Yesterday was the final day of my free workshop, the Plot Potion Challenge. We had a great time. Despite being full to the brim with joy that my potion brewers enjoyed it, I was still feeling the heaviness I had been feeling all week.
On my social platforms, I wrote the following:
It's been weighing on me, this feeling that writers are still holding back and playing it safe... far too often. Stories are the taproot of humanity. They've been with us since firelight flickered on cave walls, and they'll be with us until the last sigh of a dying star. They connect us, challenge us and make us feel less alone in this vast, echoing universe. But many of y'all are worried about not being "commercial" enough.
This sentiment resonated with many. So how do we break free from this fear and write stories that truly resonate? The answer might lie in a powerful tool often overlooked: intuition.
Intuition can guide you to create stories that are authentic and emotionally engaging, which can be far more powerful than simply following a formula.
In my PERSONAL opinion, I think using your intuition is a very underrated skill and often frowned upon, which is a real shame because a writer’s intuition is one of the most important tools in their arsenal. Writing and intuition go hand in hand, if you ask me.
Intuition is a powerful tool that can enhance your writing and allow you to tap into your creative potential. As writers, our intuition can help guide us to the right words and phrases, allowing us to share words and stories that are powerful, impactful and most importantly, memorable. I love it when a book or an article or an essay has me thinking about it for days on end.
Intuition is something we ALL have whether we are aware of it or not. It’s not limited to a chosen few e.g., the mystics, the shamans, the healers, the wise women, etc. Even the most practical and pragmatic person has gut instincts. I can’t teach “intuition” per se, but I can show you how to develop your intuition more intentionally.
But first, what is intuition, exactly? We’ve all heard of it… but WHAT is it?
Intuition is an unconscious knowing that comes from your lived experiences. Not just your experiences as a writer, but all of your experiences as a human being in this world. I think one of the reasons it’s so frowned upon is because it’s not based on rational thought. From the moment we enter school, we are taught (and forced) to think logically. And I’m specifically using the words “think logically” as opposed to “think critically.” Schools these days DO NOT teach critical thinking skills. They teach you how to follow rules and be a good worker bee when you enter the workforce.
Our intuition is the cauldron for our direct knowing, our sensing and for making meaningful connections. And it guides us not only in our well-being, giving us direction to personal care in our health, relationships, environment and in all our areas of life, but also our creative pursuits. As far as our intuition is concerned, there is no difference between the inner world and our outer world. It’s all one. It’s our rational brain that wants to compartmentalize everything into separate boxes.
Intuition is that feeling or knowing that comes from within. That “gut instinct” or “inner voice.” As difficult as it is for me to describe it — like the way we describe how something feels — my intuition is telling me you know exactly the feeling and/or knowing I’m talking about. You most likely have experienced it before but dismissed it as illogical or silly. Well… you’re right, and wrong.
Intuition is wholeheartedly illogical. That’s kind of the point and why it’s so brilliant.
But it’s by no means silly. Feelings and emotions are not dumb responses that always need to be ignored or even corrected by rational thought. They are appraisals of what you have just experienced or were thinking about — in other words, they are another form of information processing.
If you were looking for a more scientific answer, how’s this? (I’m a Capricorn sun and a Virgo moon… I bring the facts.)
Intuition is the way our subconscious mind communicates with our conscious mind. The information that informs “that feeling or knowing” is very real. It’s like any other decision but the workings of it happen outside of our conscious mind. (Said in my nerdiest, straight-A student voice… basically like Hermione.)
Writers today face a multitude of pressures. The constant hum of "commercial viability" can be deafening, tempting you to prioritize marketability over originality. This disconnect from one's true voice is exactly where intuition becomes such a powerful tool. This hunch that whispers the "right" direction, is often downplayed in the world of writing. We focus on outlining, research and following the "rules" of storytelling. But intuition plays a crucial role in decision-making, and can often lead to better outcomes than relying solely on conscious analysis.
