Written by Danielle Raine, Holistic Creativity Coach
Danielle Raine is a holistic creativity expert and mindset coach for creatives and entrepreneurs. She has been studying the creative process since an epiphany at Art School in 1993 that revealed how to access the flow state.
If you’re familiar with the feeling of straining to hit your word count, or you regularly resist writing projects that would benefit your business or career, you have a world of benefits to look forward to in becoming a Flow Writer.
Do you need to write for your business or job? Do you want to write for fun or fulfilment? Do you love to write for the sheer joy of creative expression?
Whichever category your writing goals fall into, there are many benefits to redesigning your writing life and becoming someone who writes easily, often, and well.
Aka: A Flow Writer.
What is flow writing?
Flow Writing is a type of flow state when you are inspired to write and so deeply engaged in the process that the words pour out of you effortlessly, in a highly productive and enjoyable flow of creative expression.
The flow state is a famous phenomenon that’s renowned for peak experiences, getting lost in the moment, and accessing higher levels of consciousness. There are many types of flow states; from the creative, such as those enjoyed by artists, musicians, and designers, to the physical, such as dance, performance, and oration experiences.
Flow Writing is the literary experience of the flow state, one that transports the writer from the everyday Beta brainwaves into the higher states that border on the mystical and the divine. It’s an experience of accessing elevated mental states, where time and identity fade into the background and the flow of creative expression takes over.
The benefits of becoming a flow writer
Financial benefits
Assuming you can maintain or improve the quality of your writing, it usually follows that increasing both output and quality will translate to financial returns. This is the potential of Flow Writing, and it’s especially true if you’re a professional writer who is paid per article or project.
For example, learning how to become a Flow Writer enabled me to 10x my freelancing income. In the early days of a particular writing project, I was battling issues of resistance, procrastination, lack of ideas, and unsupportive habits. As a result, the work took forever and my rate averaged about £10/hr. After mastering the art of Flow Writing, the same project went on to pay over £100/hr – for the same output. (And the work was even better quality.)
If you consider some of the highest-paid writers and authors, they usually have in common prolific habits and a consistently high rate of creative output. Flow Writers are able to create more with less effort in less time – the epitome of productivity and profitability. Even if your writing is an aspect of your work, rather than the end product, improved creativity and increased output are cornerstones of higher financial returns.
“Expect flow states to become your new normal.” – Dawson Church
Wellness benefits
Becoming a Flow Writer delivers a double whammy of wellness benefits. Firstly, there are numerous advantages to spending more time in the flow state. It’s been well documented that physical, mental, and emotional changes occur when we experience being in flow, and these create a cascade of beneficial effects for health and wellbeing.
For more on these benefits, the classic book Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is an inspiring read. Likewise the work of Dawson Church, who has spent many years researching the various beneficial brainwaves and neurochemicals that are typical of the flow state.
A second benefit of Flow Writing comes from the therapeutic effects of any kind of writing. Writing Therapy has become increasingly popular in recent years, with many therapists recognising the calming, soothing and healing effects that can occur when writing.
The latest research is inspiring, yet anyone who feels called to express themselves via the written word will know all too well the creative highs and uplifting effects of a great writing experience. To quote creativity expert, Julia Cameron;
“Writers who write are at peace with themselves.”
The biological and chemical effects of the flow state, combined with the therapeutic effects of writing and the uplifting benefits of creative expression, make for a powerful wellness cocktail that Flow Writers can enjoy on a daily basis. And it’s easy to imagine the long-term effects that these health-boosting and healing practices will deliver over a lifetime.
This is the healthy, happy way of the Flow Writer.
Career benefits
Prolific work of a high standard is a recipe for career success. When you master the art of Flow Writing, you’ll naturally produce more written work. And because we tend to produce our best work from the flow state, the calibre and standard of your creations are likely to rank among your best works.
In the modern age of content creation and mass information, being able to write work that stands out is becoming increasingly important, especially in the era of AI and tech bots.
Heightened levels of human creativity are likely to be the most difficult to replicate, which is what makes the work done at this level so valuable.
This kind of inspired flow work is also highly engaging to readers. On a metaphysical level, the high-frequency flow state makes you a vibrational match to the blessings of life; joy, peace, love, success, synchronicity, and good fortune.
This is why Flow Writing can take your writing to new heights that are a win for both your audience and your career prospects. As a bonus incentive, past fears around visibility become less of a problem when you create from your flow zone. You’ll be so proud of your fabulous Flow Writing, you’ll want to share it with everyone!
“We are all creative beings.” – Maya Fiennes
How to become a flow writer?
After studying the creative process of flow writing for over three decades, I’ve learned that there are a few simple steps that anyone can easily implement in order to improve their habitual access to Flow Writer mode.
Mindset tools
Unleashing our innate Flow Writer abilities is made possible by reducing internal resistance. Learning how to quiet the Inner Critic, Monkey Mind, or incessant internal chatter is one way to create a foundation for more effortless Flow Writing. Mindset Tools can help with clearing this resistance and there are many simple techniques available that can be easily incorporated into even the busiest schedules.
