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Find clarity to journal with Focus Mapping

Find clarity to journal with Focus Mapping

Journaling has never been a daily habit for me.

As much as I would LOVE to tell you that I wake up with the birds and gleefully open my notebook to do morning pages (look up The Artist’s Way if you’re not sure what that is) the reality is very different.

I journal in bursts. Sometimes multiple times a day, on my phone and in several notebooks. Other times, I’ll manage one paragraph of incoherent ramblings and resist trying again for months. There’s no shame in this, and it doesn’t mean that you’re not ‘good’ at journaling.

Personally, I’ve been seriously struggling to organise my thoughts recently and wondered if this focus mapping technique would help you. While it isn’t going to solve all of life’s problems, it has helped me get back into a groove with writing, after many many months of feeling unable to get started. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you might enjoy these other therapeutic writing techniques.

Forget ‘perfect’ journaling. Journaling doesn’t have to be a long, linear story of your day. Our thoughts jump around – let’s allow ourselves a more natural way of organising our ideas.

Try Focus Mapping

Focus mapping is a visual technique that can help you journal more easily. Here’s how to do it:

1. Grab a blank sheet of paper.
2. Write today’s date in the centre and circle it.
3. Draw 4-5 lines branching out from the date.
4. At the end of each line, write a topic on your mind (e.g., work, family, goals).
5. Add more branches to each topic with specific thoughts or ideas.
6. Keep expanding until you’ve written everything on your mind.
7. Review your map and choose one topic that stands out to you, and journal further on it.

Why it works

– It’s visual and fun
– Helps organise scattered thoughts
– Shows connections between ideas
– Lets you choose what to focus on

And hey, there’s no right or wrong way to journal. This method is just a tool to help you get started AND gives you a bank of ideas to work from the next time you open your notebook.

Try it out and see if it works for you.

Working with the Moon Cycles as a Creative 🌙

Working with the Moon Cycles as a Creative 🌙

I’ve been experimenting with following the moon cycles this year and although I’m no expert, I’ve found it interesting to work with these dates instead of a typical calendar month, especially when it comes to journaling and intention setting around my creative practice.

So I thought I’d give you a brief rundown of how the cycles work and how you can integrate actions around the new and full moon to build a life you love.

New Moon

This is the time when the moon isn’t visible from Earth.

So think about it as a clean slate, a time before things have even begun, an invitation to think about what you want to manifest in your life and then you can break it down into smaller intentions or tasks to be completed over the coming cycle.

This could be starting a new project, refreshing one that is feeling a bit stale, connecting with new people or getting out of your comfort zone to take in some inspiration at an event or exhibition. It’s all about new beginnings, so challenge yourself to think outside the box.

Actions:

  • Tarot spread to connect with your intuition and find out what you really want
  • Book a reading with a trusted tarot reader
  • Journaling to explore future and write a list of new moon intentions
  • Vision boarding

Waxing Cresent, first quarter and gibbous moon phases see the moon become more visible over a period of roughly two weeks, culminating in the full moon.

During this period, stay focused on your creative intentions, journal on them daily, visualise them becoming a reality and make use of the energy that accompanies the time after the new moon.

Journal prompts for the new moon phase:

  1. What aspects of my inner self are currently in the shadows, waiting to be illuminated?
  2. What new creative connections do I want to manifest during this lunar cycle?
  3. What habits, beliefs, or energies no longer serve my creative self?
  4. As a writer, what creative projects or ideas are calling to me at this moment?
  5. How can I nurture and bring them to life during this lunar phase?
  6. What self-care practices will I prioritise during this lunar cycle to nourish my mind, body, and spirit?
  7. What intuitive insights or messages am I receiving at this moment?
  8. What does the moon represent to me, and how can I align with its energy for self-growth?

 

Full Moon

This is the energetic peak of the cycle, where you may find your energy levels are uncomfortably high.

I personally get a lot of anxious energy around the full moon, normally with headaches and chronic overthinking about how I’ve acted in the weeks previously (fun!)

Don’t be surprised if this leads to a lot of self-doubt in your creative abilities, fear of rejection or lack of energy as things come to a head. Hopefully, you’ll start to see some of your intentions manifest around this time.

This is the time to pause and reflect on what you have or haven’t manifested over the last few weeks. Let go of the past and move on.

Actions:

  • Tarot spread to focus on what you need to let go of
  • Journaling to express gratitude for what you have now
  • Letter to the universe to say thank you and unsent letters of forgiveness for emotions you want to release

During the disseminating, third quarter and balsamic moon period you might find your energy level become more stable and then begin to dip off as it reaches the end of the cycle.

Use this time to relax into where you are now.

Keep working on the intentions you set but let go of anything that isn’t working and continue to put effort into the things that have been successful in the past. Give yourself grace towards the end of the cycle and make time for restorative self-care.

Journal prompts for the full moon

  1. What have I created since the last full moon, and how have these creations changed me?
  2. How has my creative process evolved over the last month?
  3. What blocks need my attention to let creative energy flow?
  4. How have I nurtured my creative spirit this month?
  5. How have I connected with fellow artists or writers this month and how has it fuelled my creative energy?
  6. What insights have my dreams provided recently and how will I use this in my creative work?
  7. Who or what am I ready to forgive and let go of?

Then the cycle begins all over again with the fresh new moon!

Was this helpful? Would you like to see more posts about how to work with the moon?

Easy Tarot Tips for Writers 

Easy Tarot Tips for Writers 

Picture the scene:  Your coffee is warm, your laptop is charged and you’ve got a full day of uninterrupted writing ahead of you. Bliss!

Except you can’t quite seem to get any words on the page. As much as you stretch your neck, check your notes and try to start a sentence… nothing materialises.

