[Podcast] View Your Time Set Aside for Writing as Sacred

Is your writing time sacred?

Typically, people use the word ‘sacred’ to define what we’ve written. Confessional writing, memoirs, poetry and some narrative fiction are considered sacred because of the ‘soul work’ the author does through putting their innermost parts onto the page. They are a pilgrimage to holy spaces inside of you.

But not all writing is ‘soul work.’ That doesn’t mean the act of writing—setting apart time to write—isn’t sacred.

Anytime you choose to focus on your writing project, you are choosing the sacred.

How to Embrace Writing as a Sacred Act

To understand writing as sacred, we have to know the difference between sacred and secular.

Secular is the everyday stuff. We cook meals, go to work, shuttle the kids, grocery shop, and on and on. It’s the grind. 

The non-secular—the sacred—is different. It’s setting aside time for something other than the everyday stuff. Think of things that are sacred in your life. For Dave, fishing is sacred. For Melissa, photography and flower arranging are sacred. Other forms of sacred can be exercising, meditating, doing yoga, hiking. 

Sacred activities require a component of discipline. You have to carve out time for these activities. Since they’re important to you and your well-being, you make the time for them.

Writing is also a sacred act. But we don’t always view it as such.

Writing, especially the pre-publication stage, can seem selfish. It doesn’t provide any value to the world. It takes time away from your family and friends. It’s not utilitarian. And the people around us devalue our writing time because it doesn’t serve them.

You have to make writing sacred. But how? 

You make it a priority.

You carve out time to do it. And you discipline yourself to show up every time, even when you don’t feel like doing it. You honor it as sacred. Only then will other people start to honor your writing as sacred.

Embrace Writing as Sacred through Rituals

Rituals are a powerful tool to help shift your writing from the secular to sacred.

Rituals are repetitive. And repetition is a way for you to signal your commitment to writing. The more you repeat showing up to your writing time, the more you’ll train yourself to enter into sacred spaces of writing.

A ritual is also a visceral way to move you from the everyday to the holy. The more distinct and sensory, the more the ritual will move you into the sacred.

To help you create a writing ritual, associate something positive and sensory with your writing. It could be a special type of coffee you only drink when you’re entering sacred time. It could be a candle you light only when you write. Whatever it is, find it. It will help you transition from a secular to a sacred space.

And remember this: writing as sacred doesn’t necessarily mean putting words to paper. We often beat ourselves up if we don’t write during our writing time. If we don’t have anything to show. That’s because we are trained to focus on the product. We lose the motivation to show up for writing if we focus solely on the end result.

Writing as a sacred act can mean different things! It can be brainstorming new ideas, visiting a museum exhibit to learn more about your book’s topic, going on a meditative walk to clear your head for writing, researching a conversation piece. Don’t dismiss anything devoted to developing your writer’s mindset. This time is sacred.

As you embrace writing time as sacred, you have to honor the time you set apart. No one can do that for you but you. The everyday world will tug at you to remain in the grind. Pursuing the sacred is on you.