How Women Write

Mercury for writing?

Writing flow?

My workouts are tied to how I write?

We break all this down for you today — and more.

Claire Gallagher has been a professional astrologer for over ten years. She focuses on presence rather than predictions and uses astrology to help people feel better today instead of future-tripping about tomorrow. Whether she's doing a reading, moving with the moon, or teaching planetary journaling, Claire's mission is to help others hear and follow their inner wisdom.

As the author of Body Astrology and the host of the podcast Third House Gossip, she has some wise words for all writers.

Sure, Claire writes content about astrology, but she actually loves all things writing and has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. She loves that running an online biz is essentially full-time writing —podcasts, website copy, sales copy, courses, emails, journaling — there's no shortage of things to write about.

Claire is currently working on her second book, which is about how astrological cycles "wake up" certain parts of your birth chart at different times.

If you're new to astrology, you'll love Claire's practical take on a complicated topic — all to help us become more present and stronger writers and communicators.

✨ 5 Key Takeaways

• Look to astrology to help you be more present in your writing and your life — not for making predictions.

• Write without editing to find more flow.

• When your writing lacks flow, find it somewhere else in your life — move your body or do something else before coming back to write.

• Where Mercury lives in your astrological natal chart can give you some clues as to how you write, speak, and take in information.

• Make sure your body has some kind of motion. Claire says, " It doesn't have to be intense, but it allows my thoughts to continue to flow and my fingers to continue to fly."

✅ Practices to try

1. Explore the planet ruling your year that you're co-creating with, using guidance from Claire's blog post: A Beginner's Guide to Annual Profections.

2. Try Claire's feel-good idea about writing: "Writing energizes me." Put it on a sticky note and keep it where you write.

3. Writing the SFD (surrendered first draft) — letting it out without editing, knowing you'll edit later.

4. Learn about your natal Mercury to understand how you communicate, process information, and keep writing in flow.

5. Astrological journaling and ask a planet for guidance. Go further with Claire's guidance in her webinar ($37): Guided.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Claire on the web, her Third House Gossip podcast

• Claire's book, Body Astrology: A Cosmic Guide to Health, Healing, and Harnessing the Power of the Planets

• Astrology chart resources — astro.com and astro-seek.com.

• Beginner Tips: You'll need an accurate birth date, time, and place. Use "Whole Sign Houses"

• The Intuitive Writing Community

🎧 Related Episodes

• 12: Beyond Perfectionism: On Writing, Yoga, and Embodiment with Jackie Dominas

• 10. Why Author Entrepreneurs Don't Get Writer's Block

• 05. Mercury Retrograde for Improving Your Writing: Review, Revise, and Repurpose

🌟 Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review

✍️ Check out Jacqueline's personal business essays on JacquelineFisch.com

📖 Do you have a blog or a big bank of social content? Discover how to turn it into a book in this free masterclass.

💌 Subscribe to the Writing Vitamins newsletter for access to free writing tips

Note: None of what you learn is health or mental health advice. For entertainment purposes only.

This writing tip is so simple and it completely transforms the quality of your writing.

Write to ONE person.

This simple strategy will make your writing faster, clearer, and more engaging, whether you're working on a book, blog post, sales page, or social media update.

Writing to one person helps you tap into your authentic voice and communicate more powerfully. Give it a try and get in touch to let me know how it goes! (you can reach me at [email protected]).

✨ 4 Key Takeaways

• Writing to one person makes writing easier, faster, and more effective
• By keeping one reader in mind, it can help you relax — and relaxed writing feels better
• Write with specificity to make your message feel more conversational
• Build trust when you use the same words your reader or ideal client uses

✍️ 10 Writing Prompts to Find Your Ideal Reader:

1. What are you struggling with?
2. I see you experiencing these problems…
3. I see these things going on in your life…
4. It sounds like you're feeling…
5. I understand. You've already tried…
6. If you don't solve this problem, what does that mean for you?
7. What do you want most?
8. I'm so excited for you because you have…
9. You feel… now that you have your dream outcome.
10. Finally, you can…

✅ Practices to try

1. Pull up an email and pretend you're writing a blog, email, or book chapter to ONE person. Bring them to mind and write.
2. Use your phone's talk-to-text feature while imagining you're having a friendly conversation with your favorite client or reader.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Intuitive Writing by Jacqueline Fisch
• The Intuitive Writing Collective for copy and content writing templates, writing resources, workshops, live writing time, and more
• The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• Connect with Jacqueline Fisch: JacquelineFisch.com

🎧 Related Episodes

• 08. 6 Super Practical Strategies To Get Past Writing Resistance
• 06. Intuitive Editing Tips: Create Your Unique Voice One Word at a Time
• 07. How to Find Time to Write: Practical Tips & Mindset Shifts

🌟 Enjoying the show? The best way to share the love is to leave a rating or review.

💌 Subscribe to the Writing Vitamins newsletter for access to free writing tips

Today, we're diving into a topic that might seem counterintuitive — NOT writing.

Yes, you read that right — not writing.

I know you're here to learn how to write more, but trust me, sometimes not writing is the KEY to unlocking more creativity and productivity at the page.

There's a crucial difference between feeling guilty about not writing and intentionally taking a break.

We've all been there — the angst, the pressure, the feeling that we should be writing every single day. But I'm here to tell you that's not always the case.

Over the past year, I've taken weeks and even a full month off from my current book project. And everything is fine!

It's fine because I KNEW I'd come back to my book writing with more energy and excitement than ever.

Just like we take breaks from a gym routine and your phone battery needs to recharge. Sometimes, you need to unplug to recharge.

If we're constantly pushing ourselves, we might end up writing only to fill pages, not to add anything of value.

The whole point of NOT writing is to feel good about our writing process and aligned with our lives.

✨ 4 Key Takeaways

• Consistency doesn't mean daily writing — you define your own rhythm
• Not writing is beneficial when you feel good about the break
• When you're not writing and feeling guilty about it, there's a realignment that needs to happen
• Life is going to happen — being fully present will help you get back to writing with renewed energy

✅ Practices to try

1. Take an intentional break from your writing project.
2. Put writing times on the calendar so you know you'll get back to your practice.
3. Be present when you're NOT writing AND when you're writing

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• The Intuitive Writing Collective for weekly co-writing

🎧 Related Episodes

• 11. How To Start Writing Your Book: A Simple Process To Stop Overthinking
• 08. 6 Super Practical Strategies To Get Past Writing Resistance
• 07. How to Find Time to Write: Practical Tips & Mindset Shifts

🌟 Enjoying the show? The best way to share the love is to leave a rating or review.

💌 Subscribe to the Writing Vitamins newsletter for access to free writing tips

✍️ Check out Jacqueline's personal & business essays on JacquelineFisch.com

Meet Jackie Dominas, a spiritual life coach and yoga teacher.

I'm so excited for you to listen to our chat. We met in person in 2018 after working together online.

She teaches tired and unhappy women how to quiet their minds and listen to their bodies' innate wisdom, helping them feel calmer, present, and happy. She has two decades of experience working in the wellness industry as a dietitian, personal trainer, yoga teacher, and priestess.

The journey of healing her relationship with her body, sense of worthiness, fertility challenges, navigating motherhood, and prolapse surgery informs her coaching and yoga classes. Her "Return to Your Core" membership offers weekly yoga classes and monthly moon circles that foster community, care for the female body, and heart-centered living. She coaches clients virtually through her "High Vibe" sessions, writes articles on Substack on cyclical living, and hosts annual yoga retreats and 200-hour yoga teacher trainings.

Jackie has been a long-time member of the writing community, and I just love how she shows up for herself as often as she can as an entrepreneur and homeschooling mama. Even if she's only got fifteen minutes, she'll show up and get her writing done.

✨ 4 Key Takeaways

• How you can go from having a story of being a "bad writer" turning in D papers in college to someone asking if you've hired a ghostwriter because your online writing is THAT GOOD

• Having a consistent writing practice can help you go from "heady" writing, stuck in perfectionism, to allowing your words to flow

• Writing about what you're passionate about can result in an immediate jump in readership

• Writing faster (even 10x faster than you're used to) makes for writing that connects and inspires

✅ Practices to try

1. Writing without editing.

2. Writing a draft blog, email, or book chapter in the morning, and editing in the afternoon.

3. Batch writing — writing a bunch of blogs in one day, or writing a blog a day for five days, and sharing them over the coming weeks.

4. Box breathing: Breathe in for a count of four, gently hold for four seconds, release for four seconds, hold for four again, and repeat a few times.

