Orrin Jason Bradford's Blog, page 13

The Writer Within

Today’s blog post is taken from the rough draft of the book I’m working on with the working title of Writing: Tool for Transformation. I’ve decided to publish it here just as it was written. It seems to flow a little better that way.

This book is for writers…but if you’re now saying, “Oh, no, I made a mistake in picking up this book. I’m not a writer,” please keep reading. Let me make myself a little clearer. This book is for the writer within and it’s especially for you if you’ve never considered yourself to be a writer.

Let me ask you. Do you know how to write? I don’t mean do you know how to write well, or how to write the next great novel or work of nonfiction. I mean it literally. Do you know how to connect words into sentences? Maybe, you’re even able to connect some of those sentences into paragraphs. If you’re able to do this, then this book is for you. (If you’re not able to do that, please come back to this book when you’ve advanced your education just a little further and are able to accomplish this very basic level of writing ability.)

Now, be clear I’m not saying this simply because I’m trying to create a large niche of readers for this book, though in truth, that would be cool too. No, I’m saying that because I’ve realized through the years that there are a lot of people out there who simply do not consider themselves to be writers. In fact, I’m married to one of them so I have some pretty direct experience with such people.  I’ve also coached a fair number of people who started out thinking they weren’t writers even though they passed my basic test and were able to connect words into sentences.

The Writer Within

Let me elaborate on this idea just a bit further. It’s my view and the operating premise of this book that we are all creative. Built into the human being model is a creative spark. It comes with each and every model. Granted, in many of us it’s been squelched or blocked. Others may deny having it simply because it’s grown weak from lack of use. Still, it’s there in everyone of us.

I bring this up because I also believe that writing is one way to exercise that creative nature. In fact, it’s a wonderful way to express our creative self.

So, this book is about helping you to tap into this creative aspect of yourself — to get to know the writer within. Not only to become acquainted with the writer within, but to become good friends — to develop this aspect of yourself in a way that will greatly enhance your life.

Reasons for Writing

There are a number of reasons you might want to develop this natural creative self that I’m identifying as the writer within. Here are a few to consider:

It’s Fun: That’s right. Writing can be a fun and entertaining pastime. Now, I know for those of you who are currently in the “I’m not a writer” camp, this may sound strange. It’s likely that somewhere along the way in your educational life you probably had some well meaning teacher who left you with the impression that writing was hard. Perhaps the teacher was a frustrated writer themselves. In any case, I invite you to consider that writing can be fun and an entertaining way to pass the time.

Writing is a Great Way to Learn About Yourself: This will be emphasized throughout the book that there are many different forms of writing that can be used for your personal development, to assist you along your spiritual path, and to aid you in your own transformation. In fact, this might be the most important reason to develop your writer within.

Writing as an Art Form: Writing is a great way to develop your artistic self as well. While I believe it’s easy to be a writer, there are many different levels of writing, and if you’re so inclined, you can have great pleasure in the challenge of developing this art form.

Writing Can also be Profitable: I saved this for last because I don’t believe it’s the most important reason to take on writing as a regular part of your life. Writing to be published and to make money from it can, in fact, be a significant block for many people. There’s this strange mindset in the world that if you’re not published and making money from your writing, then you’re not really a writer. This doesn’t seem to be the case with other forms of art. You can paint, sculpt, carve, draw…you name it, without making money from it without anyone thinking you’re not an artist.

So, don’t get hung up on this one. If you feel called to take on your writing with the intention to be published and to make money from it — great. You’ll probably find that “passion money” to be a very rewarding experience, but please also know that you can benefit greatly from developing your writer within without ever making a penny from it.

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Laying the Groundwork

Perhaps the best way to start this exploration about the power of writing to transform one’s life, is with a brief story about how I first discovered this amazing power. Like most people, I was not born with a pen in my hand or even the notion in my head, that one day hooking words together into sentences, would be such an important part of my life. In fact, English was far from one of my best subjects in school. While I made A’s and B’s in most subjects, I had to stretch to manage a C in high school English (and I was glad to get it.) But, during that time I did love the other end of the writing continuum — reading. Once in a while in my dreamier states, I dared to speculate about what it would be like to one day become a writer.