Sound familiar?

Or perhaps you’re halfway through writing a book and your inspiration has dried up. Maybe you have too many plot points to fit into the rest of your novel, or your memoir has grown arms and legs and can no longer be tamed

No matter what stage you’re at on your writing journey, let’s be honest… it gets messy.

This is how I felt when I went through some major personal changes recently, and I worried that writing would be too difficult to fit into my day as I struggled to navigate the mental impact of what was going on. But then I found tarot and suddenly, I was writing every day. Not only that, but I was writing in new ways, exploring poetry, creating fearlessly from a place of truth that I don’t think I’ve ever accessed before.

Now, tarot is a core part of the writing programs I host and I’m giving professional tarot readings too!

What is tarot?

Tarot is a deck of 78 cards, though to have originated as a card game and evolved to be used as a divination tool. It has grown in popularity, particularly as women begin to reconnect with their wild selves and honour their naturally intuitive nature.

And what is writing if not an intuitive process?

Listen to an interview with a successful writer and you will undoubtedly hear them fumble over their ability to explain how ideas, characters and plot points reveal themselves. A writer is often going on blind faith and feeling their way through the dark as they write, experimenting with forms and structures that may defy tradition but ‘feel right’ at the moment.

Isn’t tarot just fortune telling?

Personally, I think tarot brings out the magic within and can give you a sense of control over your life, open yourself up to opportunities and heighten awareness which can have a tangible impact on your future.

Yes, there are some fortune tellers, mediums and psychics who incorporate tarot into their services, but you don’t have to have special powers to use tarot in your everyday life.

Tarot imagery and meanings are based on the human experience and therefore are relatable to anyone who is… human. So if you’re reading this with human eyes, you have the ability to look at tarot and gain some insight!

How can writers use tarot as a storytelling tool?

Tarot is made up of 22 Major Arcana cards and 56 Minor Arcana cards. The Major Arcana concerns big moments in life and karmic lessons. Think of these as the major points in a story, those plot points that a novel hinges on, or the twists and turns that keep a reader engaged.

The Minor Arcana moments are everyday situations, little lessons or obstacles that crop up daily. You might like to think of these as specific scenes in a story that support character development, theme and overall structure.

Tarot encourages a daily writing habit

Even as a seasoned writer, I have always struggled to get into a regular routine.

Journaling is one of those things that I know help my creative process but it’s something I couldn’t seem to nail down as a daily habit.

When I discovered tarot, I found that pulling a card or three automatically made me want to open up a notebook and write. Because tarot cards trigger thoughts and feelings, most writers will naturally want to document this. In the same way, that morning pages (made famous by Julia Cameron) can shake of the dust for writers, tarot and journaling can serve the same purpose.

tarot for writers

Tarot clears the mind

So often the thing that stops us from writing at our best is nothing to do with the writing itself. During my years as a writing mentor, I’ve come to realise that its the internal struggle that holds most writers back.

The self-doubt, fear of failure, past rejections… the list goes on! Working through your own limiting beliefs and old narratives can clear the way for you to get out of your own way and start writing with confidence.

Question to ask tarot: How am I holding myself back with writing?

tarot for writers

How to use Tarot in your novel writing

If you are working on a writing project, tarot can help you reconnect with the story but also through up solutions to things you’re struggling with. Tarot is based around storytelling, so it is jam-packed with conflict, characters, emotions and revelations that can inform your plot.

For example, say you are struggling to think of a chance encounter that will introduce a key character to your story. Here are some ways that cards could throw up ideas:

3 of Swords

Themes: Heartbreak, loss, grief.

Perhaps your character appears at a speed dating event or a funeral.

6 of Pentacles

Themes: Charity, breadcrumbing, economic imbalance.

If your character is from a different economic background from your main character, perhaps they meet through a mentoring program, job centre or charity awards ceremony.

The Devil

Themes: Addictions, shadow self, unhealthy attachments.

Perhaps your new character is an ex with an unhealthy obsession, or an addict meets your main character at a support group.

Tarot adds depth to your characters

Tarot is full of character archetypes which can help flesh out your character traits and backstory.

Take The Fool for instance, who is a hapless innocent youth at the beginning of a journey. Full of naivety and hope, they ignore advice from others and are willing to step off a cliff without looking.

The High Priestess, on the other hand, is a wise guardian of the spiritual realm. She is highly in tune with the moon cycles and holds divine wisdom.

These are just two of the archetypes that you’ll find in the deck to inspire a variety of characters. When writing non-fiction, you will see the cards start to mirror aspects of the people you are writing about too.

Ask the cards: What is this character’s hidden secret?

tarot for writers

More questions to ask the tarot cards:

  • How can I improve my work in progress?
  • How can I build a sustainable writing habit?
  • What from the past is holding me back?
  • What does my future writing career look like?
  • How can I boost my chances of getting my book published?
  • What writing opportunities am I not seeing?
  • How can I be more creative today?
  • What isn’t working in my novel plot?
  • What should be the focus of my writing today?
  • What should be the key theme of my memoir?
  • What should my poetry collection be inspired by?
  • What should I journal about today?

To learn more about tarot, book a reading with me where we can talk through your writing and any stumbling blocks you may be facing.

Whether you are a new writer or have been published many times, tarot can offer a fresh perspective on your creative works. There is no need to get bogged down in specific meanings and traditions, simply pick a deck that you like the look of and start pulling cards with the prompts I’ve shared here.

Like writing, tarot reading takes practice and will get easier the more you do it!

I’ve devised a set of tarot spreads for writers. You can sign up for my writers newsletter to get access to them as well as all my other free resources.