The crucial thing is that I feel completely free and able to express myself in writing both privately and publicly. In your own room and own space, you ought to be able to write freely. Cry. Laugh. Feel the feelings. And sometimes you need to write something that is raw and not for public consumption, something that wouldn’t please your eighth-grade grammar teacher or your boss, but that pleases you.
But if you do want to shape your writing into a finished piece, then that’s great, and I’m going to share some tools and techniques that will help you do that. In fact, creative self-expression is cyclical, and if you can add technique to heart and soul, you can keep going deeper down through the layers. I’ll also share my tips for going a step further and creating personal, creative blog posts. Plus, if you’re already an accomplished writer, the stories and lessons in this book will help you go deeper and inspire you to access your writing space from a position of love.
I’m committed to doing all I can to help you to better express yourself in writing and live a full, rich, creative life. As such, my vision for Heart, Sass & Soul is about more than the words you’ll read in this book.
Here Are Three Ways That You Can Go Even Deeper in Your Self-Expression
1. Stay in the Loop via Social Media and Connect with Other Readers
Expressing, connecting, and sharing go hand in hand. If you feel called to do so, please share your insights on social media while you read. Tag me @greta.solomon on Instagram and @greta_solomon on Twitter. Use #HeartSassSoulso that other readers can find you.
2. Sign Up for Journey Beyond Journaling
This is a free, five-day writing challenge designed for people who yearn to write more. If you feel your voice has been suppressed in some way—this is the challenge for you. Visit www.gretasolomon.com/challenge to receive daily videos and creative exercises that you can complete in ten to fifteen minutes. These will support you in releasing mindset blocks, getting in your body, awakening your senses, and opening your heart. You’ll kick-start your writing and creativity and begin to see what’s possible for you—beyond the pages of your journal.
3. Go Deeper with My Online Program in Writing for Creative Self-Expression
This is a completely tried-and-true, seven-week course in mindset, creativity, and craft. Using videos, audio recordings, and worksheets, I guide you to break through the blocks that hold you back. Through writing workouts, coaching questions, tasks, challenges, and tutorials, you’ll wake up to your writing potential. Plus, you’ll learn practical tools and techniques for writing articles and blog posts. By immersing yourself in this material, you’ll begin to uncover your voice and learn how to use it. Find out more about this unique, life-changing program here: www.gretasolomon.com/online-course.
As my course participant, Janet said, “When I was young, I loved to write stories and wrote constantly as a way to express the angst of my teenage years. Unfortunately, this led to shaming, because those very personal journal entries were read by someone who used them to ridicule and criticize me. You are the first person to name and identify the damage done by this kind of shaming. After working through your course, I am recognizing that I am well on the way to healing that tender, violated part of my inner world. There has been a remarkable, gradual fading of the critical inner voice. Now, I have a structure to work within and techniques to practice, and it has given me a sense of direction and purpose.”
This is my desire for you too—direction, purpose, and
the safety of having practical tools and techniques to guide
you on your journey.
Most of all, I want you to know that what you hold in your hands now, or consume via your screen or audio device, is an invitation. It’s an invitation to begin to live a fully expressed life.
A Love Lesson, as Told to Me by Yair Sagy
Finally, I’d like to end this introduction with a short meditation. Put your hands on your heart and imagine the space within. Feel your heart and then see your inner child. Look in her eyes and give her a hug. Love her. Take care of her needs. Be kind to her. Protect her from harm. Listen to her. Laugh with her. Give her treats. Take her for a day out. Be a parent to the little girl inside you, and remember this—when you love yourself, it’s easy to put up boundaries because you don’t fear rejection. You can easily say “no.” Repeat the affirmation: “I love myself.” Repeat it again. Then imagine the roar of a lion and its power and say, “I am creative, fertile, serene, and powerful like a mountain.”
Be love. Exude love. Let it fill your whole body and radiate outwards. And remember that writing for creative self-expression will help to set you free.
Part 1
Answering the Call
Chapter 1
Clearing the Blocks to Self-Expression
When you write, do you feel truly able to express yourself? Are you able to really say what you need and want to say? I always ask these questions at the beginning of my workshops in writing for creative self-expression.
When writers are struggling with the world, they often put their angst into words. For instance, the 1950s beat poet Allen Ginsberg poured all his suffering into Howl—an epic poem about his dissatisfaction with life. His publisher was then put on trial for printing obscene language. Yet to Ginsberg, those words simply expressed what he thought and felt, nothing more; nothing less. His world contained gay sex, and he didn’t hide that. He freely expressed himself.
You may be thinking, well, time has moved on—now anything goes. But we are all taught in our daily lives to censor ourselves, and we’re socialized to do this from a very young age. This censorship not only extends to our social relationships, but even to our private thoughts, and, for some of us, into almost every waking moment of life. Rather than face a “trial,” we figure it’s easier to just write (or say) something bland, something every palette can handle. But if you do this enough, it becomes a habit that’s hard to break.
So when I ask that question, “Are you truly able to express yourself?” it’s no surprise that 90 percent of people say, “no.”
For Most People, Writing Comes with a Lot of Baggage
Writing is free. It costs just a pen, a piece of paper—and perhaps a coffee (maybe a bulletproof one for extra brain power). But for many of us, it’s a minefield. On the surface of it, the blank page is non-judgmental. All it asks is to be filled with marks. It’s completely impartial. It doesn’t mind whether the marks are scribbled or perfect looking, or if they’re grammatically correct. But when we bring ourselves to the page, we bring a lifetime of baggage—some of it accumulated from around the age of five, the first time we ever put pen to paper.
Now, of course, there are some people for whom writing freely is a weapon. I’m thinking of people who practice hate speech; the alt-right; the bitchy columnists who spread racist and sexist propaganda; and the internet trolls who delight in taking people down. However, I’m sure you’ll agree that these folks are not truly self-expressed. Their bullying behavior is a mask for something else, and though they may write freely, it’s not with joy and love. I hope those people find health and happiness. But they’re outside the scope of what this book is about. And I don’t want to waste another word on them. You who are reading this book—yes, you! You are the one I have written this for.
Have You Ever Been Grammar-Shamed?
By this, I mean when you’ve written something heartfelt or creative, and the response you get back is all about your grammar or punctuation. This type of mostly unhelpful feedback is commonplace. People