When I sit to write I feel a curious sensation fill me. I have pondered how to describe this feeling for quite some time now. It is a combination of plunging into cold water and the weightless lift at the top of a roller coaster. There is a twin pull and push on my centre than is at once motionless, yet full of movement, full of power. This is all before words fill me, or even a topic. Some days I wait there, poised, waiting, full of this powerful feeling, yet with no clear direction.
This is likely why writing bursts and writing prompts and free writes are all so beneficial. These are all techniques to get the wheels moving, to cause flow in an otherwise still process. Although there is also great joy to be found sitting in this stillness, this moving/ not-moving place. Letting the impulse to write arrive, knock, and knock once more.
There is great trust in this process, that the creative process can become stronger by not writing, not creating, but by waiting. It is like a deeply drawn breath, nourishing and clarifying. The out breath is the creation set in motion, full and vibrant. Both energies are needed, yin and yang, just as listening is required to craft a conversation.