one paragraph. I will never forget the look on the editors’ faces. I can laugh about it now, but at the time it was mortifying.
Ironically, my next job (which I got a few weeks later) was in the same building. I was hired as a features writer at another women’s magazine, covering someone’s maternity leave. I was twenty-three, and on paper it was the dream job. I should have been having the time of my life. But I didn’t feel authentic, and I felt creatively blocked. I didn’t have the easy flow of ideas that I have now. I didn’t feel that I had a voice. And I felt like I was on a conveyor belt, churning out articles. I just didn’t feel creative.
So when my contract was up, I went freelance as a journalist, cranking out articles for newspapers and magazines in my force-driven way. But crucially, I decided to explore my creativity and see where it led. I enrolled at a London drama school and starred in adverts and short films. I became a travel writer and explored health and wellness. I did voice and improvisation classes. I wrote lots of songs and poems and got some of them published.
All of these experiences helped with my self-expression. But things really shifted for me four years later when I began studying lyric writing at Berklee College of Music.
The first thing we learned was a technique called object writing, which is something that songwriters use to help them get raw material for songs. And it was life-changing. I will introduce you to this technique later in this book and show you how you can put it into practice in your everyday life. What’s for sure is that object writing opened me up and I was finally able to write freely and expressively. And this way of writing crossed over into my journalism work and all the other writing work I did after that.
After undergoing such a transformation, I realized that I wanted to train as a life coach and teacher and teach people to write. I started off tutoring students. I taught them object writing and other self-expression and writing techniques I’d learned while earning my lyric writing diploma. And it was a big hit. I got a reputation for turning C students into A students because they became self-expressed writers. And I turned my methods into the book Just Write It! How to Develop Top-Class University Writing Skills. I found what I was supposed to do and realized that I loved helping people to better express themselves in writing. And that’s what I have been doing ever since.
The crucial thing is that I feel completely free and able to express myself in writing both privately and publicly. In your own room and own space, you ought to be able to write freely. Cry. Laugh. Feel the feelings. And sometimes you need to write something that is raw and not for public consumption, something that wouldn’t please your eighth-grade grammar teacher or your boss, but that pleases you.
But if you do want to shape your writing into a finished piece, then that’s great, and I’m going to share some tools and techniques that will help you do that. In fact, creative self-expression is cyclical, and if you can add technique to heart and soul, you can keep going deeper down through the layers. I’ll also share my tips for going a step further and creating personal, creative blog posts. Plus, if you’re already an accomplished writer, the stories and lessons in this book will help you go deeper and inspire you to access your writing space from a position of love.
I’m committed to doing all I can to help you to better express yourself in writing and live a full, rich, creative life. As such, my vision for Heart, Sass & Soul is about more than the words you’ll read in this book.
Here Are Three Ways That You Can Go Even Deeper in Your Self-Expression
1. Stay in the Loop via Social Media and Connect with Other Readers
Expressing, connecting, and sharing go hand in hand. If you feel called to do so, please share your insights on social media while you read. Tag me @greta.solomon on Instagram and @greta_solomon on Twitter. Use #HeartSassSoulso that other readers can find you.
2. Sign Up for Journey Beyond Journaling
This is a free, five-day writing challenge designed for people who yearn to write more. If you feel your voice has been suppressed in some way—this is the challenge for you. Visit www.gretasolomon.com/challenge to receive daily videos and creative exercises that you can complete in ten to fifteen minutes. These will support you in releasing mindset blocks, getting in your body, awakening your senses, and opening your heart. You’ll kick-start your writing and creativity and begin to see what’s possible for you—beyond the pages of your journal.
3. Go Deeper with My Online Program in Writing for Creative Self-Expression
This is a completely tried-and-true, seven-week course in mindset, creativity, and craft. Using videos, audio recordings, and worksheets, I guide you to break through the blocks that hold you back. Through writing workouts, coaching questions, tasks, challenges, and tutorials, you’ll wake up to your writing potential. Plus, you’ll learn practical tools and techniques for writing articles and blog posts. By immersing yourself in this material, you’ll begin to uncover your voice and learn how to use it. Find out more about this unique, life-changing program here: www.gretasolomon.com/online-course.
As my course participant, Janet said, “When I was young, I loved to write stories and wrote constantly as a way to express the angst of my teenage years. Unfortunately, this led to shaming, because those very personal journal entries were read by someone who used them to ridicule and criticize me. You are the first person to name and identify the damage done by this kind of shaming. After working through your course, I am recognizing that I am well on the way to healing that tender, violated part of my inner world. There has been a remarkable, gradual fading of the critical inner voice. Now, I have a structure to work within and techniques to practice, and it has given me a sense of direction and purpose.”
This is my desire for you too—direction, purpose, and
the safety of having practical tools and techniques to guide
you on your journey.
Most of all, I want you to know that what you hold in your hands now, or consume via your screen or audio device, is an invitation. It’s an invitation to begin to live a fully expressed life.
A Love Lesson, as Told to Me by Yair Sagy
Finally, I’d like to end this introduction with a short meditation. Put your hands on your heart and imagine the space within. Feel your heart and then see your inner child. Look in her eyes and give her a hug. Love her. Take care of her needs. Be kind to her. Protect her from harm. Listen to her. Laugh with her. Give her treats. Take her for a day out. Be a parent to the little girl inside you, and remember this—when you love yourself, it’s easy to put up boundaries because you don’t fear rejection. You can easily say “no.” Repeat the affirmation: “I love myself.” Repeat it again. Then imagine the roar of a lion and its power and say, “I am creative, fertile, serene, and powerful like a mountain.”
Be love. Exude love. Let it fill your whole body and radiate outwards. And remember that writing for creative self-expression will help to set you free.
Part 1
Answering the Call
Chapter 1
Clearing the Blocks to Self-Expression
When you write, do you feel truly able to express yourself? Are you