I wasn't born with a pen in my hand or the notion in my head that one day writing would be such an important part of my life. Click To Tweet

I Owe it all to Mac

But it wasn’t until 1984, when that dream started to become a reality. At that time, I began hearing about a new computer called the Macintosh. Being an Apple computer enthusiast, I decided one Saturday to visit the local Apple store and check out this new toy. Twenty minutes later, thanks to a nice (and I might add very cute) sales lady, I strolled out with my own Macintosh, a printer, and a new credit card with the entire purchase on the account.

My Macintosh was one of the first 1,000 machines off the assembly line, and only two

Original Mac that started it all.

programs were available for it —MacPaint and MacWrite. (By the way, I still have it in my garage, if anyone wants to make an offer on it.) It didn’t take long for me to realize it’s next to impossible to draw anything useful with a mouse. Fun, yes. Useful, no. By Monday morning, with a good case of buyer’s remorse setting in, I became frantic to find some way to justify this irrational and spontaneous buying spree. Finally, I decided the Macintosh was a sign. After all, I had been telling myself for years that one day I would try my hand at writing. After glancing at the calendar and my charge card bill, I realized that one day had arrived.

I set about writing my first article. Since I was a practicing veterinarian at the time, the article was a short piece about the reasons for spaying your cat, which I promptly sent off to Purrrrr!, a newsletter for cat lovers published in Maine.(I remember to this day that the title of the magazine is spelled with five R’s.) A month or so later, I received my first check in the mail for $50. I was thrilled and delighted. Even though I was making a good living as a vet, that was my first exposure to what I call “passion money.”  Next, I wrote a long short story, “Dog’s Best Friend,” a science fiction story loosely taken from my experiences with the then new Parvovirus. I dashed it off to a small science fiction magazine for young adults, which promptly sent me back an acceptance.

Wow! I was batting two for two. My impression was that this writing thing was going to be a breeze. I started envisioning a life of leisure, sitting on the deck of my mountain hideaway, typing a couple hours each day on my next best seller.

“Dog’s Best Friend” gave me my first exposure to the difference between “paid on acceptance” and “paid on publication.” A magazine accepted my short story as “paid on publication,” which meant that, although they had accepted my story, I would not get paid until they printed it. After waiting eighteen months with no check, despite numerous letters reminding them of their promise, I grew impatient. By this time, I had become a regular contributor to Purrrrr! They published all the articles I sent to them and paid me right away. So, I figured, I would just take “Dog’s Best Friend” back and get it published somewhere else, probably for more money than I had been offered. That’s what I did.

That was more than twenty years ago, and “Dog’s Best Friend” has yet to find its way into print. During the same time span, I also learned that the business of writing isn’t always quite as easy as those early beginner’s luck experiences suggested. At the same time, I’ve discovered a lot about what works and what doesn’t in the world of magazine publishing.

At the same time, I was also learning that writing can be a very powerful and fun way to not only make money, but also express oneself, and in the process to transform one’s life.  For many people, a crucial step is to shift your mindset from non-writer to writer. And that’s what the next installment of this blog series will be about. Stay tuned.

But before You Go

While I’m a bit of an introvert by nature, I do still enjoy hearing from other people, especially if you have kind things to say, comments that will add to the conversation or questions. So, let me hear from you right down there where it says “Share Your Purpose-filled Comments.”

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Revamping Blog for 2015

As Ann and I completed 2014, I realized that oftentimes I felt at odds with my work with Life On Purpose Institute and my writing. It was like these two careers, both of which are expressions of my true life purpose, seemed too often to be competing for my time and energy. So, I decided this year I’d bring the two closer together.

As I continued to ponder upon this insight, I realized that, in fact, writing and life purpose coaching (and overall interest in personal development) have been integral parts of my life path for the past twenty-five-plus years. Writing has been a primary tool for my own transformations. (See where I’m going with this?)

So, for 2015 (and probably beyond) exploring how writing can be a powerful tool for transformation (and personal growth, and spiritual evolution) will be a significant theme and focus of this blog. It is my hope and intention that through sharing my life path these past twenty-five years I can inspire others as well.