Mindset work is incredibly popular these days – because it makes such a powerful difference to performance and life experience. Techniques designed specifically for writers and the creative process are even more effective in paving the way for Flow Writing.
Life design strategies
Life Design, i.e. habits, rituals, daily practices and simple adjustments to our everyday actions, can create both an internal and external environment that makes Flow Writing an inevitable side-effect. Imagine that! Imagine making some subtle tweaks to your lifestyle or habitual patterns that naturally clear the way for your inner Flow Writer to emerge.
Life Design harnesses the double benefits of intentionality and Design Thinking, and it’s a practice that is becoming increasingly popular among driven and highly-motivated types – those with Big Dreams and a clear vision of their desired success. Applying these Life Design principles and strategies to your writing life is another way to cultivate Flow Writer status.
“Life Design is the way forward.” – Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Self-coaching techniques
As a coach, I’m an advocate for working with an experienced guide in order to move to the next level in any arena. At the same time, I’ve noticed that my work with clients often includes the same types of exercises, tools and techniques that they can do on their own.
This is why I’m also a proponent of Self-Coaching – a powerful practice that can complement working with a coach. It’s fantastic for building confidence and cultivating resilience. It’s also something that anyone can do for themselves, anytime, without needing to wait for the next coaching session or hear back from a mentor. Within the sphere of Self-Coaching techniques, there are some that are particularly beneficial for honing your writing abilities and accessing your flow zone.
Purpose fuel
There’s something about tapping into your purpose or dharma that ignites the creative forces within. When you align your writing goals with a higher vision that serves the greater good, you open up to new levels of inspiration and ideas.
Perhaps it’s a kind of universal guidance system that wants to facilitate your purpose through your writing. Or perhaps it’s a type of reward system that blesses purpose-driven writers with increased productivity and flow. Whatever the source of this potent force, attuning your writing to your purpose or soul-calling is another way to experience more occasions of Flow Writing in your life and your work.
(If you’d like some help with discovering your purpose, help yourself to my free guide; The Joy of Dharma.)
“When you move toward your dharma, you feel an air of release, a brisk wind of motivation, a crystalline sense of your direction.” – Sahara Rose
From stuck to flow
If you’ve ever had the experience of staring at a blank page, struggling to find the right words, or even any words, these principles are for you. They’ll help you move beyond the frustration of feeling blocked or stuck, to the joy of being in the zone and creating your best work. After all, flow in the writer often means flow in the writing - so you can expect these joyful and effortless writing sessions to work wonders for the calibre of your output.
The best part is that the steps required are simple, infinitely do-able and easy to sustain. Many of them are fun! As an added incentive, the route to becoming a Flow Writer is also the path to more inner calm, confidence, meaning and joy.
So, I hope these benefits have inspired you to consider how you can become a Flow Writer. To get started, give some thought to the steps outlined above. Or if you’d like a guided framework to walk you through the process, you can find out more about Flow Writer resources below.
I believe there's a Flow Writer in each of us. All it takes is a little attention, commitment and guidance to unleash that version of you that writes effortlessly and well on a regular basis. If your career or business would benefit from your new Flow Writing abilities, you’ll likely find that it’s an investment with a richly rewarding and inspiring ROI.
“...the positive aspects of human experience – joy, creativity, the process of total involvement with life I call flow.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow writing sample
Want to read an example of Flow Writing? You just did! This post was written in a spontaneous creative session one Saturday afternoon. It was sparked by a phone call that inspired an idea as I was making a cup of tea. Before I’d finished my drink, this post had virtually written itself, as I sat in the sunshine in my little Yorkshire garden. Almost 2000 words, in one sitting, from one enjoyable writing experience. Plus, I get to share the joys of Flow Writing with the world.
Imagine if your writing projects manifested with ease and delight, in a happy and beneficial flow experience. This is available for you! And if you’d like to find your way to your own Flow Writing magic and results, you can get started with the collection of free guides and courses at Flow-Writers.com.
Imagine if everyone who loves to write masters the art of Flow Writing. Imagine the great works that will be created. Imagine the ripple effects of all those happy writers!
This is my vision, and it starts with one writer at a time. I hope you’ll join us.
Danielle
Danielle Raine, Holistic Creativity Coach
Danielle Raine is a holistic creativity expert and mindset coach for creatives and entrepreneurs.
She has been studying the creative process since an epiphany at Art School in 1993 that revealed how to access the flow state.
For three decades, she's been working and experimenting in the creative fields of design, blogging, publishing, marketing, tech, and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on the nature of inspiration and flow productivity.
Her speciality is a wellness-based, feel-good approach to creative fulfilment and success, along with an enduring theme of enjoying the journey as much as possible.
Through her coaching, courses, books, and blogs, her mission is to share the simple, practical tools that create rapid shifts and inspiring results, so that her clients, students, and readers can do more of the work they love to do, and bring their most exciting creative visions to life.
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