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Writing From the Inner Self: Practical Meditation and Writing Exercises to Foster Creativity and Overcome Writer's Block
Practical writing and meditation exercises that foster creativity, inspire imagination, and help overcome writer's block.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 29, 1992
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November 6, 2020
I read this book back in 2014 and found it in my bookshelf again and started re-reading "Writing from the Inner Self" by Elaine Farris Hughes. This was first printed back in 1991. I was going through my stored books a few weeks ago and I came across it. What luck! I have placed this book in my desktop.
It's a pleasure re-reading this book. The author's approach to journal writing is a combination of writing and meditation that helps the writer access memories, original thought, and true feelings. There are 63 step-by-step exercises in the book that combines some form of meditation, introspection, body awareness, or reliving of past events. The writer will move from the body, then through feelings, and other aspects like: sensory awareness, mental observations, memories, and imagination.
This book is valuable to all journal writers, in particular to writers who are experiencing writers block, or is just lacking some creativity at the time.
Besides the 63 step-by-step writing exercises, Ms. Hughes also spoke about the benefits of keeping a journal, suggestions for tips of keeping a journal, and changing up the journal entries.
For beginners and intermediate journal writers, the exercises will help make the creative juices flowing, as each exercise helps put the writer in a certain state of mind. My personal favorites are the ones that put you back in a distant place and try to relive the memory. The questions help you recreate what happened, and after writing down answers to that particular exercise, you will come across with a grin on your face thinking to yourself, "Wow!"
My favortite exercise in the book is the one about imagination and about the another voice. This is about creating characters and is an exercise in the power of suggestion. It instructs you to go through magazines and cut out several pictures of people that appeal to you as if they are calling out to you.
You choose the characters in the pictures that interest you the mnost, then you ask what makes this person the most interesting, and what quality most attracts you to that picture.
You then put the picture in front of you, then you imagine the life of the person behind that picture. You take a while to look at the picture, and then in your mind try to experience the person as a real human being, perhaps as someone you know in life. You ask where does the person live, what country, or even what type of dwelling. You also ask what they do fore a living, their sex life, who are the members of their famliy, and what other relationships they have.
The next is to imagine the person's character traits. For example what are their quirks, kind of temperament, and what kind of words would you describe the person in the picture, to someone.
Finally, you visualize the person in action. How do they move, talk, act when people are around? What do they look like when walking, running, and so forth?
The person in the picture will then have a voice. Let the character speak. What would that person say? What kind of advise would the character say to different kind of advise questions. Ask, and make the character more believable. Let the character talk and enjoy the process.
I highly suggest this book to everyone. It can help both professional and amateur writers. At the same time it will help contemporary journal writers who use writing for personal use, and students and people working. The benefits are phenomenal. Aside from writing down experiences and the likes, it is also a tool of empowerment and helps visualize our wants and likes, and it helps us move closer to it after writing down those things. Such is the power of journal writing.
It's a pleasure re-reading this book. The author's approach to journal writing is a combination of writing and meditation that helps the writer access memories, original thought, and true feelings. There are 63 step-by-step exercises in the book that combines some form of meditation, introspection, body awareness, or reliving of past events. The writer will move from the body, then through feelings, and other aspects like: sensory awareness, mental observations, memories, and imagination.
This book is valuable to all journal writers, in particular to writers who are experiencing writers block, or is just lacking some creativity at the time.
Besides the 63 step-by-step writing exercises, Ms. Hughes also spoke about the benefits of keeping a journal, suggestions for tips of keeping a journal, and changing up the journal entries.
For beginners and intermediate journal writers, the exercises will help make the creative juices flowing, as each exercise helps put the writer in a certain state of mind. My personal favorites are the ones that put you back in a distant place and try to relive the memory. The questions help you recreate what happened, and after writing down answers to that particular exercise, you will come across with a grin on your face thinking to yourself, "Wow!"
My favortite exercise in the book is the one about imagination and about the another voice. This is about creating characters and is an exercise in the power of suggestion. It instructs you to go through magazines and cut out several pictures of people that appeal to you as if they are calling out to you.
You choose the characters in the pictures that interest you the mnost, then you ask what makes this person the most interesting, and what quality most attracts you to that picture.
You then put the picture in front of you, then you imagine the life of the person behind that picture. You take a while to look at the picture, and then in your mind try to experience the person as a real human being, perhaps as someone you know in life. You ask where does the person live, what country, or even what type of dwelling. You also ask what they do fore a living, their sex life, who are the members of their famliy, and what other relationships they have.
The next is to imagine the person's character traits. For example what are their quirks, kind of temperament, and what kind of words would you describe the person in the picture, to someone.
Finally, you visualize the person in action. How do they move, talk, act when people are around? What do they look like when walking, running, and so forth?
The person in the picture will then have a voice. Let the character speak. What would that person say? What kind of advise would the character say to different kind of advise questions. Ask, and make the character more believable. Let the character talk and enjoy the process.
I highly suggest this book to everyone. It can help both professional and amateur writers. At the same time it will help contemporary journal writers who use writing for personal use, and students and people working. The benefits are phenomenal. Aside from writing down experiences and the likes, it is also a tool of empowerment and helps visualize our wants and likes, and it helps us move closer to it after writing down those things. Such is the power of journal writing.
March 17, 2015
A gold mine of a resource of writing prompts and exercises
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews