As all writers know, writing can be a solitary activity, so with creativity coaching you get to connect with someone else – a real person who understands something of the doubts, blocks and obstacles that many writers face.
A coach can give you validation, a sense of companionship, and here and there a little friendly challenge to open up more of your capabilities. RUSSEL BROWNLEE, a professional creativity coach, explains more.
What exactly is creativity coaching?
Creativity coaching is not like the popular idea of sports coaching where some guy stands on the sidelines and screams “You can do it!” every time you look like you’re not winning.
Creativity coaching is about supporting you in finding your own way, rather than the coach’s way or society’s way. In fact, to be an artist you might have to disobey some people and fail at some expectations.
At its core, coaching is about unlocking human potential. The essence of coaching is the creation of a safe and supportive environment in which you can explore that which is most important to you.
What do creative coaching sessions cover?
I’m sure many of you writers have encountered some kind of writing block or obstacle. Let’s face it – the obstacles to creative expression are as numerous as grains of sand on a beach.
If you’re working or have kids (or both), you’ll have to really fight for your
For others, the obstacles might revolve around money and whether they can really afford to take the time to write. The list is endless. So, one of the main things you do in creativity coaching is working with these blocks, sometimes known as excuses ;-).
In between dealing with blocks, you get into some other really tasty topics such as:
- How to recognise your artistic calling and use it to power your writing.
- How the mythic Hero’s Journey applies to you as an artist.
- How you can harness masculine and feminine energies to manifest your creation.
- How you can access the Inspiration Zone and unleash the powers of your subconscious mind.
- How to create inspiring writing goals that come from your heart and are aligned with your highest potential.
“I like to say that absolutely everyone needs coaching. Life is just too complex to try and do it all on your own and hope to hit on success as a writer.” ~ Russel Brownlee
So for writers who find themselves stuck in a loop of not starting projects, not finishing projects, or not submitting their work, creativity coaching is not only an opportunity to uncover what’s stopping their progress, but also to overcome those stops and soar in their writing career.
About the Author
Russel Brownlee is a writer and life coach. He started out in journalism but soon started following his dream of writing a novel.
After completing a Creative Writing Master’s degree, his first novel – Garden of the Plague – was published and went on to win the Olive Schreiner Award for debut fiction, and was shortlisted for the country’s premier writing prize, the Sunday Times Literary Awards.
Russel then began following a second great passion – personal development and self-actualization – and became a life coach and hypnotherapist. His inspirational non-fiction book, The Discovery of Causeless Joy: How to be happy no matter what happens is available on Amazon.
Russel offers a Coaching the Writer Within Course at The Writers College, bringing together the two themes of writing and personal transformation in a way that supports and encourages people in meeting the challenges that go with the creative life. Read more about the Coaching the Writer Within Course.
