Jan 28, 2015
Pernelle has been writing professionally for 12 years, 7 years as her main job. The writing came in fits and starts. She would go through massive creative spurts and produce tons of work in no time. And then she won’t write for a few weeks or a month. Then she’d have another creative spurt.
This way of working depleted her. She would have one of these creative bursts and then feel empty and think she couldn’t do it again. She knew she could write, but she didn’t know how to make it a sustainable activity for herself.
So she started experimenting. At first, she set up her schedule to write in the afternoons. Then she tried writing first thing in the morning. The she added some meditation before writing.
All the experimenting had paid off. Pernille has a solid writing practice that supports her and allows her to bring her creative work into the world in a way that feels nurturing and sustainable. Listen to her story of how she worked out the details of her practice, what she does now, and how it has changed her life.
In this interview, Pernille shares:
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what writing (and life) was like for her before her daily practice
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her analogy of writing a book to running a marathon
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her trial and error process of creating her daily writing practice
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what her daily practice looks like now
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the rituals she goes through before she sits down to start writing
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how and why she separates writing and editing
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why limiting our choices (or eliminating them altogether) can help us be more creative
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her best advice for starting a daily writing practice
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the important difference between “original” and “brilliant”
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how her daily writing practice carried her through burnout after finishing a novel
Resources to Connect with Pernille:
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Pernille’s articles on creating a consistent daily writing practice.
Other Resources Shared in this Interview:
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John Cleese - How To Be Creative (video) - brilliant video about the open and closed modes Pernille mentioned, how they relate to creativity, and how to use that information to be more creative