5. Grounding outside: Go outside and tune into the farthest thing you hear, then work your way closer and closer until you're paying attention to what you hear in closest proximity to you.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Jackie on the web, IG, free yoga class and meditation, and her popular Substack article -> Is Chakra work worth it?

• The Intuitive Writing Community

🎧 Related Episodes

• 03. The Surrendered First Draft Is the Key to Your Authentic Writing Voice
• 02: Co-Creating with Nature's Rhythms: Writing with the Moon
• 08. 6 Super Practical Strategies To Get Past Writing Resistance

🌟 Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.

✍️ Check out Jacqueline's personal business essays on JacquelineFisch.com

💌 Subscribe to the Writing Vitamins newsletter for access to free writing tips

Note: None of what you learn is health or mental health advice. For entertainment purposes only.

After teaching a free masterclass yesterday: How to Write Your Nonfiction Book in 2025 (even if you're busy), there were some questions from participants about getting started.

And after writing out their questions in the chat, they ended it with…

"… maybe I'm overthinking."

If you think you're overthinking, you are.

While I could be cliche and tell you, "Just start," or "Take the first step, and the next step, and the one after that will appear," I know that's not helpful.

You want to know that you're climbing an actual staircase.

That's what this episode is about.

You'll get the specific steps I recommend when you're setting out to write your book — especially as a first-time author. Having a sense about the complete process is helpful for getting us started. It lets us know where we're going. Just like you get in a car and set the GPS to your destination, you have multiple ways to get there. And just like writing, we need to begin driving to be able to take a detour and change our route on the fly.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Unfussy Life: An Intuitive Approach to Navigating Change

• Free masterclass: How to Write Your Nonfiction Book in 2025 (even if you're busy)

Imagine your finished book in your hands? Get personalized support so you always know exactly what step to take next. I'm accepting applications for a few upcoming start dates. Spots are limited, so if you'd like to apply for private book coaching, learn more and apply here.

I don't believe in writer's block.

Not a thing.

Fake news.

Not real.

I only connected the dots behind why I'd never experienced those blocks that so many writers complained about.

As an entrepreneur, I already write so many things. I'm always in motion with writing, so if the words aren't coming for my book, I'll write an email. Or if what I want to say for my blog is fuzzy, I'll switch gears and edit my book instead.

Writer's block is simply a symptom of having only one writing task in front of us.

In this episode, you'll hear about my approach to experiencing writing flow 100% of the time.

As business owners, we have so much to write—emails, blog posts, social media posts, website copy, launch emails—the list goes on. By shifting our focus, we keep our writing muscles active and avoid getting stuck.

External Links:

• For more personal writing and unpublished and sample chapters from Unfussy Life, check out my blog: jacquelinefish.com

• Learn more about intuitive writing methods, visit: intuitivewritingschool.com

• Sign up for my upcoming masterclass, How to Write Your Nonfiction Book in 2025

Do you have a book in you but don't know where to start?

Are people always telling you that you should write a book?

Have you started writing your book and you're not sure where you're going?

Maybe you're not even sure what your book is about.

I say — start writing anyway! BUT… there are some things to do at the same time.

In this week's episode of How Women Write, you'll get specific things you can do to start writing today. And I mean it when I say that if you start writing your book today because of this episode, I want to hear from you. My contact information is in the links below.

We'll bust some excuses like "I'm too busy" and "my idea is fuzzy."

You just might finsiht listening to this quick episode, ready to break out your pen and paper and get to writing right away — and honestly, nothing would make me more excited for you.

You'll also hear about a really simple prompt to help you clarify your book's direction — because once you have this, the writing can simply flow. I'm seeing this in action with one of my book coaching clients. She went from "putting words on a page" to "this book is of such a higher caliber than it was before." … JUST by clarifying the direction with ONE simple question.

📣 Free Masterclass invitation: How to Write Your Nonfiction Book in 2025 — I'm sharing oodles of strategies for overcoming writer's block and embracing the writing process.

Contact me with your questions … AND if you start writing today, I want to hear about it! [email protected].

Websites:

• theintuitivewritingschool.com
• jacquelinefisch.com

In this How Women Write Podcast episode, I'm tackling a topic that lots of writers bump into — resistance.

Whether you're working on a book, a blog post, or even a social media post, you might do everything possible before you begin writing.

• Clean the house.
• Do the laundry.
• Scroll social media.
• Pluck chin hair.
• Literally do anything else possible so that you can avoid writing.

