During our Get Your Writing Done call, Louisa’s computer crashed. She came in and out of the call a few times, had trouble with her audio and used a combination of phone and computer. I could see it was a struggle, but she kept with it.

By the end of the call, Louisa had several pages of writing to show for her efforts. Yet, she wondered whether she was spinning her wheels, rewriting stuff she’d written before, or whether she had genuinely succeeded in finding a new voice, a voice beyond the policy wonk voice she’d used in earlier drafts.

When it came time for our ten minutes of breakout groups for sharing, only Louisa and Megan remained. Often, people get so fired up on the call they want to keep writing, and I encourage that if it feels right. I also encourage sharing, though.

I ended the class recording, and since only two writers were remaining, I suggested we could all three stay in the main room, and they could share a snippet of writing.

A Hard Act to Follow

Megan read a short snippet about her toddler and applied it to an aspect of the reader’s personality. It didn’t read like a first draft at all. Megan’s share was full of energy and humor, polished and wise.

I understand why Louisa said that it was a hard act to follow. But we’re not performing. We’re sharing rough drafts. So I encouraged Louisa to share.

I usually instruct people to avoid the preamble and just read, but I hadn’t that day, so Louisa began with her writing’s shortcomings: “Too many lists. I’m squeezing in too much. I have too much to say.”

Contrary to Louisa’s fears, the lists worked – information density gave it power and momentum. The lists were interesting, containing specific details and, in parts, added humor. Louisa’s share didn’t sound like a first draft, either. And the deeper she went into the chapter, the better the writing got—tighter, more engaging, more detailed and evocative.

Louisa’s concern that she’d been writing in the voice of a policy wonk was addressed. She’d successfully found a new voice.

Responsibility Vs. Pressure

Louisa also shared that she felt she could write a book for each of the many real-life characters who populated her story. Each person had done so much for the cause. As some of them had passed away, she felt pressure to say everything she could about each person—here was their legacy. Then, after hundreds of hours and two years of interviews, she had story upon story about how the experience had changed their lives.

I told Louisa, “You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. You’re writing a story that’s bigger than each person. So let go of the pressure to perfectly say everything you can about each person.” I reminded her of the five steps of the TENER Method for Creative Flow and suggested she use that to create a simple ritual – light a candle.

“This is for the people. Then let it go. That’s all your responsibility – to remember them. So now you’re ready to write the book. If you find yourself focusing too much on one person, pause. Put some of it in another file. Refocus.”

It seemed to me that all that additional information on the amazing people involved in the story her book recounts would come in handy when Netflix comes a calling for the series based on the book!

“I Felt the Pressure Lift!”

Louisa checked in a few days later to share, “I felt the pressure lift, and it felt good to exhale!” 

Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? If so, ask yourself how you can let some of it go. What is your responsibility to the people you write about? To yourself? To your readers? And when are you taking on too much? When does pressure impede the writing flow or overwhelm you?

Remember, too; a strong outline will also keep you from overwhelming yourself with misplaced responsibility. When tempted to stray and put in everything but the kitchen sink, your outline can bring you back to focus. To tell a story well, less is often more.

What challenges are coming up for you in your writing? Does this post give you any ideas or insights?

And if you’re looking for accountability to complete your writing projects and an inspiring space from which to write your best, check out Get Your Writing Done.

We had an amazing group of authors in this year’s Bring Your Book to Life® program. And something interesting happened for one of them, Storyteller and Consultant, Dr. Senem Donatan Mohan: the book she was working on became a program, The Story Cure.

In my first conversation with Senem, I was struck by the premise and promise of her book (and now program). As writers, we sometimes forget how powerful, even magical, our stories can be. When I learned that storytelling restored her health and vitality, it both moved me and drew me in.

I invited Senem to write a guest post to share some of this power of storytelling with you. If The Story Cure resonates with you, check out Senem’s upcoming free program on October 23 here. [Note: you will need to scroll down the page a tad to get to the sign-up box for the free session vs. the 10-week class.]

By Senem Donatan Mohan

At twenty-six, I noticed a rod-like growing nodule on my thyroid gland. An endocrinologist examined the nodule and concluded: “This nodule is growing. It might turn into cancer. It is better if we remove it as soon as possible.”

The word ‘cancer’ scared the hell out of me. Although I tend to act cautiously and slowly about medical interventions, without doing any further research, I booked the operation for two weeks later.

“Would my body be alright without a thyroid gland?” I asked the radiologist who scanned the gland.

“Of course,” she said. “Thyroid is a growth hormone. It’s important during childhood but not so important in adulthood. You just need to take daily thyroid hormone until the end of your life. Other than that, there’s no problem.”

Her words were comforting, and everything went straightforward during the operation.

