Take 5 Baby Steps to your Volcano

This may not be the best way to climb a mountain, but start with baby steps. Psychologists and coaches talk about the benefits of doing the hardest things first to free up the rest of your day. Do this 5-10 minute prompt for starting writing (or something else):

Take a new legal pad that’s a yummy color. Yellow is good for the eyes and concentration, pale lavender is a happy color for inspiration. Take 5 minutes to meditate and clear your mind. Breathe deeply a few times. Ask your Inner Writer “What is the story that I am sitting on top of?” This story is like a volcano that may only erupt every 100 years or so, but when it does, it’s loud and fantastic in its impact. Notice your other stories, quiet quakes of insistence, vying for top place and obscuring your volcano.

Jot down fast on your pad what comes up. Get to the volcano story you’ve been sitting on whose presence you’ve avoided even in the quiet of your own mind. Write a blurb, title, and/or opening line for this story and a modest plan for getting it started. Finish the little stories later.