The Yin and Yang of Writing Your Book

There are 7 Core Principles underlying the success of every conscious and creative writer. These principles are all about accessing the right state of consciousness and applying the right mindset to your writing, and to all activities relating to your authorship, for the best results at every level.

The fourth core principle is Balance, and contrary to what many people experience on a day-to-day basis, balance is our natural state of being.

Balance comes from the meeting point of the two fundamental energies in the universe which are complementary opposites and constantly flowing in the dance of creation:

1. Yin: the receptive, nurturing, feminine energy which yields to the forces around it like water flowing around a rock in the middle of a stream.

2. Yang: the active, achieving, masculine energy which takes action and sees results like the rock being sculpted by water into a new form over time.

Each contains the seed of the other and leads to knowing that every creative success leads to the next level of the journey and within every challenge lie new opportunities.

Finding the point of balance between these apparent opposites enables you to apply a whole-mind approach to crafting your words on the page and communicating with impact.

Finding Your Writer's Balance

As a writer, there are many clues which point you towards the realization that you are out of balance. You may lack inspiration, be disconnected from your feelings and feel a sense of doubt about your writing. Alternatively, you may have some ideas but not turn up to write or find that your writing is flat, uninspired and feels like hard work - something you have to do rather than something you want to do.

On the other hand, when you are feeling balanced, you have open access to deep creative flow, are in touch with inspiration, and feel confident about taking action with your writing based on your intuitive sense of what you are drawn to write.

The writing journey begins with Yin energy and the process of looking within your self. Here you discover the truth of who you are, your authentic voice and the intuitive, receptive qualities that will guide your words as they meet the page.

The natural unfolding which occurs leads Yin into its complementary opposite Yang. Here you bring structure to your ideas, choose the exact right words as congruent forms to communicate your insights and stories, and take focused action to turn up regularly to do your writing.

So here are 3 tips for finding balance to write your book:

1. Too much Yin and not enough Yang? If you know that you need to take more action to write regularly and get your ideas - and yourself - organized, make a conscious commitment to invite more Yang energy into your creative life over the next 21 days.Choose one action a day to support your writing such as short bursts of writing for just 15 minutes at a time. Even if it is not your main project, write anyway to build your writing 'muscles'. You can also prioritise editing over first draft writing to experience more Yang energy.

2. Too much Yang and not enough Yin? If you are writing regularly but feel that it is more of a duty than a pleasure, make a conscious commitment to invite more Yin energy into your creative life over the next 21 days.Focus on the flow of first draft writing or take a break from your writing altogether! Concentrate on reigniting your inspiration and connecting more deeply with your intuitive creative flow. Learn a simple meditation technique, give yourself the gift of time and space for reflection, and inspire yourself with nature, music and the company of like-minded creative writers.

3. Enjoy and maintain your creative balance: When you find the point of creative balance, the next step is to maintain it as much as possible amongst the inevitable challenges, priorities and other commitments we all have in life.Choose a mix of 3 different activities which support you to feel balanced and find a way to introduce all of them into your daily life for the next 21 days at least. Try starting with some quiet time before the day begins (even if it is for just 5 or 10 minutes). Engage in some regular physical activity like walking or yoga before your writing sessions, and ensure you have sufficient 'time out' if you're working hard or structured 'action time' if your regular rhythm is more spacious and spontaneous.

Honouring both the Yin and Yang of the creative writing process will allow you to uncover hidden treasures as your words meet the page and to write what you are here to write, even if you aren't yet sure what that is!