“Many cognitive scientists argue that intuitive and analytic thinking should not be viewed as opposites. Studies indicate that our decision-making often works best when we blend both strategies.” — Scientific American
Even researchers at Leeds University have analyzed research papers on intuition. They concluded that “intuition is a very real psychological process where the brain uses past experiences and cues from the self and the environment to make a decision. The decision happens so quickly that it doesn’t register on a conscious level.” — University of Leeds
As you can see, there’s actual science behind it. It’s not just a bunch of fluff! Why we are discouraged from thinking more intuitively is beyond me. Intuition is a beautiful thing.
After that somewhat scientific preamble about what intuition is and why it’s not a load of nonsense, let’s get to the reason I’m sharing what’s on my heart this Saturday afternoon… to encourage you to begin using your intuition to write more authentically.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a plotter or a pantser or a plantser like me, you’re likely already using your intuition in your writing in some capacity. But you may not be aware that you’re doing it. In today’s hurried and noisy world, it can be hard to hear what your intuition is really telling you. The lines between what our rational minds think, what our hearts want and what our intuition knows tend to blur and intertwine, and it becomes more difficult to distinguish one from the other.
There are several things that can drown out the quiet voice we have inside us.
Here are a few of them:
Busyness: To-do lists often loom large in our thoughts, squeezing out that little space where intuition lives. You may have a vague sense that it’s trying to tell you something, but you rush on to the next thing and the next thing, never pausing long enough to listen. I’ve been guilty of this. If this is you too, you are not alone. Life be life-ing sometimes.
What the heart wants: If you really want a certain outcome, that desire can drown out what your intuition is suggesting you should do instead. I’ve been guilty of this, too. And quite recently. I often feel like my mind and heart are at war. While creating an online course to help writers plan and write their novels, I kept getting the feeling that I should create something else. But because of all the lovely feedback I was getting, telling me I was on the right track, I ignored my intuition in a way. But the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away. So I took a step back to get quiet and refocus. The end result? I didn’t create a course, but instead created a group program to foster community. More on that in another post…
Strong beliefs: If you believe strongly that things should go a certain way, you may subconsciously ignore your intuition’s suggestions. For example, let’s say you strongly believe you should go the traditional publishing route for your book, otherwise it’s not worth all the time and effort you’ve put into writing your book. You may then ignore your intuition’s suggestion that self-publishing might be the better, more lucrative path for you, or vice versa.
Other voices: Your intuition may be telling you something that goes against what you’ve been told by experts in the field, or by other people you look up to. (It often does this… at least mine does.) That can lead you to ignore your intuition, for surely these other folks know better. (Note: the only person who knows what’s best for you and your writing is YOU.)
Fear: You may sense that your intuition is guiding you in a direction that scares the shit out of you. It may be urging you to get more visible and talk about your books and projects or to try reaching out to someone you want to collaborate with, like another writer. If you’re unable to regulate your nervous system around these scary things, you may ignore your intuition’s suggestions and never do the things. I know the struggle, trust me.
Fact: Every person on the planet is capable of thinking intuitively. Yes, that includes you.
If you would like to intentionally develop your intuition, here are some things you can begin practicing right now — as in, today:
Trust your gut feelings and emotions. When words like “gut” and “feeling” are being used together, you know there has to be a good reason. And there is. Warning, more science! Research suggests that emotion and intuition have a physical presence in our gut or our sacral center. As a human design generator, I’ve become very aware and attuned to my sacral, as it’s where my life force energy comes from. The gut is lined with a network of neurons and is often referred to as the “second brain.” It’s called the enteric nervous system (ENS) and it contains about 100 million neurons, which is more than the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system, but less than the brain. Fun fact: This is why we get “sick” when we have to make a tough decision or realize we’ve made a bad one.
Listening to your intuition is not enough — you have to trust it. And that’s not always easy. Like I mentioned before, messages from our intuitive voice are very often illogical, making it harder to trust what we’re hearing or feeling. We have to take a leap of faith. Embody the energy of The Fool. Trusting your intuition might be difficult at first, especially if you’ve never intentionally connected with it before, but give it time and trust it bit by bit. It will be worth it.