Three months after the operation, I had heart palpitations and constantly became dizzy. When I consulted the endocrinologist, he declared that the thyroid medicine needed dose adjustment. Despite the frequent dose adjustment, my heartbeat and blood pressure irregularities continued for more than two years.

During this time, I researched the thyroid gland. Unlike the comforting perspective of the radiologist, I learned that the thyroid hormone plays an essential role in our metabolism throughout our whole life, and its instability might cause serious health challenges. The more I researched, the more I regretted my quick decision about the operation. Finally, I found several studies where practitioners managed to shrink and eliminate thyroid nodules naturally without any cutting and removal.

How did I accept the removal of a body part of mine so easily? I didn’t even ask for a preliminary biopsy because the doctors further scared me that the nodule might be benign, but it could be a ticking bomb in my system, suddenly turning malignant. So they did the biopsy after they removed the nodule. It turned out the scary-looking rod-like nodule was benign, and I will never know its intention by growing bigger.

Looking back now, I realize I gave away my power and expected the doctors to fix me. Unfortunately, I became sicker after the operation. Before, I did not have any hormone instabilities. Now, I am dependent on lifelong medication. Furthermore, I needed to cope with hormone deviations and a suppressed immune system at that time.

How Storytelling Transformed My Health

A couple of years later, I came across storytelling. The imaginary world of stories lit my inner fire, and the fire sparked my creativity. As I improved in visualization, my creative expression became more vivid and authentic. In the meantime, my general practitioner (GP) decreased the thyroid medication dose based on my blood test results. “Your body stabilizes the hormone medication much better than before,” was his diagnosis.

In the beginning, I did not notice any connection between my improved state of health and storytelling. Later on, I learned that, in many ancient traditions, the thyroid gland dwells in the seat of creative expression. In the old days, shamans healed people with irregularities in their throats by letting them chant a song.

Further, I found scientific evidence that the frequency of a person’s own voice brings the thyroid gland into resonance, meaning that the gland operates at its best. These findings encouraged me to research the connection between creative expression and health.

Learning About the Medicine Wheel

In 2018, I joined a Medicine Wheel training. The Medicine Wheel is an ancient tradition of indigenous people who live in Central and North America. The wheel contains four components based on the four elements (fire, water, earth, and air). Indigenous people use the physical and energetic qualities of the four elements to balance the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of living beings. When all four parts of our being are balanced, we live a healthy life. When one comes out of balance, it energetically affects others, and we experience dis-ease.

The Medicine Wheel training expanded my research focus to a holistic approach to the relationship between storytelling and health. Simultaneously, storytelling enabled me to spend more time in nature and open up my senses. I felt more alive than ever while listening to the song of birds, observing the spider spinning her web, smelling the linden trees and savoring the colors at twilight.

In time, my immune system grew more robust. I used to get cold frequently and recover in weeks. Now, I barely got sick and just needed a few days of rest for recovery.

Along with my personal experience, I, fortunately, witnessed breakthroughs in many of my clients’ lives. When they became aligned with their authentic nature through the help of storytelling tools, they enhanced their impact. They learned how to cultivate more joy and vitality in their lives. They learned how to adapt quickly according to the ups and downs on their way and embrace the miraculous quality of life with a sense of child-like awe.

The Story Cure

The emerging developments encouraged me to write a book about the concept I called The Story Cure. Then, in March 2022, I signed up for the Bring Your Book to Life® program. The course helped me develop the program for The Story Cure, and I decided to focus first on offering the system I developed in Bring Your Book to Life® so that I could put it into practice and get feedback from my target market and future readers.

I launched a 10-week online course about The Story Cure. In this online course we will explore the powerful connection between our communication skills and our health. You can find more details and check out the program here. You will also be able to sign up for a free introductory session on October 23 by scrolling down on the page (before you reach the course description). For the 10-week course, I am offering a 10% discount to Lisa’s community when you enter the code: lisa10.

About Dr. Senem Donatan Mohan

Storyteller and Consultant Senem Donatan Mohan holds a Ph.D. in natural sciences and has performed research for many international science projects. Her publications were cited over 300 times. Besides her academic career, Senem has worked as a performing artist, director, and consultant for over 20 years. Since 2013, her focus has been on storytelling. She is the co-founder of Seiba International Storytelling Center located in Turkey. Senem has trained hundreds of people throughout Asia and Europe to develop their storytelling skills to connect with their natural health and well-being using those skills. In her courses, she holds a safe space so people can discover their inner storyteller and express it in their unique way. Learn more at senemdonatanmohan.com or by following @senemdonatanmohan on Instagram.

“We’re sorry to see you go..”

It was an email meant to go to one person who left my Get Your Writing Done program because of a health issue.

A mis-take.

One email gone rogue.

It didn’t just go to everyone currently active on my email list. It went to twice that number.

Would the spam gods taint my reputation forever with the Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook gods?

