I have spoken to a lot of writers who have asked me over and over “How do you listen to your intuition?” After having thought of it for a while, I discovered that it is anything but commonsensical to listen to your intuition. It can take a lot of hard work and practise to listen to your intuition and to decipher its messages correctly. So, here is what I learned after some self-discovery and talking to other writers. 1. Get out of your own way We all want to control everything—even our thoughts. But the truth is that instead of trying to persuade ourselves that we should be doing one type of writing, we should listen to what our intuition is telling us. And if you don’t hear anything, it’s because you’re not listening carefully enough. 2. Slow down and unplug from noise We live in a very noisy world. Even our offices are noisy, and some of us write in noisy libraries and cafes. No wonder we have a difficult time to hear out intuition! Our intuition needs silence in order for it to thrive and for us to hear its voice. We have to listen very carefully to determine what it is saying, and to do so, we have to remove ourselves from the noise. 3. Don’t expect to hear your intuition right away. It takes a lot of practice to hear that voice inside of us. I heard a lot of my writer friends tell me I can’t hear anything except my own thoughts. This is probably true at the beginning, and it can continue for a long time. We just have to be patient and not to expect magical results right away. 4. Make some quiet time in your day and meditate or turn inward I often recommend that writers turn inward for 5 to 10 minutes two to three times a day at the beginning. Regardless of whether you hear anything, it is important for you to show up for yourself and listen to that inner voice as if you were listening to a good friend. It is always there. All you have to do is listen carefully. By taking these steps, you will be befriending your intuition. In tie, you will be more connected to yourself and your thoughts. And you will experience much more happiness and fulfillment in your writing career. Try it! Irene S. Roth