Feel. Before you can trust your gut feelings and emotions, you have to actually allow yourself to feel first. Many people do not allow themselves to feel. It’s uncomfortable for them to sit with their feelings for whatever reason. But intuition is heavily based on feeling. You’ll know your intuition is there because you’ll be able to feel it — if you give yourself permission to. You’ll feel it in your belly, and it will raise goosebumps on your skin. Maybe even send a shiver down your spine, make your heart race or quicken your breath. I’ve experienced all of these things, both collectively and individually. Sometimes it’s even more subtle, and the only way to describe it is as a “knowing” as opposed to a physical feeling. Ever have one of those moments when you just know? You can’t explain how you know; you just do. This is the primary method my intuition uses to speak to me. When you practice allowing yourself to feel, you’ll begin to intuitively know when something is right. It will feel clear, nourishing and enriching. And you’ll also intuitively know when something is off. For me, the best way to describe when something feels off is my energy contracting or pulling away. When things “feel” right, my energy expands, and more of it is generated (my sacral in action).
Connect with people. There are so many things that inform our opinions and decisions other than speech. Tone, volume of speech, body language, gestures, the stuff that isn’t spoken — they all contribute to the meaning we give to our interactions with people. Sometimes, we have a feeling about people but can’t quite put a finger on what it is. People might seem distant, distracted, uninterested and often these aren’t spoken but are “picked up on” through different ways. The ability to pick up on the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others is referred to as empathic accuracy. Have you ever noticed how babies and animals will immediately cry or run away when certain people are around? That’s empathic accuracy at work. Probably the purest form of intuition. The baby or animal is picking up on something unspoken, and they want no part of it. The more time we spend with people, the more we can finely tune our own empathic accuracy. Picking up on the signals of others will add to your intuition.
Be intentional about the company you keep. People who drain you will add to the noise and make it more difficult to hear what your intuition is saying to you. I call them energy vampires. I’m not a gambling woman, but I’ll wager a bet that there’s a chance you already know who these people are in your life. If not, be still for a moment. Take a deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Take another if you need to. Fill the belly with air. Exhale. Then sit there quietly for a moment and listen — your intuition will tell you who those people are. Notice how you feel when they come to mind. I invite you to get your journal out and write down their name(s) and how they make you feel when you’re around them. Go gently here but be honest. Don’t lie to your journal or yourself. It’s easy to go around saying, “keep the people in your life who enrich and empower you, and walk away from those who drain you.” Love and light, and all that bullshit (I really don’t like toxic positivity). But the truth is, you can’t always walk away from the troublesome ones. And you can’t just ignore them either. The most we can do is ensure we are (1) guarding our energy when around others… this can be learned, and (2) spending quality time alone so we can “hear” our intuitive voices.
Find time to be silent and still. When I did the personality test on 16personalities.com, I already knew I was an INFJ. But I did it anyway because I’m a complete nerd when it comes to personality tests. I find them both interesting and informative. The results said I am 97% introverted. I have no idea how accurate that percentage is, but I won’t deny that I need lots of alone time to truly hear my inner most thoughts. Being in solitude turns down the clamor of the world and allows me to tune in to my intuition. With practice, the same will be true for you, regardless of whether you’re an introvert, an extrovert or somewhere in between. Our intuition is always sending warnings and enlightenment but often we are too busy to notice. Allow your mind to wander and be open to what comes to you — feelings, thoughts and/or words. One of the ways to do this is through daily mindfulness. In other words, be in the moment. Slow down. Take a minute and breathe (properly!). By focusing your thoughts on the present moment, it’s easier to get rid of mental clutter and connect with your intuition. Which brings me to…
Be present. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Again, your intuition is always speaking to you; you simply need to listen. This goes back to intentionally being quiet and still. The more information you are able to gather from the environment, the more compost the intuitive, subconscious part of your brain has to work with — and the more accurately it will inform your decisions.
