Unlock the Magical Creator Within – A Workshop for Fiction Writers with Joseph Sale
Unlock The Magical Creator Within is a workshop designed to help unleash your full creative potential using a mixture of psychological, spiritual, and most importantly practical techniques.
In this session you will explore the history of the “Muse”, the divine source of inspiration, and the first principles of establishing contact with the Muse; going back to early childhood experiences of beauty and how we can harness this in the now; practical exercises from yogic mudras (hand positions) to breathing techniques that centre the mind and open the channels of creative thought; and much much more.
Unlock The Magical Creator Within is your ticket to writing your best-ever story, one that is not only entertaining but also healing.
Your instructor: Joseph Sale
Joseph Sale is an editor and writing coach who’s published more than 30 books, including the acclaimed novel Dark Hilarity, the epic poem Virtue’s End, as well as ghost-written best-selling autobiographies and non-fiction books. As an editor, his clients have been nominated for the Bram Stoker and Splatterpunk Awards, been finalists in the National Indie Excellence and Eric Hoffer Awards, and even submitted to the Pulitzers.
Now, Joseph Sale is on a quest to manifest the beautiful and divine in the world, and wants to show other creators, editors, and writers how to do just that. This workshop is based on his new release, THE DIVINE: Unlocking the magical creator within.
Workshop Includes:
Free Paperback or eBook copy of The Divine: Unlocking the Magical Creator Within(Paperback options depend on Amazon shipping options to participant’s location. Shipping is free.)
A seat at the live Zoom Class on Monday, October 3rd, 2022
Unlimited access to replay and workshop follow-up notes
Access to instructor for private questions
Workshop Outline:
0. First Principle of the Muse
An overview of what the Muse is and why we need the Muse.
1. Early Experiences of Beauty
Why is Beauty important how does it influence us?
2. Invoking The Muse
Practical exercises to draw down the dew of inspiration.
3. The Cave of Ideas & Wonder
Journey into the hidden depths of your subconscious and find your cave of ideas and wonder.
4. The Shadow Self
Learn how to harness your Shadow Self to produce greater art.
5. Becoming Magical
Changing your creative practice will change you.
Details
Zoom link will be sent via email on day of event
Access to replays will be sent after the event
Books will be sent out upon registration. An email will be sent within 24 hours to confirm shipping details. (Shipping is free)
If paperback book cannot be delivered to participant within one week of the class, the eBook format will be sent.
Here are 7 ways to have fun with your writing. Explore the reaches of your creativity and never suffer from writer’s block again.
7 habits that cultivate creativity
1. Plan artist dates
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is like a 12 Step program for creatively traumatized and repressed artists. Part of her plan is to book an artist date once a week with yourself. It doesn’t have to be anything to do with writing. In fact, it’s better if it isn’t related.
Go out and do something you’ve never done before. And outdoor adventure, a cooking class, a window-shopping trip, or a performance. Let your subconscious absorb and play with new sensations, experiences, and ideas.
2. Explore different genres
Writing outside of your genre can help you get out of a writing rut. Since it’s not what you’re supposed to be good at, you can detach from your expectations and feel free to experiment. Take it as far as you want to go. Get as silly, raunchy, gutsy, or gross as you can. You may be surprised to discover tools and techniques you can apply to your usual genre that you never knew existed within you.
3. Read and watch funny stuff
When was the last time you laughed out loud? I’m talking about unbridled laughter with your belly burning and tears streaming down your cheeks. Laughter is not only good for the soul, but it’s also great for creativity and productivity too. A sense of play is the key to high performance. When we turn writing into a game, it becomes fun instead of tedious. It’s soil for new ideas. We tend to be less critical and balky and more receptive and innovative. Get stupid, really stupid. Let loose and then go back to your work. See if you shook something loose.
4. Process, not outcome
If we’re perpetually focused on the end result, all the steps between us and our goals will seem overwhelming, if not impossible. Don’t obsess over the four novels you want to write or the twenty short stories you want to publish or the agent you need to win over, or the readership you need to build to get to the bestsellers list. What’s the next small step you can take today? How can you enjoy that step?
5. Invest in others
Self-centeredness makes our struggles seem bigger. Once good way to flip your switch from worry-mode is to shift your attention to others. Who is doing some great writing? What have your friends been working on? How can you support another struggling writer? Share someone’s book with your following. Post encouraging comments on other writers’ social media. Leave a thoughtful review for a book you really admired.
6. Give yourself permission
How often do you allow yourself to have fun creatively? Is it all word counts and structure? Performing personality analyses of your characters? Is it striving for perfection and not accepting anything less from yourself than the next Pulitzer Prize winner?
Remember, again, when you were a kid hanging out with your imaginary friends. Get back to creating for the sake of creating. Relax and let your intuition take over. Genius is birthed serendipitously. Let go of what you think you should do and just be a curious child open to the possibilities.
7. Chat with other writers and creatives
I used to think I was anti-social, but it turns out, I just wasn’t inspired by the people I was around—a default combination acquaintances, spouse’s friends, and people from work. They were wonderful people, but not creative people. That is why I founded the Writers’ Mastermind. I formed my own coven of writers where we have amazing discussions that light us up. Our meetings create a synergy that inspires, comforts, and informs our lives and our writing.
