Celebrating the Open Heart that Was Maya Angelou

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

~  Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

"What stories are you carrying inside you that are yearning to be freed onto the page? What stories are you carrying inside that, once freed onto the page, will also free you? Whatever they are, write one of them. Now. Write that story, your story, and feel the gift of healing freedom that all creative acts inspire."

– From Memory to Memoir: Writing the Stories of Your Life

• For help telling your stories, browse through the other posts on this blog, visit www.youtube.com/markdavidgerson and www.facebook.com/calltowrite, and check out my books for writers.

Writer's Block Ends on April 24!

Watch this space to find out 

how writer's block 

can end for you too!

Is the Write Idea Your Right Idea?

There are lots of good ideas out there in the ethers -- ideas for books and screenplays, ideas for songs, articles and poems. Your friends will suggest them. Your partner will suggest them. Your logical mind will suggest them.

You'll see something or hear about something and you'll think, "Wouldn't that make a great story?"

Maybe it would. Maybe it's yours to write. Maybe it's not.

There's a difference between a good idea and the right idea, between an idea that is anyone's for the taking and one that is uniquely yours, one that's right for you, right now.

Before you launch into a frenzy of research and writing, ask yourself: Is this what I’m called to write? Is this the call of my Muse, the story only I can tell? Or is this anyone's? Is this another good idea or is this the right idea for me?

Anyone can take a good idea and give it shape and substance. Some can do it better than you, some not as well.

Nobody can take the idea that sings to your soul and perform the kind of alchemy on it that you can. Only you can transform that idea into the one-of-a-kind gem it longs to be. That is why it, through your Muse, called to you...chose you.

Accept that you were chosen. Perform your magic. Let the right idea be the idea you write.

Right now.

~ adapted from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.
(c) 2008 Mark David Gerson.

• You'll find additional tips and inspiration on my website, where you can read my "Rules for Writing," sign up for my mailing list and read/hear free excerpts from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.

Buy The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write and The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Meditations for Writers from my online bookstore or Amazon

What Makes a Good Writer? (Video)

How do you define a "good writer"? It's a question I'm often asked in interviews and by coaching clients, and there are probably as many definitions as there are definers.

Is being a good writer about your content? About your process? Or is it about surrendering to the Muse Stream and letting your story have its way with you? Watch the video below for my answer.



Click here if the video doesn't appear above.

(If you're on my mailing list and seeing this in an email, click the image above, which links to my blog and the "What Makes a Good Writer" video.)

• For more videos about writing and the creative process, visit my YouTube page.

• You'll find additional tips and inspiration on my web site, where you can read my "Rules for Writing," sign up for my mailing list and read/hear free excerpts from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.

Buy The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write and The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Meditations for Writers from my online bookstore, and be sure to ask for a signed copy of the book. Both are also available on Amazon

A Light on Your Creative Journey (Video)

"There are no rules."
~ Mark David's first rule for writing (and most everything else)

Back in November 2009, I was privileged to be part of Steve and Barbara Rother's Virtual Light Broadcast. In a 26-minute interview with author/editor Sandie Sedgbeer, recorded live before a studio audience in Las Vegas, we talked about writing, spirituality and the creative process.

"The universe is made up of stories, not atoms," I told Sandie, quoting poet Muriel Rukeyser. We all have stories to tell and we all have an innate ability to free those stories onto the page in a process that is nearly always life-changing -- for ourselves and for our readers.

Unlock your creative self by trusting the stories alive within you...and (re)discover the writer you are!

• Other inspiring videos on writing/creativity.




Give the gift of creativity and inspiration this holiday season, with special Holiday Gift Editions of Mark David's books and CDs...

For a limited time only: Gift-wrapped books + book/CD packages signed by Mark David to your friends/family members, and shipped directly to them with a card bearing the holiday message of your choice.
*** Order yours today!

You Are A Writer (Yes, You Are!)

You are a writer.
You are a writer of power, passion, strength
and, yes, courage.
For writing is an act of courage.

You are a writer.
What you write is powerful.
What you write is vibrant.
What you write, whatever you believe in this moment, is luminous.

These words are from my guided meditation, "You Are A Writer," which appears in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write and is the final recorded meditation for writers on The Voice of the Muse Companion CD.

"You Are A Writer" is now also a video, an empowering meditative experience designed to reaffirm your innate creativity, your writing ability and your identity as a writer.

Sit back...and take a few deep breaths as you relax, look and listen...



(If you're on my mailing list and seeing this in an email, click the image above, which links to my blog and the "You Are A Writer" video. Clicking on the thumbnail of my June 23 mailing, "Facing the Void: Coping with a Blank Page," will take you to another inspiring video.)

• For more videos about writing and the creative process, visit my YouTube page. And watch for the debut of MuseTV, my new series of video interviews with writers and creators of all types and stripes.


• For more tips and inspiration, visit my web site, where you can read my "Rules for Writing," sign up for my mailing list and read/hear free excerpts from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.


• Need help with your projects or creative process? Consider one-on-one coaching/mentoring (over the phone of via Skype) or my upcoming online coaching group (starts Tuesday, June 29 at 6:30pm PT and runs five weeks, skipping July 6).

Buy The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Meditations for Writers and The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write from my online bookstore, and be sure to ask for a signed copy of the book. Both are also available on Amazon


Photo/video credits: "Guiding Light" photo, Oceanside California. Title video shot, "River Flow," Olympic National Park, Washington State. All other video photos, Sandia Foothills, Albuquerque, NM. All photography/videography by Mark David Gerson (c) 2010

Facing the Void: Coping with a Blank Page

What do you do when you face a blank page? It's all about trusting the mystery and taking that leap of faith into the unknown...into the infinite realm where your stories reside.




• For more videos about writing and the creative process, visit my YouTube page. And watch for the debut of MuseTV, my new series of video interviews with writers and creators of all types and stripes.


• For more tips and inspiration, visit my web site, where you can read my "Rules for Writing," sign up for my mailing list and read/hear free excerpts from The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.


• Need help with your projects or creative process? Consider one-on-one coaching/mentoring (over the phone of via Skype) or my upcoming online coaching group.


Art Credits: Creative Community Image from ehow.com