Start a dream journal. Dreams are our brain’s way of processing information that’s left over from the day. Our dreams are rich with valuable data (even the bad dreams) — experiences, memories, learnings, conversations — so they can work hard if we let them. Paying attention to our dreams can provide us with information that we don’t always have access to when we are awake. Dreaming is our brain’s way of problem solving. I think one of the reasons we tend to get stuck and feel frustrated is because we’re being too analytical about something. It makes me think about the suit of swords; air energy and being very much in our heads. Our intuitive mind is raising its hand, saying, “pick me, pick me! I know the answer!”, but we ignore it because it’s not the logical option. So the only way for it to give us the solutions we seek, is when we are sleeping. It’s when we’re sleeping that our unconscious mind can fully come out and play with zero interference from our analytical brain.
Something to try: Place a notebook and pen on your bedside table or somewhere within reach if you don’t have a stand next to your bed. If you want to add a bit of magick, place an Amethyst crystal under your pillow to help induce lucid dreaming. When you wake up in the morning, grab your notebook and write everything you remember about the dream(s) you had in as much detail as possible. From personal experience, it’s best to do this before getting out of bed. The minute my feet touch the floor, that’s it. Dream gone, time to start the day. Later, when you’re fully awake, go back and review what you wrote… if you can read it lol. You’ll probably find some treasure.
Using your intuition while you’re writing
When you allow your intuition to guide you, you can tap into a deeper well of creativity and craft stories that are unique, engaging and memorable. If you get a feeling that a certain word or phrase is right, or that a character should act in a certain way, trust that feeling and go with it. Don’t worry about whether it’s right or wrong. That can be assessed later when editing. Be open to inspiration from the world around you. Pay attention to the sights, sounds and sensations that invoke a reaction from you, and let them inform your writing. This is one of the ways I use my intuition in my writing life.
My favorite way to connect with my intuition is through tarot and oracle cards. Not only do I use them in my spiritual practice, but I also use them with clients and for brainstorming new ideas.
Most mornings, I no idea what I’m going to post for the day (you know… visibility and all that). Batch creating content ahead of time does not work for me. I have tried and failed and given up. So while sipping my tea, I will pull a tarot and/or an oracle card. And it never fails. Not only do I have something journal about (to help me), I also get an intuitive hit on what to post about (to help you).
If you struggle with coming up with fresh ideas for your story or perhaps you want to start journaling but don’t know what to write about, give this a try. Grab a deck and pick a card. If you don’t own a deck and/or don’t want to buy one, there are plenty of free online tarot and oracle sites that will allow you to choose a card. And no, you don’t need to understand the meanings of the cards. You can simply look at the artwork and see what comes up.
Our intuition is critical for guiding us forward in our writing, but it’s extremely easy for that voice to get lost. The intuitive voice is quiet and subtle. The only way to develop your intuition and learn to trust it, is through practice. When you hear a message or feel a gut instinct, take a small step in the direction it leads you. Most of the time, you’ll find that the action feels aligned.
If all of this feels/sounds scary (or woo woo), take baby steps forward and see what happens. Keep a journal of your results, as it will provide you with evidence when you need it. I’ve been at this for years and still stumble. As writers, we need that small, still voice, though, so it’s certainly worth the time and effort to pay attention to it and nurture it.
As the great poet William Butler Yeats said: "People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind."
Some journal prompts to write and meditate on:
Think about a time you ignored a strong gut feeling about a writing decision (plot point, character development, etc.). Journal about what that feeling was, why you chose to ignore it, and what the outcome was. Did the story suffer? Did you feel creatively unfulfilled? Use this experience to explore how trusting your intuition might have led to a more satisfying outcome.
Sometimes, intuition speaks in unexpected ways. Think back to a time when you received a seemingly random piece of inspiration - a overheard conversation, a dream, a strange image. Describe the inspiration you received and how it came about. How did it connect to your current writing project (or a future one)? Did you initially dismiss it as irrelevant, or did you trust your gut and explore it further? What creative possibilities did this unexpected inspiration open up? Reflect on how this experience highlights the power of intuition in the writing process.
Until next time,
The Book Druid xo