I hope you are doing something fun as this month, as well.
Lately I’ve been juggling a lot:
doing interviews, teaching about writing, helping the nonprofit Her Future Foundation and trying to enjoy the warm weather. Still working on my vlog. Prepping a digital organization class.
I am addicted to Threads. My username is sofia.wren .
There’s a lot of friendly writers on there, so I’ve been checking it maybe a little too often.
Recently on the Threads app, people began posting their “August Goals.”
Initially, I was shocked and appalled.
This is August and you are posting a list of goals???!
What is wrong with you guys?
GO DO AUGUST RIGHT.
BY BEING LAZY.
Since it’s my birthday month and summer,
I typically don’t expect a ton to get done in August.
So my initial thought was, “No way am I participating in this trend.”
But the feeling didn’t last.
After seeing post after post from different authors,
I wanted to join in on the fun, too.
When you are in a community of people excited about something, it is easy to catch that excitement.
So I caved, here is a list of goals:
-Host a free 21 day Heart-Felt Writing Challenge starting August 9th
-Turn 36 and party!
-Go to a break room and smash things. Record it.
-Edit footage for my vlog
-Help Her Future Foundation with a grant proposal
-Work on transferring a family business into my name
-Go to the pool and enjoy summer.
Things can feel like a drag initially, but as soon as you add connection to the mix, it can be fun!
That’s why I wanted to host a Writing Challenge on August 9th.
It is the day after my birthday and I decided this on purpose.
I intend for it to be a fun way for me to play and connect with other people like you.
Personally writing from the heart helps you feel more love, and compassion.
Inner-listening and reflection helps you be happier and more present in your daily life.
Professionally you get the material for better quality writing and get OFF a content creation hamster wheel,
so you can promote yourself with enduring topics and meaningful themes.
There are so many benefits to heart-felt writing both personally and professionally.
I go into this in detail in this interview below! One of my best.
Enjoy
Loved this interview with Natalie Neckyfarow!
What is writing from the heart? Why should you care?
Learn about the personal and career benefits of writing in a heartfelt way and how to get started for free.
I explain it all in this conversation with Natalie.
Natalie Neckyfarow is an Actress, Writer, and Embodiment Coach who helps creative women experience more balance, productivity and creativity in their day-to-day lives.
Her Joyful Action Coaching Method focuses on deepening the connection to our bodies, releasing stuck emotions and stress, shifting belief systems, and taking aligned action to achieve our biggest and wildest dreams.
Join us for the free 21 Day Heartfelt Writing Challenge : 💜 Create a daily writing habit 💜 Unlock inspiration to write for your book or business 💜 Know what to do next because you can hear yourself clearly Make more progress by writing everyday in the FREE 21 day Heartfelt Writing Challenge. We start August 9th 2023 Click here to register and get the future updates!
SPICE UP YOUR WRITING
with the Summer Special
Live zoom or phone writing support at a discount
For help writing or editing:
blogs,
emails,
website bios,
heartfelt stories,
business content, &
nonfiction books.
Sessions must be purchased by August 15th and used by August 31st
As a business owner or creator do you feel like this is just one more place you have to produce content? Another source of distraction?
Mm yeah kind of feeling weird about it myself.
I made this spontaneous video with EFT Tapping video to help cut through the noise, chaos and FOMO and to help you navigate in whatever way is best for you.
I will admit, I have come to enjoy using threads–but for me any new social media activity is a really slippery slope as I tend towards addiction.
(My username is Sofia.wren there.)
But if I can use it a little tiny bit and use it for connection or to talk about things I love, like writing, then I guess it’s ok.
Watch here to join me in the battle to find a balance with the ever growing array of social media platforms!
One of my summer projects is a personal vlog (video blog).
I made my first vlog a year ago on Life After Loss and have been playing with what will be in episode 2 ever since.
I never thought it would take me this long to make my second vlog, after the first one went so well.
Lots of positive comments. And it was healing for me.
But that’s just been the way it has been. Some stories take time to tell
Here’s a behind the scenes of what that process looks like.
The first stage of my process this time has been:
Taking videos of beautiful places when I see them to include as footage.
Writing the story I might tell in the video. I will use this to eventually record the voice over.
Rewriting that story until it feels done or important to say in a lasting way.
I’ve been doing this ever since my first vlog came out.
Things are feeling a little bit more solid now, in terms of what story I want to put in the VLOG, so I’m in a new stage now.
Second stage:
Then I started picking out some music that I think will go well with the mood.
Third Stage
This time, I also have been writing a list of additional scenes that I want to film.
These scenes illustrate certain things I want to say.
I even arranged some of these ideas into a “Plot line” which is a visual representation of the emotional arch of the story.
I’m still working on the content, but here is a peak…
Here’s a clip of some writing that may make it into the vlog (we will see):
“My artform is my being me, which means I express sadness or pain sometimes. This is not a sign that I need advice, fixing or that I am not ok. This is me expressing a good feeling: a feeling that it is safe. I no longer have to contort or fix myself.
My emotions do not need to be perfect. I accept it all. I am safe expressing sadness or pain and I inspire others when I am open, because whatever I feel others are feeling it, too.
I share from self-love, conviction that I care, that I hear myself. I can let it go with my words because holding on or pretending like none of it existed, long story short, IS NOT FOR ME.
My words describe me but also the past me, too, because it turns me into someone new whenever I express.”
Stay tuned as I keep working on my second vlog.
It is not ready yet.
I will keep you posted how the rest of the process goes!
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This week has been a mix of ups and downs. Father’s day was tough for me as I grieve my dad super hard. But I also got to enjoy a water park (my very first!) on a beautiful, warm Juneteenth with my cute husband.
This week I heard my friend Jacqui Acree say something POWERFUL about June and this unique time of year.
“June is the new January. It’s what I was seeing and also experiencing for myself for a few years. Noticing this pattern of false urgency out there that like, “We’re halfway through the year. How are you doing on your goals?”
“And this message that somehow we’re supposed to be halfway there as though life is linear and life is static and it’s neither!
“When summer comes what tends to happen is even though we feel this false urgency, we either want to take a bit of a break or run at a different pace, which is totally legit, if you want to do it.
“Sometimes parenting responsibilities change or you might live in an area where you get a lot of guests. My husband is a teacher so his vacation time is like forced into the school holiday time,
“so there could be all sorts of reasons why you want to take a break, but regardless, it’s hard for it to happen without feeling guilty.
“Guilty and a little bit of angst and like anxiety that, “Oh, what’s not getting done” and feeding that story of like, “Oh, I’m not going to get there this year. This is not going to be my year after all. This is just a repeat of the same story every year.”
“And then September hits, and now you only have a few months left until the year is over. And a lot of people at that point are like, “Just screw it. I guess I’ll wait till the next year,”
“and then the next year happens in January and that messaging is gonna hit you again like New Year New Me, but it never quite is.”
-Jacqui Acree
This quote really resonates with me
Recently I shared a mid year review about my personal goals, and I feel like you can probably tell I have been under a lot of time pressure and overload.
One of the best things that has come out of this year is a commitment to focus on my relationship with my self first and to not make the most important thing an external goal.
If you’d like to watch my video talking about it, here it is!