It’s also my intention to write a book or special report (depending on how long it becomes) on this subject and to do so by, first, writing it as blog posts. If this subject interests, you can join me by looking at the Writing: Transformation Tool category which this post will be found as well.  While the following may change as the writing unfolds, here’s what I’m planning on covering (not necessarily in this order):

Laying the Groundwork
Who This Book is For
Shifting the Mindset
Writing: The Swiss Army Knife for Transformation
The Blades
Blade # Journaling / Purposeful Pages
Blade # Personal Essays
Blade # Short stories for fun (and maybe profit)
Blade # Articles for magazines and the web
Blade # Ezines & Blogs
Blade # Special Reports
Blade # Nonfiction books
Blade # Fiction books
Blade # Poetry
Blade # Fill in the Blank
Finishing & Beginning
End Matter

Want to Help?

How have you used writing to enhance your life? (While that may include making money at it, that’s not at all a requirement.)

What forms (blades) of writing have you found most valuable? Any that I haven’t included in the above list?

Let me hear from you world!

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My 2015 Book Marketing Plan

I received an email from Peter Piazza, who recently published I’ve Nothing To Offer on Amason as a POD book. Peter asked me how to market and promote books.  I wrote back that was the $64,000 question all indie and hybrid authors are asking these days with the evolution and revolution of self-publishing.

I also promised I would write more about what I’ve learned in this past year and especially what my marketing plans are for this year, so here goes.

Do What I Say, Not What I’ve Done

I  currently have 13 books on Amazon, not counting my short stories, special reports or books in the queue about to be published. Of those 13, I’ve only promoted 2 of them to any degree. Ouch! That hurts just to write it.

Well, that trends ends in 2015, to never be repeated again. My ‘stretch goal’ is to promote a new book every month. My minimum acceptable goal is to promote a book every other month. If I hit anywhere between those two targets, I’ll be a happy author. But how? What will those promotions be like?

Start with KDP Select

Most of my books are part of Amazon’s KDP Select which means they are exclusively on Amazon. Okay, that makes sense to start with but not to maintain that exclusivity forever. Having books on KDP Select gives an author two powerful promotional tools:

a 1-5 day Free Book Promotion or
a Countdown Promotion

The catch is an author can only use one of these promotions in one 90-day KDP Select period. I think these are pretty nifty promotional tools especially for new authors trying to get their books noticed. This gives Amazon exclusivity for either 3-months or 6-months. But after that?

My plan is to do either a Free Book Promotion, a Countdown or both. After that, I’ll remove the book from KDP Select while keeping it on Amazon, of course. Amazon is still the largest sellers of e-books, but there’s no reason to continue giving exclusive distribution rights to Amazon. Right? Well, not in my way of thinking.

So, after the initial three to six-month period of Amazon exclusivity, I’ll make the book available to the other stores (Nook, Kobo, Apple iBook, Xin Xii, maybe Google Play Store). I’ll also offer them on my websites (Here and, for some of the books, at Life On Purpose Institute.)

Write, Publish, (Promote), Repeat

I’ve enjoyed listening to the Self Publishing Podcast (though I do wish those guys would stay on topic a bit more). I’ve learned a lot from Johhny, Sean and Dave including from their book, Write. Publish. Repeat. (The No-Luck-Required Guide to Self-Publishing Success) (The Smarter Artist Book 1). Still, it seems they’ve left out a step, at least in the book’s title. Without promotion, published books languish in cyberspace like a lonely, spider who’s set up its web off the beaten track waiting for some poor fly to stumble upon it. And just like the spider, non-promoting authors are likely to find themselves starving as well. So the next question is how to promote? Just put the book up on Amazon’s KDP Select for a five-day Free Promotion or a seven-day Countdown. That’s a start, but alone it won’t get the job done.

