If you research the benefits of expressive writing and meditation, you will find the lists are similar. Studies show the activities both lower blood pressure, reduce stress, improve focus, relieve pain, improve sleep, increase happiness and helps build connections with other. An impressive list and great reasons to write. Hey, throw in a few minutes of meditation and you might find you have superpowers.

Does your writing give you any noticeable benefits?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Hey, baby, we are cooking with gas! I feel like a short-order cook, stirring this pot, tasting the sauce, flipping one over, adding a pinch of salt and serving it on a platter. A half a dozen short stories, multiple flash fiction pieces and a novel in various stages of development, each needing attention. It’s a balancing act, timing is everything.

How do you know when your story is finished?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Today I hope the planets align and you are granted time to do something you love.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Most creative exercises are performed alone. We pour heart and soul into our art and hope it’s good enough. So, when it comes time to release our darlings the thought can be daunting. Our darlings are perfect and precious, and others may be harsh critics. We can internalize a judgment of our work and construe it as a judgment of ourselves. If we are lucky, we have a host of family and friends to bolster us when we doubt and encourage us when we want to quit.

Who is on your cheer squad? Who encourages you to “go on”?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

A daily writing practice is hard to achieve. Many things vie for our attention and our time. Family, friends, social media and the newest Netflix release are relaxing, enjoyable, and easy.  Temptations abound. But every day I write. Sometimes the agonizing grind produces one hundred words. Occasionally, a writing session is filled with magic, pixie dust and a torrential release of words.  It is the sporadic reward for making a commitment and doing the work.

What steps are you taking to make writing a habit?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

When I write I live in perpetual surprise. I may know the story when I sit down to write, but seldom does it ends as planned. A character speaks, and their words disarm me. Rain falls on a nighttime highway, setting in motion a chain of events. A song plays, and the lyrics uncover a plot twist. Writing is a journey that becomes a grand adventure.

What adventures will your writing take you on today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

I am lucky I can write. As a child, stories crowded my head, fantastical tales, gripping dramas and horrors that kept me awake. Daily the stories multiply. I am the only one who knows them and I am compelled to write. Telling stories keeps them alive. Sharing stories is new for me and I the responses I get surprised me. I never realized a story was a gift to the reader.

What is the story inside you?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

The study of music introduced me to articulation. Each note executed, separate and distinct from the note preceding and the note following. Slurs were notes that flowed together, no separation, no distinction.

Later, I learned articulated words are easier to understand. Words join, moving in relation to each other allowing us to express feelings and ideas.

How will you expand articulation today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Words contain magic. There is nothing better than when the words I write sing their song. I can be deaf to the music, but a reader may hear it.

What words create music for you?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

This quote strikes a raw nerve with me. I watch other people zip of texts, emails, tweets and wish I had that ability. I agonize over the selection of every word, consider the meaning of each sentence and wonder how the reader will perceive what I have written. Sometimes the pressure is more than I can handle, and I remain silent.

How do you pause your inner critic? How do you allow yourself the freedom to just write?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer