We are on the cusp of spring where I live—a time for creative magic to start resurfacing, right alongside the wildflowers that carpet the woods each year.

Over the past few years, I have started trying to live in greater alignment with the seasons. As I’ve talked about before, my creativity and energy levels take an absolute nosedive in fall and winter. I go into hibernation mode.

In years past, I resisted that change fiercely. I attempted to brute force my way through the winter season. I expected myself to perform with the same verve I feel on a hot, sunny summer day.

Inevitably, I was disappointed. Inevitably, that expectation created a toxic combination of ignoring my body’s needs and holding myself to a standard that didn’t match my available capacity. Inevitably, my seasonal depression would get worse, and my creative output would still be pretty much bupkis, just with a steaming side of self-loathing.

Eventually, I recognized that I didn’t have to keep repeating that heinous cycle. I could follow Katherine May’s advice (affiliate link*) and allow myself to winter—to treat the fallow period of the year as equally important and necessary to my creativity as the periods when I am full to the brim with energy.

It helps. I still backslide into old patterns sometimes (pobody’s nerfect, after all), but I’m better at recognizing when I’m getting out of alignment than I used to be.

And now, oh, my friend. Now we are at the very edge of spring. Things are moving and they are shaking.

I can practically hear the sap crackling through the trees in the woods. The buzzards returned—this is my personal #1 favorite indicator of spring. The enormous grass carp in my pond surfaced to say hello, like a miniature whale shark. Peepers are waking up and singing among the trees. The wasps, unfortunately, began their annual incursion into my house (my least favorite sign of spring tbqh).

Everything is waking up, including my creativity. I find myself itching to go for a walk in the woods, read poetry out loud, make art, and write.

Like a bear, my creative energy is coming out of hibernation—and it is hungry. Fortunately, since I am better at keeping attuned to those changes, I am on top of feeding it.

Recognizing, honoring, and ritualizing shifts in our creativity can help us get more attuned to the natural ebbs and flows we experience.

Paying greater attention to our creative capacity enables us to design writing practices that match it, which means we’re more likely to reach our goals without burning out. Simply recognizing when your energy comes and goes can allow you to build a stronger writing practice and break out of old, self-limiting patterns.

Honoring our energetic fluctuations can dismantle toxic productivity, reminding us that creativity is a sacred and magical act. You don’t have to be a hustle culture bro about your writing practice (and letting go of toxic expectations about productivity can actually make you more productive in the long run, funnily enough).

Ritualizing our creative shifts is a fantastic way to honor our creative cycles, reset old patterns, and help us prepare for what comes next.

Like I said above, I’m a very seasonal, cyclical person—I know my creative energy is going to increase over the next few months and peak in the summer. Setting aside time for a creative ritual as spring arrives is a way for me to acknowledge that shift and set some intentions for the season.

Other creative shifts you might think about ritualizing include:

• Starting a new story, poem, or book
• Finishing your draft and moving into editing mode
• Publishing a completed book

Life changes can also prompt shifts in your creative energy! Starting a new semester, moving to a new home, having a kid, and getting a new job can all affect your creativity. Ritual can be a powerful way to sit with and adjust to new circumstances.

That's why ritual is where I want to take our attention for the rest of this newsletter. We’re going to spring clean our writing practices.

If you want to get witchy about it, you can line up this ritual with the spring equinox, called Ostara on the Wheel of the Year. This year, it’s on Friday, March 20.

The spring equinox is all about renewal and balance—it’s a day honoring the changing season and new growth, when dark and light occupy equal time. From here, daylight wins out over the darkness of night and the days will continue to get longer.

It’s the perfect time to pause and take a breath, to look back at where you’ve come from and chart a course forward.

Spring Cleaning Your Writing Practice

Grab a journal and a pen or whatever reflective writing tool you usually use. I also recommend lighting a candle, bringing your favorite tarot or oracle deck, and turning on a playlist of calm music (or your noise-canceling headphones!).

Set aside time for the ritual when you can reflect without being interrupted. Light the candle and set an intention for your writing practice.

Reflection

If you want to use tarot or oracle cards as part of the reflective process, go for it! You can pull cards for each of the journaling questions below, or use your favorite spread to prompt your thinking.

Use your journal or reflective writing tool to answer the following questions:

• How does my creative energy/capacity feel right now?
• What has my creative energy/capacity been like for the past three months?
• What seasonal/life/energetic changes will I likely face in the next three months?
• What writing goals did I set (if any) for this year? Do those goals still feel aligned? Am I making progress?
• What about my writing practice feels imbalanced? How can I bring it into alignment for the spring season?

Practical Action

After you’ve reflected on your practice, it’s time to get practical: do a symbolic and literal spring cleaning of your physical and digital writing spaces. This might look like:

• Taking everything off of your writing space. Dust, reorganize, and create open space. Invite that fresh spring energy in.
• Get rid of old papers and things that no longer serve you or your creativity. Make room for what’s new.
• Clean up and organize your digital files. Use clear, consistent naming conventions for your drafts!
• Reorganize your files so that your creative projects are prominent and visible each time you open your computer.

Creative Inspiration

Spring is also a great time to think about creating a physical or digital focal point for your creative work.

If you have a defined physical space where you write regularly, create a visual inspiration center. Buy yourself some fresh spring flowers and decorate with crystals, creative sigils and talismans, a mood board, and anything else that strikes your fancy and reminds you of your creativity.

In Writing Creativity and Soul (affiliate link*), Sue Monk Kidd describes choosing a small symbolic container for each of her books—a porcelain box with a bee on the lid for The Secret Life of Bees (affiliate link*), for example—and filling it with talismans and creative inspiration.

You can also make a digital creativity-focused source of inspiration. A mood board or digital collage can become your phone’s lock screen or the wallpaper on your computer. Create a writing playlist and listen to it each time you work on your book to prompt your brain to get into writing mode more quickly.

Close the ritual by blowing out your candle.

Completing the spring cleaning ritual isn’t the end, though—it’s the beginning.

Over the next season, continue to focus on your creativity. Notice what changes, and look for opportunities to let more creativity in.

• Sit and get bored—stare at a wall for ten minutes and see how fast you start having ideas
• Go for creativity nature walks—the weather is getting nicer, so take advantage of it! Time in nature is proven to enhance our creativity (and reduce stress!)
• Join a writing challenge or course—if your energy is on an upswing, now is a great time to pick a new skill and focus on it
• Sign up for The Coven—we meet every month for writing activities, co-working, and group coaching!

✍️ The Coven

​Find your coven. Join a monthly circle of fellow writers for intuitive, creativity-focused ritual, sacred writing time, community, and group coaching.

The Literary Witch (that’s me!) will lead an opening ceremony to guide you back to your creative intuition. We’ll devote time to our craft, so bring a writing project you’ve been yearning to focus on. The circle will conclude with community sharing and coaching.

​The Coven meets on or near the full moon, a time for bringing your creative magic to fruition. Re-enchant your writing practice and experience the power of practicing in community.

We're meeting on Wednesday, April 1 at noon ET/9 am PT. Tickets are $25.

📚 The Book Nook

Here are some of the best books I've read recently! (Affiliate links*)

• ​The Enchanted Greenhouse, by Sarah Beth Durst—A very sweet follow-up to The Spellshop. A librarian who's been turned into a statue wakes up on a mysterious island covered in magical, failing greenhouses.
• ​Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane, by Lindy West—A hilarious, deeply vulnerable memoir about marriage, finding yourself, and driving across the country in a van with sheep painted on it.
• ​Uncultured, by Danielle Mestyanek Young—A memoir by the "Knitting Cult Lady" (as she's known online), detailing her experiences growing up in the Children of God cult and then joining the U.S. Army.
• ​Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore—A fun romp of a fantasy about a former villain who tries to start over and has to share her flower shop's greenhouse with a grumpy alchemist. (Lots of plant magic this time around!)

🗨️ Words from the Wise

Looking for support for your writing? Check out these goodies from around the internet.

• Event: The Coven is meeting on Wednesday, April 1!
• Article: A short piece I wrote about resisting generative AI is in the latest issue of Steel Jackdaw. (P.S.—They're open for submissions!)
• Podcast: Kevin Chung and I talked about book coaching, building a writing practice, and dealing with your inner critic.
• Workshop: Dr. Katy Peplin and Dr. Kate Henry released a workshop on designing an experimental approach to writing and a scholarly life. If you're an academic writer, this is the workshop for you!
• Article: I liked this article on "How to Fib Ethically in Your Poems"—how do you navigate sharing real-life details in your writing?