lives around us?

            I’m also working on something completely different: a young adult paranormal that came to me as a dream (okay, nightmare) about four years ago and wouldn’t let go. Stories can be needy like that. Finally, I decided I had to write it down to be rid of it. I’m in the revision process now.

            Another great way to practice awareness is within the pages of someone else’s stories. I read at least a book a week, but I’ll leave you with a sampling of this summer’s delicious fare: our own girlfriends’ tomes: The Life You’ve Imagined by Kristina Riggle; Slim to None by Jenny Gardiner, The Other Side of Me by Sarah Pekkanan, The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate. Also, I highly recommend An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor for more on the sacredness in the everyday; The Season of Risks by Susan Hubbard (an intellectual vampire series); and I’m completely absorbed in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, which really is as good as everybody said it was.