Spread the Word

There are now a ton of websites and Facebook pages in cyberspace offering free or discounted books to their subscribers, fans and visitors. Many are free, some charge a small fee for their premium positioning, and a few like Bookbub.com charge heavily (and in BookBub’s case reportedly produces the desired results). The problem with Bookbub.com is that they are so good, they can be picky…very picky, and on top of that they charge more than what many newbie indie authors can afford.

So, I’ll be sticking with the free or low-end sites, at least for starters. I also hope to have some of my books offered through a fairly new up and comer — Buckbooks.net. I like how they’re trying to help both their readers and their authors, including new authors. I think they have both their head and their heart in the right place.

Wifey and Fiverr

I’m so fortunate to have an amazing wife (we’ll be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this summer) who supports me completely in my indie authorpreneur career. She’ll be helping with a lot of the promotional work, but we’re also looking at some strategic outsourcing through Fiverr.com.  We’re going to try Facebookprogig’s offer submit a free Kindle book to 20 top book promotion sites and 60 Facebook Groups for $5. I’ll keep you posted on how that works.

(The book I’m promoting from January 28 through February 1 is

Seeds of a New Birth. More about that soon.)

Be Social

And of course, a marketing plan wouldn’t be worth anything these days if it didn’t at least mention social media. My personal preference is Facebook though it’s a bit of a love-hate relationship. I’ll be sharing about the monthly promotions and letting people know about new blog post through Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, and Google plus. Most of that is done automatically with my social media plug-in.

But mostly on social media, I plan to be social and to let people get to know me as a visionary author and indie authorpreneur.

Okay, there you have the bare-bones outline of my 2015 marketing plan.

Now, fellow writers and readers, it’s your turn. Let me know what you think. Let me know what else I should consider including in the plan or should eliminate.

 

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Coming Soon!

Installment 1 Now Free












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Writing: Tool for Transformation

Like most people I learned the rudiments of writing in my early grade school years, but it wasn’t until about thirty years ago when I made the mental shift to “I am a writer” mode. During these last thirty years, I’ve traveled two closely related paths — my path as a writer, and my path of personal development, spiritual evolution, and transformation.

These two paths have been so inextricably woven together as to appear, at times, one and the same. I believe this is because writing, in its many different forms, is a powerful tool for personal growth. It’s like the Swiss Army knife of transformation because you can use so many different forms of it to aid in your personal path.

And for 2015, this will be a central theme of this blog where I invite you to explore with me how to use various forms of writing to enhance your life. You may be someone whose mindset is “I’m not a writer,” or a longtime veteran of the written word like myself or somewhere in between. Perhaps you just enjoy the fruits of other writers’ labors. But if the idea that writing can be a powerful tool for personal transformation interests you, then I’m thrilled you found your way here.

Let’s explore this perspective together. I’ll start with regular blog posts, then you chime in with your comments and questions. It’s that simple. And in the process, we’ll be using the transformational tool of writing to contribute to each other.

 

 

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Help Pick a Cover for Seeds of a New Power

I have a great cover designer, Victor Habbick, who provided the image for my SF Thriller, Seeds of a New Birth. As I’m drawing close to finishing book two of the Kindred Series, I asked him for some cover ideas and boy did I get some great one. In fact, they’re so well done I could use some help choosing the one to use.

So, below is a synopsis of the story and the four covers that are in the running. Read the synopsis, check out the covers and let me know the one that you like the best, and that seems to fit the story by leaving your comments below. Ready, set, go.

Story Synopsis

Seeds of a New Power picks up where book one, Seeds if a New Birth, ended with Alp commandeering the helicopter with her captured sisters inside. By gun point, she forces the pilot, James Stepp, to fly them away from Bio Vita Tech where her sisters had been imprisoned. As they fly away from the burning research facility next to BVT, Alp is fearful that her brother, Mel, may have become a victim of his fire starting powers.

James tries to persuade Alp to let him continue his mission. Since she has no better plan, she pretends to go along. Along the way they are almost shot down by military helicopter patrolling the coast, mistaking them for drug runners. They barely escape by flying into a severe thunderstorm only to find they’ve jumped from the frying pan into the fire. It takes the unique powers of two of the sisters to save them from the patrol and the storm.

