ending the loop
weekly story work exercise
If you’re new here, Story Work is the name of my current book-in-progress. It describes a process of reflection, reclaiming, and reimagining the stories of our lives. It involves looking at your life experiences as creative material that you have the power to shape. Paid subscribers receive Story Work exercises every Sunday night at 8 pm et.
Read on about a new book giveaway, and a preview of our weekly exercise.
Book Giveaway
On Wednesday, February 28, from 12 pm - 1 pm et, the Inner Story Writing Circle will be joined by author Javacia Harris Bowser, an award-winning journalist, essayist, educator, and author of Find Your Way Back: How to Write Your Way Through Anything. Through this collection of essays, she demonstrates how she’s used writing to achieve some of her wildest dreams such as being a public speaker, having her own column, and being her own boss. The book also explores how writing, self-love, and faith helped her overcome her worst nightmare: a cancer diagnosis in 2020. We’ll be discussing the book, her creative process, and publishing journey.
If you’d like to attend this session and join our all-access writing group to support your personal story work & creative development, you can learn more about the Inner Story Writing Circle here.
If you are not a member and would like to join us, you can also attend the session by purchasing a copy of Find Your Way Back and sending me proof of purchase. Proof of purchase can be a photo of you with the book, a picture of your receipt, etc.
I’m also hosting a giveaway!
Everyone who comments on this or any post that goes up between today and Monday, February 26, will be entered to win a copy of Find Your Way Back and access to our visit with her on February 28.
The Art of Writing Rough Drafts
Do you ever think to yourself: “I have many creative ideas and stories to tell, but why is it so hard to get my ideas out of my head and onto the page?”
I have a workshop for that. This three-day workshop provides specific techniques for you to experiment with and integrate into your writing process.
You will learn the difference between the mindset needed for idea and draft generation and the mindset needed for organizing and editing your work. You will learn various approaches to each step of the writing process: idea generation, prewriting, outlining, drafting, revising, and finishing. Writers will come away with full drafts and a new appreciation for the early stages of story development.
You can learn more and register here.
Okay, let’s get into this week’s Story Work exercise.
ending the loop
We started our Time Travel theme last week with the question:
What would you do with the power of time travel?
For the next few weeks we will continue to use this concept for creative self-discovery and storytelling work.
In time travel stories, one of the familiar concepts we see is time looping which is when certain events loop and repeat until the character performs a certain action to end the loop. A few examples include the movie Groundhog Day, the Netflix show Russian Doll, and the novel Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. These time loop stories explore themes like redemption, accepting what you can’t change, finding your own meaning in life, alternate possibilities, fate vs. choice, and more.
Time loop stories beg the question: What is life trying to teach me (over and over again)? What do I need to learn so I can move on?
I experience my own version of time loops when life presents me with a situation that looks different but feels the same as experiences from my past, and I have a reflexive reaction. Or when I find myself attracting and reliving familiar relationship dynamics that I no longer want but can’t seem to avoid. Or when I catch myself in a feast and famine cycle, that I only seem to recognize in hindsight. All of these situations bring about the same frustration for me as the characters in these time loop stories when they wake up and realize they’re back in the same situation once again.
For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll refer to our own time loops as patterns and cycles. We can’t put an end to the loop until we shift our mindset, make a different decision, learn the lesson.
Our patterns and cycles occur through subconscious habits, at least at first, until we start to notice the repetition. Through practices that increase self-awareness like mindfulness and shadow work, we can become aware of these habits and practice new ways of responding to life that align with who we want to be, instead of who we used to be.
Exercise:
Think about your own life and what time loops you’ve experienced: unwanted patterns and cycles with family members, romantic relationships, friendships, money, addiction, body relationship, or perhaps career. Think about those moments when you realized: Oh no, I can’t believe I’m back here again. Journal about one of these moments or about a time loop that you ended by breaking a pattern that you were stuck in.
Love this theme! It’s very timely (lol) for me.