Edwina Shaw

The lovely Natasha Cox (writer and editor) at our recent Blissful Bali Retreat

Hit a wall with your writing? Is your novel or memoir going pear-shaped? Has your idea tank been on empty a while now? Can’t squeeze out another word? If so, you’re suffering from writer’s block, or burnout. A lot of us keep pushing and striving but there comes a point when we all need a breather, even from something we love to do – like writing.

EMERGENCY REBOOT AVAILABLE AT THE NEXT RELAX AND WRITE RETREAT! Springbrook 11-13 August.

Don’t worry, you don’t necessarily need a retreat (though these work like magic). You can get your writing mojo back, and it doesn’t take ages either.

Here’s my 7 DAY PLAN to regaining your creative spark.

You may need a hug to get you started.

DAY 1

STOP WRITING DAY!

Yes, I mean it. Put that pen down. Close your laptop, put away your keyboard and stop even trying to put a word on the page. LET IT GO! (Everything except your daily journal, that is)

While you’re at it STOP READING, STOP SCROLLING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, STOP LISTENING TO PODCASTS and STOP WATCHING CRAP TV (my own secret weakness). Do this for the entire week! If you really can’t go to sleep without reading then reread a classic you love.

The idea is to create a void. Nature abhors a vacuum so when you stop reading and writing and filling your mind with a mile a minute images and words, your own creative ideas will rush in to fill that gap.

What to do instead? Garden, cook, rearrange the furniture, do a drawing, sing a song, give yourself a pampering session, talk to a friend, go for a walk, stare at the moon (or howl at it if you feel really bad!)

Dorothea Lange: Dyanna lying on her back in the grass circa 1961

DAY 2

AFFIRMATIONS DAY.

I love affirmations, they are the best tool I know to help overcome negative thought patterns that no longer serve us. Chances are if you’ve been writing a while, you’ve faced more than the average person’s share of rejection and criticism. Writers in general are sensitive souls, so these rejections and criticisms hit hard. The best affirmations are those you create yourself based on the opposite of the negative thoughts that are holding you back.

Eg: I’m a crap writer. Antidote: I AM A GOOD WRITER

I’ll never get published. Antidote: MY WORK IS PUBLISHED SUCCESSFULLY

My ideas are stupid. Antidote: I HAVE LOTS OF GREAT IDEAS FOR STORIES

I’m not clever enough to be a writer. Antidote: I AM AN INTELLIGENT AND CAPABLE WRITER

Examine your thoughts around the project you’re working on and devise some specific antidotes for those. Then write them out 10 times each, each day. And repeat them whenever a negative thought comes into your head. You can use these like mantras.

One of my all time favourite affirmations for writers is I AM CONFIDENT AND CAPABLE IN MY CREATIVE WORK. I CREATE EASILY AND FREELY. MY VOICE IS IMPORTANT. I DESERVE TO BE HEARD. I EXPRESS MYSELF WITH EASE. WRITING IS EASY AND FUN.

Repeat every day.

DAY 3

EXCURSION DAY

Take yourself on an excursion. Julia Cameron in her timeless, wonderful book The Artist’s Way calls these outings ARTIST DATES. When you get busy, these are the first activities that drop off the TO DO list. But they shouldn’t be! More and more I am realising just how vital these dates with ourselves are to refill our creative wells. You don’t have to go alone, but you’ll get more out of them if you do.

Some ideas for excursions: a walk somewhere you’ve never been before, a swim in the sea or a waterhole, or even the local pool, a second hand store trip to search for bargains, a visit to an old friend you haven’t see in ages, a museum visit, or an art gallery, or a trip down the river on a ferry, or a shopping trip to town, or a movie, or just lie on the grass and stare at the clouds.

DAY 4

EMPTY YOUR MIND DAY

Empty your mind! It may feel empty of ideas and writing right now but I guarantee you it’s full of a whole lot of other crappy thoughts, usually self-critical. If you’re not used to meditating just sit and breathe for 5 minutes, only 5 minutes!

Breathe in for a count, feeling the breath come in cool through your nostrils, then breathe out for the same count, feeling the breath leave the body warm.

If you find this tricky try one of my quick guided breathing practices. HUMMING BREATH with running water sounds or my CLEARING YOUR MIND meditation or you can find plenty of other guided meditations on Youtube or Insight Timer or similar you may find useful.