In an effort to throw the authorities off their scent, James instructs the Kindred to throw everything they can overboard. He then releases the helicopters auxiliary tanks in an effort to make it look like they’ve crashed.

They arrive in Bermuda to find that James’ contact has been delayed by the storm. Since Alp and James have become friends during the flight, he decides to try to help them out by giving Alp money along with his business card. To preserve his reputation, he has them knock him out to make it look like he was overpowered.

On the way to the docks to find a boat to leave the island, one of the Kindred points to an old fishing trawler that has taken refuge in the bay from the storm. She convinces Alp that her destiny lies with someone on the boat and that they must escape the island on the trawler.

There they meet the old sea captain and his young first mate, Damba, who according to Alp’s sister is the person who’s part of Alp’s destiny. Alp finally persuades the sea captain to take her and her sisters back to the mainland despite his reluctance and the fear that their group has bad juju (magic).

On the journey, Damba who is the son of the tribe’s leader, feeling a strong connection with Alp as well, drugs the sea captain and directs the ship not to the mainland but to their island of Geluk that has been protected from detection for hundreds of years by the good juju of their tribe’s shamans.

Seeds of a New Power follows the Kindred as they try to find their place in a world that doesn’t understand or trust them.

Cover Choice (Click on image to enlarge):

Cover 2

Cover 1

Cover 4

Cover 3

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2015: Your Most On Purpose Year Yet?

Or will 2015 be more of the same old, same old? For many of us, at this time of the year, our thoughts turn to the new year. Maybe we’ll create a New Year’s resolution or two, maybe we’ll make a promise to ourselves to finally write that book, go on that diet, take up tap dancing…whatever.

But for how many of us, do we pledge to have the coming year be the most purposeful, passion-filled year yet?

If that sounds interesting to you, Ann and I would like to support you in that intention with a New Year gift.

Our New Year Gift to You – A Purposeful, Passionate, Playful Life

On December 29th my award winning book, Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life will go on sale starting at only 99 cents. Each day, the price will increase until at the end of the week (January 4th) it’ll be back at its regular price of $9.99. But that’s not all.

To help you kick off the New Year on purpose, EVERY book purchase will include a full FREE pass to the Life On Purpose Udemy Course – a $149 value. The book and course takes you step-by-step through the Life On Purpose Process that has already helped thousands clarify their life purpose & then design their life to be a true and authentic reflection of that purpose.

So, MARK YOU CALENDAR for December 29th to grab your copy:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ABMG9I

If you live in the UK go here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009ABMG9I

If you live outside the USA or UK you can still order the book from either of these sites. Grab your copy today & open it as soon as you get it for information on how to receive your full pass to the Life On Purpose Udemy Course. The sooner you act, the more you save and the more value you receive.

Remember, you do NOT need a Kindle to read the book! You can still read it on ANY computer, smartphone or tablet using Amazon’s free software available here. 

Will this be your most purposeful and passion-filled year ever? Act today!

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Breaking the Board of NaNoWriMo

If you’ve not heard about NaNoWriMo…well, what rock have you been living under? I mean, here’s what it is. It’s National Novel Writing Month where some 300,000 writers go for NaNo gold which is to write a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days of November.

I’m participating for the third year in a row and I just reached the 50K goal with 13 days left working on book two of the Seeds of a New Birth series. Want to know how I’ve done it when in previous years I struggled (like most NaNo writers do) to complete the 50K in time?

Here are the 3 key elements that helped make this years NaNoWriMo so successful.

1. Write a follow-up book in a series. Now, I realize not everyone will have a first book written that’s begging for a follow-up like I did with Seeds of a New Birth. But don’t worry, this is really the least important of the three keys. However, if you do have another book already written, then consider expanding it into a series, thus saving some time on character and story development.

2. Devote October to Prewriting. By spending time in October preparing to write the next book, you’ll be far ahead of the game, and no, this isn’t cheating. NaNoWriMo actually recommends it. In fact, I think I could have done more prep this year so next year I might just start planning a couple of weeks earlier, say by mid-September.