20 Minutes of Panic

I fretted as the confused emails poured in, starting around 9 pm last night.

“Will I be charged for this? I never signed up for anything.”

“Huh?”

“What did I do to get removed from your list?”

Reading the distress in many of the emails from my community members and readers, I felt panicked myself. I started out answering the emails one by one. Where people wrote a note of thanks for my weekly newsletter or articles, or told me how much The Joy of Writing Journal meant to them, I responded with gratitude, asked about their own writing and thanked them for any feedback or kind words.

The emails rolled in, however, way faster than I could type!

And Then the Gift of the Error Became Clear

A quick email and then text to my assistant Geri provided some calm in the storm. Geri is an amazing person. I’ve had only one assistant in my entire career and I know how incredibly blessed I am to have Geri as a friend, colleague and support. No matter the late hour and that she’d been working late earlier to put together aspects of our Thanksgiving sale. She was on it and I soon received the Oops email meant to put our newsletter subscribers at ease.

Now, I turned my attention back to the emails as they continued to arrive. With the issue basically addressed (The “Oops” apology email had gone out and Geri planned to call Infusionsoft in the morning to find out WHY this happened and how the email could go to people no longer subscribed), I could turn to the emails with a lighter heart and an openness that revealed something lovely…how much people cared.

You cared about writing.

You cared about your books and other work.

You cared about our relationship.

Many asked how I was doing. You cared about me.

Some assured me that though you’d not been in touch, you were working away on your writing and appreciated the articles. You knew I cared about you.

I imagined those who wrote to me, working away in private—on laptops, in notebooks, on scraps of paper and napkins, and at your desk, or in a sunny writing nook, in libraries, on a deck, in a hammock, in bed…writing away with purpose. At times the writing flowed and at times you needed a nudge, some inspiration and, if lucky, I provided that to you at the right time, right place, and you were again engaged in your calling to write.

Writing, Caring and Meaning

I wrote back to each person, feeling more and more connected to those names and emails on our newsletter list. I’d received a new sense of some of these folks and many of you came alive for me in a way I hadn’t experienced when I only knew certain people as names on a list.

It struck me how I tended to interact with a small fraction of the people in my community—those who joined my programs, signed up for coaching, commented in the Facebook group or joined the free webinars and workshops I occasionally offered.

But there were other subscribers I never heard from, and who I heard from now. I realized that my work—the articles, the books, the blog posts, the tips—it meant something to them, to you. Even those whom I’d never interacted with before had been receiving something valuable and feeling a connection to me and the support I offered in various ways.

This realization, however obvious in the abstract, now became solid and real to me (hence, the word REALization perhaps). I REALized, or remembered, in a deep, visceral way how writing connected me to people I’d never met. Gave me the means to help people I’d never met. Providing an opening to share whatever wisdom and gifts I had to offer. We need each other. We lift each other up. We inspire each other.

A Sense of Urgency to Write, Publish, Share

This “mistake” created within me a new sense of urgency about my unfinished projects—the many more books in various stages of process—snippets, chapter drafts, edited chapters, an entire book just waiting for a final round or two of editing…

As you know, it’s a whole lotta work to write a book.

Even more work to spread the word, often one reader at a time.

Sometimes being a writer can feel lonely. Sometimes it can even feel like a burden to hustle to get one’s work out there. But last night and this morning, I felt the great privilege it is to be a writer. To be in love with the written word. To share that love with like minded people. To know how much it matters to write and share one’s writing.

Thank You

I humbly (and I hope that word doesn’t sound pretentious but it truly is the word that captures how I feel today) thank you for allowing me to serve you, to share, to celebrate our writing together.

Thanks, too, to the email gods and their mischievous, mysterious ways.

And thank YOU, for being part of my life.

I LOVE to hear from readers. Comment on a blog post; reply to an email. Let me know what goes on in your mind, your heart, your writing. Keep letting me know how I can further help you to share your wisdom, insights and gifts with your readers.

If I have done one thing with this post, I hope it’s to remind you that your readers are waiting for you. If you’re not writing, if you’re struggling, make the time for your writing. Get the structure, support or accountability you need to finish your work. YOUR readers are waiting to be touched by you, moved by you, helped by you.

If you don’t have the budget for a writing program or coaching, you can find a writing buddy and keep each other accountable. Or join the community in the free private Facebook group.

(Okay, and here’s a weird little aside, I usually see two or three requests to join that Facebook group every week. This morning, in grabbing the link, I see 10 requests to join. Did we have a link in the footer of that oops email? Did the oops on its own inspire folks to recommit to their creative process? Whassup?)

Ahem, where was I? There are many ways to get the support you need to get your work out there and into the world. The rewards are many, the bliss—supreme! Go write. Keep writing. Get your words out there. It matters.

With love,

Lisa