Make this a part of every day. First thing in the morning or last thing at night works best, or anytime your mind is freaking out!

DAY 5

EAVESDROPPING DAY

Eavesdrop! Eavesdropping is an important skill for writers. Take a trip somewhere on public transport, put your earbuds in, but don’t listen to anything, except the conversations of people around you. Go to a café and sit sipping on a drink for a long time, flapping your ears in the direction of any interesting discussions. Snippets of conversation are great for spinning off into stories later (you are allowed to jot down notes in your journal – but don’t do anything with them – yet!)

DAY 6

WHAT’S THEIR STORY? DAY

In the same vein as eavesdropping but even more fun. Again go somewhere you can people watch and make up stories about the people you see. What’s their story? Where are they going? What secrets do they have? I always like to play “If these were the only people left on earth, who would be leader, who would be the bad guy, who would be the first one eaten? Etc” A bit gruesome perhaps but fun. Remember to PLAY!

DAY 7

FINGER PAINTING DAY.

Grab a scrap book or some big sheets of paper and some cheap paint and go all kindergarten. Put an apron or old shirt over your clothes, use an ice-cream lid as your pallet, and get your fingers into the paint. Smear that stuff all over the paper, all over yourself if you like. Have fun with it! The idea is to let our inner child creator out to play. Make a mess. Art doesn’t have to be high art all the time. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece or even turn out well, it can just be for FUN! Remember why we started writing in the first place? Because it was fun! When we put too much pressure on our writing and ourselves it’s easy to forget that.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

OK, the week is up! Not so hard was it. Maybe it was even a little bit fun. Maybe you’re feeling better? I hope so.

TIME TO WRITE AGAIN!

Take the attitude from finger painting, pick up your pen or your keyboard and WRITE! Play around with some of the conversations you overheard, or some of the people you imagined lives for. MUCK AROUND AND PLAY with your writing. Have fun.

The next step is to take that playful attitude and APPLY it to your WORK IN PROGRESS. It’s just playing after all, no pressure. Happy accidents, story insights, epiphanies and beautiful writing happen when we remove the heavy weight of our expectations of perfection.

I hope my 7 day writing mojo reboot works for you! It does the trick for me.

NEED SOME EXTRA HELP? EMERGENCY REBOOT AVAILABLE AT THE NEXT RELAX AND WRITE RETREAT! Springbrook 11-13 August.

Let me know how you go!

Lots of love

Edwina xxx

Our beautiful Balinese Goddesses at the traditional welcome ceremony and blessing that started our retreat with the special magic that is Bali.

When Kerstin first showed me the photos of Bali EcoStay I thought they were too good to be true. But from the moment we arrived I realised no picture could do justice to the stunning glory of this incredible place. Our inaugural retreat together was off to a wonderful start! We were blessed with a very special group of writers whose combined wisdom and grace made our week together a total delight.

Our days started with yoga, gentle stretching and internal focus to help clear our minds for the creative work ahead. The yoga shala at Bali EcoStay is nestled into the rainforest and is filled with a peaceful ambience, enhanced by the mandala made of blossoms created for us by the local women.

After a delicious breakfast prepared from ingredients grown in the organic permaculture garden, with eggs from their chooks, we had workshops on a different aspect of writing – from life writing to structuring your full length work, every day. The shared knowledge of the group, which included multiple published authors as well as first time writers, made these workshops valuable for all.

On our first full day we were given a tour of the permaculture garden and the surrounding village, including our very own waterfall with a glorious swimming hole! Oh happy day!!

After another fresh delicious meal for lunch, writers had free time to explore more on their own or get stuck into writing, while Kerstin and I offered one on one mentoring sessions as well as tarot readings to help bring insight for moving forward with writing projects, and life. Massages too! In a tranquil Massage Bale in among the rainforest. Sigh – take me back!

We gathered again in the evenings at the yoga shala to do some guided yoga breathing (pranayama) which I’ve been doing for about 15 years now. Nature’s perfect tranquilliser. Then it was time for dinner!

So yummy! And dessert every night too 🙂 Including delicious sugar-free chocolate creations made from their own organic cacao! (eaten too fast for photos – sorry!)

