WRITING THE SPIRITUAL LIFE is calling on spiritual writers of ALL faiths to share their experience and understanding of that place where writing and spirituality meet. The ten general topic areas to be addressed in your submission are:
- Creativity
- Preparing to Write
- Writing in Flow
- Writing as a Spiritual Path
- Connecting with Spirit
- Journaling
- Writing About Spirituality
- Writing for Self/Others
- The Marketplace
- The Writing Life
Feel free to write about anything these topics inspire in you, as long as they relate primarily to the intersection of Writing and Spirituality. You can write on as many, or as few, topics as you like. There is no word limit, but keep the adage "specific and brief" firmly in mind. Since all spiritual faiths will be represented here, please be respectful of other people's beliefs and remember that this is a place to share, not to preach.
I want Writing the Spiritual Life to be a place where spiritual writers of all faiths can share their experiences, find inspiration, and feel part of a larger community of spiritually based writers.
I can't offer you payment, but each writing topic accepted will be posted separately, so that readers can easily access the posts by category/topic, as well as find the most recent entries. Each post will have your name (or initials if you would prefer to remain anonymous), a link to your web site, and the titles of one or two works. Since comments can be posted at the blog, I will not be posting anyone's email address.
CREATIVITY
- Do you consider creativity a spiritual process? Why? How do you experience it?
- What is the source of your inspiration?
- What distinguishes inspiration from ordinary consciousness?
- How do you replenish the “well of creativity?”
PREPARATION
- Do you pray, meditate, or perform any kind of ritual to invite inspiration, open yourself to Spirit, or prepare yourself to write?
- Do you have any meaningful objects, photographs, or artwork on your desk, or around your writing area, that gives your work space a sense of sacredness?
- What practical steps do you take to carve out some writing time? Do you make an appointment with yourself? Wait until the kids are asleep? Rent a cabin in the woods? Or sneak off to the local coffeehouse to spend an hour with your laptop and a latte.
WRITING IN FLOW
- Is there a particular attitude, activity, or technique that helps you move into flow?
- What helps you stay in flow once you’ve caught the wave?
- Is there anything you can do to regain the flow, once it’s been interrupted?
WRITING AS SPIRITUAL PATH
- How does writing inform or embody your spiritual path?
- How does writing as a spiritual practice differ from other writing?
- How does your commitment to your spiritual path support your writing?
CONNECTING WITH SPIRIT
- How does writing facilitate your connection with Spirit?
- What thoughts, feelings, attitudes, intentions, or techniques help you move beyond “ordinary mind” to a place of soul connection or deep receptivity?
- What helps you face--and write through--the pain, fear, and self-doubt that sometimes arises?
- How do you keep things such as wanting to get published, make money, or even find the “perfect” words, from getting in the way of clearly hearing the voice of Spirit?
JOURNALING
- What journaling techniques do you use for self-exploration, philosophical inquiry, or to deepen your understanding of spiritual truth?
- Do you keep a separate “writing ideas” journal?
- What’s your favorite journaling technique?
WRITING ABOUT SPIRITUALITY
- What kind of challenges do you encounter when writing about spirituality?
- To what degree do you anchor your spiritual writing in personal experience?
- When writing for publication, have you ever experienced a conflict between personal truth and objectivity, or between your own experience and the doctrine of your faith? How did you resolve that conflict?
- How do you deal with the need to edit what feels divinely inspired?
- If spirituality is not the main subject of your writing, what issues arise for you as you address a character's spiritual life, or explore the impact that shared, or conflicting, religious beliefs can have on a relationship, family, or society?
WRITING FOR SELF/OTHERS
- When you write abut your own spiritual experiences for an article or book, how does that affect the way you tell your story?
- Has exploring ways you could more clearly communicate your own experience to others ever surprised you with new insights and understanding?
THE MARKETPLACE
- Has an opportunity for publication ever seemed like a gift from the Divine?
- If you’ve self-published a book, was the spiritual content a factor in deciding to self-publish, and what’s the experience been like?
- How do your spiritual values inform the way you promote and sell your writing?
- How do you connect with potential readers?
THE WRITING LIFE
- Is there anything about the writing life that you’d like to share?
- Has serendipity, or divine intervention, ever led you in an unexpected direction in any phase of the writing process?
- What one lesson about writing would you like to pass on to others?
Send all submissions and questions to:
submit@writingthespirituallife.com