Do you have a circle of writing friends? Is there a local writing group you could join? If not, create one, or join on online community like The Writers’ Mastermind. There is nothing more fun and restorative to your creativity than having conversations that matter with people who care about writing as much as you do.
I love to watch virtuosos on YouTube — pianists, violinists, dancers, and singers that seem to have supernatural abilities. They make their performances look effortless, but no one sees what it took for them to reach that level of mastery.
What about the hours of practice, the hundreds of times they got it wrong, and how they pushed forward despite the criticism? We don’t realize everything they sacrificed — family, friends, sleep, and fun — to become what they are. They remind me of the investment I need to make to become the best writer I can be.
Until recently, I’ve been a self-taught writer. I always thought that if I read enough books, followed enough writing blogs, and kept working hard, that I would get better. I did get better, a little bit at a time. Still, I sensed I was missing something.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but the lackluster sales and rejection letters reaffirmed my suspicion. The feedback from family and friends said everything I did was great. So why was I stuck?
I figured what was needed was more effort. I wouldn’t become better just by wishing, right?
But working harder is not the answer.
As I browsed virtuoso videos, the algorithms directed me to a TEDx Talk, Become a Virtuoso by Mike Rayburn. I wasn’t planning to watch a Ted Talk, but of course I wanted to see if I could find out the secret not to becoming a good writer, but to becoming a writing virtuoso.
Mike Rayburn talked about how most of us coast, learning at a leisurely pace. We don’t actively seek out the most effective and efficient ways to develop our talent, so we hit a plateau and never discover what we’re truly capable of. It’s up to us to make the decision go beyond being competent to becoming the best.
Many of us pride ourselves on being self-taught. I always did. I thought I was making good progress, but what Mr. Rayburn says next was a bitter epiphany.
Here’s the problem about being self-taught: The teacher’s not that good.
Drop the mic right there. Would I presume to teach someone else how to become a virtuoso writer? What makes me think I’m qualified to teach myself how to become one?
The secret is, when you discover the stories of virtuosos, these geniuses didn’t do it alone. They had the best teachers and mentors to give them invaluable feedback and advice. This is what fast-tracked them to mastery, building a foundation on what’s already been done while cultivating the unique style that is each great artist’s signature.
It’s only after taking my first writing class that I’ve realized how much time I’ve wasted “teaching” myself. How would I know how to develop my strengths and work on my weaknesses when relying on feedback from everyday people who don’t even read in my genre? I’ve learned more in the past 2 months than in 7 years of struggling on my own.
My message to self-taught writers is this:
Invest in your dream. Seek out mentors. Budget for writing classes — online or in your local area. Find a tribe of knowledgeable writers in your genre.
You will be amazed at how quickly you improve, how confident you will feel, and how hopeful you’ll be about your future as a successful author.
Don’t waste another minute going it alone. You have no idea what a writing virtuoso you could be.
When we don’t purposefully and deliberately choose where to focus our energies and time, other people—our bosses, our colleagues, our clients, and even our families—will choose for us, and before long we’ll have lost sight of everything that is meaningful and important. We can either make our choices deliberately or allow other people’s agendas to control our lives.
Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
When it comes to becoming a successful author, planning is 200% more valuable than writing. I’m not talking about outlining your stories and novels before writing them. That is important too, but I’m talking about planning on both macro and micro levels to reach your big picture vision of your life as a writer. Without planning ahead, we get distracted, sidetracked, and stray off task.
Aspiring writers are especially susceptible to writer’s drift, a state when we feel like life always gets in the way of our writing. There are several reasons we allow this to happen on a conscious or subconscious level.
1. Because we don’t earn a steady paycheck from writing yet, so we can’t justify spending time and energy on it.
2. We usually don’t have writing deadlines, except those we impose on ourselves. When we fail to meet them, who cares? No one knows but us. We have no one to hold us accountable.
3. We don’t know exactly what to do next, leaving gaps to be filled with interruptions, distractions, or someone else’s priorities.
We’ll get up for a job we’re not crazy about. We rearrange our schedule for our kids or significant other. We even drag ourselves out to walk the dog no matter how tired we are.
But how often do we take a stand for our writing?
The first chunk of time to be sacrificed when some unforeseen issue comes up is our writing time. Writing time is vague and unconvincing. People don’t respect it. Even we’re not sure what it is we’re not getting done when we’re not able to write. So it’s easy to dismiss it as no big deal.
The one person we fail is ourselves. And we don’t realize the impact it makes on our wellbeing when we’re constantly letting ourselves down by pushing aside our heart’s dream.
What would happen if you treated your writing with the same priority as other aspects of your life?
And how do we put ourselves into position to do that?
How do we do it without feeling guilty or self-indulgent?
Planning out your writer’s path to the smallest details will keep you committed to your writing. This means breaking things up in 5-year, 1-year, quarterly, weekly, and daily goals.
It’s not about finding time to write. It’s about making time to write.
Making sure you always have something scheduled to do next will ensure that you avoid wasting time, overwhelm, and paralysis. This will help you keep moving forward no matter what.
You’ll be able to ignore your fears and push past rejection. You’ll always be able to put one foot in front of the other by executing the next step in your plan.
Start Here
I’ve created a planning guide to avoid writer’s drift. You can download it for free using the link or form below.