Then we were off to bed in our unique treehouse style bungalows – some overlooking the rice paddies, some nestled in the forest overlooking the stream that provided a constant soundtrack of relaxation music. We slept in the open air, fresh and cool, close to nature but safe and sheltered from all the elements. I loved my little hobbit cottage (bottom right).

We finished our retreat with traditional collage :), setting intentions and writing goals and then a bonfire and readings night where our multi-talented participants shone like the sun!

Here are a couple of examples of the writing inspired by our beautiful surroundings and the wonder of us all together.

Heaven is sitting on a bus with six wise women by Natasha Cox
They reminise about their travels
Say they used to have hair like mine
And when they talk about their dreams
They sound an awful lot like mine
They laugh and say
‘Oh, you’re so young’
‘You have plenty of time’
They laugh about men and life
And I realise that they are as young as I
Just a little greyer
Just a few more stories
Just a bit more life.

By Natasha Cox (Bali Retreat participant 2023)

I WILL REMEMBER by Gail Rice

I will remember the stillness.

I will remember darkness as it dropped unannounced each evening and the gentle slow, subtle ripple of light in the morning as it peaked through the bright green leaves outside my window.

I will remember the women chattering and laughing in the afternoon as they worked their magic in the kitchen.

I will remember the little lizard with the yellow back baking in the sunshine.

I will remember the women whose hands eased the knots in my neck.

I will remember the graceful women who dressed us in balinese sarongs, white tops and colourful sashes and taught us to stitch together a basket to fill with flowers for an offering.

I will remember walking in line to the temple with our offerings and the honour of receiving a blessing. I will remember the priest, his serene face, his toothless smile and his still body.

I will remember the silky taste of the fresh water.

I will remember the Rat who kindly took time away from me.

I will remember the taste and texture of the fresh delicious food in my mouth.

I will remember feeling my body stretch and bend every morning and connect to the rhythm of its breath in the evenings.

I will remember listening to the motorbikes as they came up the hill in the morning as we did our downward dogs.

I will remember how my muscles loosen and expand when my body slows down, how my mind feels when it is quiet and clear, how my breath feels when I reconnect and honour it.

I will remember how warm my body feels when it gets a hug, how nourished it feels when it sleeps uninterrupted for hours, how alive it feels as the water gushes all over it in the waterfall.

I will remember to trust myself, to listen to myself and to give myself time – time that is always there most often just hidden by the clutter of life.

I will remember the gorgeous man who took us on the walk and named every plant and tree.

I will remember the breeze that danced over my arms in the evening as I slept.

I will remember walking down the stone steps with the little lights marking my path.

I will remember the joy of writing with others, the joy of having time for myself to write.

I will remember all of you – your courage, your compassion, you kindness, your creativity, your humour, your wounds, your words, your faces, your faces, your honesty, your curiosity and wisdom.

I will remember to feel gratitude.

Gail Rice (retreat participant 2023)

This retreat exceeded the expectations of us all for the magic created, the great writing produced and the renewal of bodies, minds and hearts. Kerstin and I can’t wait to do it all again next year. We’ve already booked in dates! BLISSFUL BALI RETREAT JULY 11 -17 2024 – Read all about it and grab your spot HERE!

With great thanks and much love to the wonderful people who made this retreat so very special. THANK YOU for being you!

Can’t wait all the way till July? I have two retreats close to home AUGUST 11 – 13 in Springbrook FEEDBACK AND REVISION RETREAT for those with a bit of writing under their belts in need of polishing and preparing to submit. (only$450 early bird, all inclusive). And OCTOBER 20-22 in Springbrook again for Life Writing and Memoir (best for newbies). Early bird $480!

Get all the info HERE. BOOK SOON to avoid disappointment.

My next retreat with Kerstin is super dooper exciting! HEAVENLY HOI AN! February 2 – 7 2024 Hoi An Vietnam, with river cruise, cooking class, tour of the night markets as well as our usual fabulous mix of yoga and writing workshops to get your stories out of your head and onto the page, publication ready!

This one will fill fast so BOOK SOON! All the info HERE.

OKAY, time for this little duck to hit the beach.

With lots of love from Gili Air, Indonesia.

Edwina xxx