3. Plan on writing more than 50K. I consider this my most important lesson I’ve learned in this year’s NaNoWriMo. I applied a karate principle I learned over 30 years ago. If you want to break a board, don’t aim at the surface of the board but aim behind the board. That way you focus your energy to really break through.

So, knowing that novel one of Seeds of a New Birth came in around 92K words, I decided I didn’t just want to finish half of book two, but all the first rough draft. That’s been my goal, to write 90K rather than 50K. I calculated to do this I needed to write 3,000 words per day each day. I’ve stayed on track with this, thus making 50K a breeze. The NaNoWriMo web site also has a nifty Stats page where you can check your progress. (See example below).

I may or may not take a day off tomorrow, but very shortly I’ll be back in gear to complete the second goal of completing the rough draft which looks I estimate will come in around 65-70K. But since I tend to write first drafts sparsely, I’ll probably add at least another 5-15 K when I start the rewrite and revision process.

Oh, and I can’t finish this blog post without giving a shoot out to the creators of Scrivener. This writing program has made the process of writing novels so much easier and more fun. If you’ve not yet checked it out, you owe it to yourself to do so. And with a less than $50 price tag, it may be the bargain of the century.

Buy a Book & You Could Win a Life On Purpose Course (Value up to $379)

As you may know (if you’ve been following my purposeful life via the Purposeful Ezine or this blog for any length of time), I’m in the midst of designing my Encore Performance Career as an author of visionary

fiction and nonfiction. It’s been one of the most exhilarating and challenging endeavors of my life, matching and exceeding my previous careers as a small animal vet, and Life On Purpose Coach (which, yes, I’m still to enjoying).

You see, I’ve been a professional writer for over twenty-five years with well over three hundred published articles appearing in many national publications. Also, my book, Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life was an award winning finalist in the Self-Help: Motivational division of the Best Books 2007 Awards sponsored by USA News when it was first published and has maintained a 5-star rating on Amazon ever since. But I’m not yet known for my visionary fiction, and that’s what I feel is next for me as a writer. I want people to be engaged and entertained by my fiction while also being inspired and enlightened to a new possibility for their life.  My life has been an experiment in purposeful living for the past two decades. I thought I would share this next leg of the journey with those who have supported me through my ezine and blog. Plus you can share it with anyone you know.

Here is how you can help me on my own purposeful path while also helping yourself:

1) Go to my Amazon Authors Page and select the book or books of your choice. (Short stories also count as long as you make an actual purchase. Selecting a book as a Kindle Unlimited member does not count).

2) Make your purchase and then send me a copy of your email receipt (or you can send a screenshot of your purchase) to admin@lifeonpurpose.com with “BOOK CONTEST” in the subject. Just be sure to send in something that shows what you’ve bought.

3) For every book you purchase, you’ll have a chance to win one of the prizes below. Buy two books, two chances, etc. Or increase your chances to win even more by  purchasing a copy of Seeds of a New Birth (which is currently on sale for just $1.99) & you’ll be entered for two chances to win. Gift books that you give away to others also qualify as do ebooks and regular paperback copies.

4) At the end of the contest on December 1st, Ann and I will draw names out of our contest hat. If your name is one of them, you could win one of the following:

Grand Prize: Full Pass to the Life On Purpose Virtual Video Coach PREMIUM (this includes 4, 30-minute coaching sessions from Ann, Co-founder of Life on Purpose and amazing coach). This is a $379 value, or

Two 1st Place Prizes: Free Full Enrollment to the Life On Purpose Virtual Video Coach Basic, a $219 value each, or

Three 2nd Prizes: Free Full Enrollment to the Purposeful Prosperity Online Program.

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: The contest will run until December 1st.  But register in the first week by November 20th and you will automatically be a winner. Everyone who registers by buying at least one book and emails your receipt to us will win their own copy of Clarion Call 1: Five Timeless Stories of the Future Inspired by Clarion West.

Share For More Chances to  WIN!

By helping me spread the word in the following ways you can increase your chances to win:

Forward this message to 5 friends and copy admin@lifeonpurpose.com. We’ll add your name to the hat an additional time.
Share this Blog Post (URL) on Twitter with #wbsauthor. We’ll add your name to the hat again.
Enter a review on Amazon for any of the books you buy and get an additional entry. Just let us know you when you posted the review and your amazon name.

