Fourth in a projected very long series and future info product whose name is still under consideration (hence the dual titles above).  For background on what's going on, read this post. You might also want to read about the Writing Abundance system that this series is going to cover in depth.  You can do that here.  All of the posts will be readily available in the sidebar to the right, at least until I introduce it as an info product.

So, in the previous post in this series, we (or more to the point, I, but never mind) talked about the importance of connecting with something bigger than yourself, the divine without, which is truly the divine within.  Today I want to talk more about what a consistent connection with Source, however you define it, leads you.  And that is to an abundant writing practice.  The seven practices of Writing Abundance are foundational practices that will facilitate a prolific and prosperous writing career, as I like to call it.

Thus, let us talk about abundance.  Specifically, your definition of it.  And my definition of it.  Abundance has become an overused watchword.  Everyone wants abundance in every aspect, except for too much fat on our bodies.  Right?  What the experts and gurus will tell you, and what I've discovered is correct, is that abundance is a mindset.  This is true when it comes to writing, and when it comes to finances.

For instance, many's the time we've lived an, ahem, hand-to-mouth existence.  Or paycheck-to-paycheck life.  Call it whatever you want.  I'm sure many of you can relate.  Its when there's just enough money to pay the bills (hopefully) and if you're lucky, there's some left over to live on.   This has been my normal for longer than I care to admit.  However, last year my mother died and left me a small amount of money.  Emphasis on the small.  But it was enough to create a cushion.  Some padding around us so we didn't have to watch every penny.  To me, this was abundance. 

And guess what?  I loved it.  Still do.  I don't care what anybody says, life is better when you have some money to do what you want.  All that stuff about money not being anything?  Pure baloney, designed to keep you in your place.   Money surely isn't everything, but life is way more fun when you can do at least some of the things that you want to do. 

But the most important thing I've discovered is that this abundance is a mindset.  More than anything, it is about how you feel when you get up in the morning and proceed through your day.  Do you prance through it lightly and happily or trudge heavily and slowly?  Feeling abundant can make the difference.  And guess what?  You can teach yourself to feel abundant.  You just have to identify what it feels like to you so that you can return to it at will.

Writing is no different.  Abundant writing both stems from and creates a mindset.  Think about how you feel when you've had a good writing session.  On top of the world, right?  In love with the world.  In love with every single little thing in it.  Married to amazement.  Astonished at the beauty and joy you encounter in your day to day life.  Achieving this feeling is probably one of the reasons you write.  I know its why I do.

My idea of writing abundance–the process that propels me to this feeling of being in love with the world–is simple.  It is putting it all on the page, without hesitation or stopping or getting distracted.  Alan Cohen, a wonderful self-help writer, has a saying: give it all up and get it all back.  I love that saying because I know its true.  And I love to apply it to writing:

Give all of yourself on the page, and get what you dream of back.

And, of course, what you dream of can be personal satisfaction, a prolific writing career, a best-selling novel, searing memoir, engaging creative non-fiction book, published short stories or articles, a career as a journalist, a popular blogger….you name it.  The dream is yours.  All you have to do is put words on the page, one after the other.

So if you have an image–your image–of what an abundant writing practice is to you, you can keep it firmly in mind as a touchstone for everything that you do.  It becomes an underpinning, the constant drumbeat to your days.  The thing you strive for because you know its the most important thing.  Stands to reason, then, that a good way to establish that touchstone is to write about what abundant writing means to you.  Write it in detail, with every blessed sense evoked.  Where are you?  How do you feel?  What are you working on? 

Go write it out right now.  Set a timer for 15 minutes and just write.  Put it all on the page.

And then come back here and share it with us.