Thanks to all of you who choose to participate. I look forward to hearing from you and how you liked the books.

Sincerely and purposefully,

W Brad Swift

Visionary Author

Sleep Your Way to Your Next Bestseller

It seems to me that all artists including painters, sculptors, and especially writers have a fascination of how to tap into the creative energy that is often referred to as the Muse. (Actually, there’s not one but nine different Muses who are, according to Wikipedia, “the personification of knowledge and the arts, especially literature, dance and music, are the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.”)[image error]

In my most recent investigation in how best to tap into this creative energy, also referred to as Divine Guidance, the subconscious, or at least a dozen other names, I stumbled upon how many are using lucid dreaming to make a stronger connection.

This popped into my awareness from a great podcast, Mysterious Universe, during one of their recent weekly shows where they reviewed a book entitled Dreams of Awakening: Lucid Dream and Mindfulness of Dream and Sleep by Charlie Morley.

In his book, Charlie, not only outlines a bit of the history of lucid dreaming and the many benefits such dreaming, he also outlines the latest techniques for developing the ability.

If you’re not familiar with what lucid dreaming is, it’s basically the ability to be aware and conscious of your dreams so you can be a more active participant. Or as Morley writes:

“a lucid dream is a dream in which we are actively aware that we are dreaming as the dream is happening. But don’t be deceived by this dry definition. Lucid dreams are commonly described as among the most thrilling experiences to be had. A fully lucid dream is not a hazy, imprecise phantasmagoria, but a full-colour, high-definition and hyper-realistic experience. It can profoundly reconfigure our perceptions of reality.”

Tapping into the Muse through Other Sleep States

I’m a long way from being able to dream in such a manner, but I have already been able to benefit from Charlie’s guidance by tapping into the time just prior to sleep (called hypnagogia) and the time just after awakening (called hypnopompic). Since I was already familiar with these stages of sleep and already had easy access to them, I found these are a rich time for creative problem solving, and I’m not the only one. Writes Morley:

“For hundreds of years, both left- and right-brainers have been using the hypnagogic state as a kind of ‘holodeck’ for creative problem-solving and thinking outside the box of logical thought. Its unique combination of right-brain dominance with wakeful awareness makes it the perfect place to see ideas in a new light.

Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, used to engage the hypnagogic state for creative problem-solving and even accredited his final design for the light bulb to a revelation that he had while drifting into a hypnagogic nap.”

But as mind blowing as the hypnagogic stage can be, it doesn’t compare to the hypnopompic state:

“The hypnopompic state is as creative and imaginative a state as the hypnagogic, but because it occurs after the psychological processing of sleep and dream, it contains a clarity and vastness unmatched by the hypnagogic. Whereas the hypnagogic is characterized by imagery and visuals, the hypnopompic is often more of a blank canvas, a clear, non-conceptual awareness dawning like the sun. By accessing the hypnopompic we are gaining insight into our mind at its clearest and most radiant, as the clutter of the previous day’s residues and chattering thoughts has been filed away. For many people, mindfulness meditation applied in the hypnopompic can be one of the most refined experiences of pure consciousness that they have.”

How I’ve Used These Sleep Stages in my Writing

So, as I prepare to write the follow up book of Seeds of a New Birth during next months NaNoWriMo, I’ve been using these sleep states to tap into my creativity, gaining much more clarity about the storyline, the characters, and overall theme for the book.

I’d enjoy hearing from others who have found ways to tap into the many benefits of lucid dreaming and these other sleep states.  Please comment below. Now, it’s time for my afternoon nap. It’s great to know that I’ll still be ‘working’ as I sleep.

And if you’re interested in tapping into your own creative potential through lucid dreaming, well, there’s an app for that. Well, of course there is. In fact, there are several. The one that I’m using is called Lucid Dreamer by Guardanis. It’s available for free on Androids. I’m not sure about it on Apple iphones and the like. There’s also plenty of helpful information on YouTube. Check it out, and dream your way to your next bestseller.