These self-sabotaging habits can be sneaky. It could be some fears behind your resistance — which will be important to address so that you can move forward. It could be a fear of judgment, rejection, being seen, offending someone, or not being perfect.

Because these fears can really do a number on people, you'll hear ten writing prompts to help you explore any fears holding you back from writing (have your pen and some paper ready!).

Here's why you'll love today's episode:

• The one question to ask yourself about your writing project before you begin

• You'll have 10 automatic writing prompts to spark a journaling session to uncover any fears you have around writing

• Six super practical things you can do in your next writing session that take five minutes or less to avoid resistance altogether

• How to get past writing resistance forever

Links:

• Morning Pages

• Surrendered First Drafts (SFD)

• Apply to be a guest on the How Women Write Podcast

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to the How Women Write Podcast

00:07 Understanding Resistance in Writing

01:19 How Fear Leads to Writing Resistance

09:12 10 Writing Prompts to Examine Fear

11:11 6 Practical Strategies to Beat Writing Resistance

18:52 Conclusion and an Invitation for Potential Guests

We're tackling something I hear about all the time: TIME.

Or, more accurately, the lack of it when it comes to writing.

Laughing because you "don't have time to write"?

Never even started your writing project because of that excuse?

Let's be real: When do we ever have massive chunks of free time?

We think it'll appear after the big project, the sports season, and the business milestone. But it doesn't. So, here's my take: start writing now, especially when you're busy.

I know it's possible. I've been making time for writing since 2015. I wrote a 50-page mini-book while working full-time, commuting three hours a day, and raising young kids. It wasn't easy, but I made it happen. 5 AM wake-ups, 30-minute sprints, writing on the train during my commute or in coffee shops.

I finished that 20,000-word book in three months by fitting it into the "cracks" of my day. Thirty minutes here, an hour there—it adds up! Later, I tackled a 50,000-word draft during NaNoWriMo, writing 1,667 words daily. I learned that forcing that output isn't sustainable for me (hence, the How Women Write Podcast).

Now, I flow with a more natural and sustainable rhythm. New projects start around the new moon, and editing happens after the full moon. I write what feels important now, not what I think I should write. I've challenged my relationship with time and seen what's possible when we let go of those fake constraints. Turns out, a lot!

Here's what we're diving into:

• Why start writing now, especially when busy.
• How to weave writing into the "cracks" of your day—even 15 minutes.
• Separating first drafts from editing for faster writing and more flow.
• Practical ways to protect your writing time—it matters!
• Writing prompts to challenge your relationship with time and invite flow.

Links:

• Writing Community & Finding Flow – The Intuitive Writing Collective

• NaNoWriMo & Camp NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month): Organization and website

• Episode 06. Intuitive Editing Tips: Create Your Unique Voice One Word at a Time

• Magnetic Money Manifesting Program

• Toggl: Time tracking tool

• Pomodoro Timer: Productivity tool

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: The Trouble with Finding Writing Time

01:16 Making Time for Writing

02:59 Creating Time for Writing in a Life's Busy Season

06:32 Practical Tips to Prioritize Time for Writing

08:43 How Writing Challenges Can Backfire

20:08 The Power of Community in Writing

29:02 Exploring Timelessness and Writing

36:57 Conclusion: Embracing the Flow

Some writers prefer editing to writing from scratch because they dread the blank page. They'd much prefer to have a bunch of words to start from.

And there are others who find writing easy, but then when it comes to editing they struggle to dive in, spend hours trying to make their writing perfect, or they constantly start over.

In this How Women Write Podcast episode, I dive into the process of intuitive editing, sharing my advice and strategies to make this sometimes challenging part of the writing process much easier.

I specifically recorded this episode during the waning phase of the moon because this is the best time to focus on editing (or if you have a menstrual cycle, try editing during your luteal phase). If you experiment with editing during this phase, you might notice a difference in your energy levels and focus compared to other times of the month.

Here's what you'll learn in this episode:

• Suggestions for overcoming the anxiety often associated with editing, especially if you've had negative experiences with red pen-wielding teacher in the past.
• Editing is a skill: It's totally different from writing, so we approach it with a different mindset. We're refining existing words, not creating new ones.
• How to work your edits in layers: Start with a light edit and revise the obvious stuff, like typos and punctuation, and then move on to more substantial revisions, like adding personality, emotion, and a consistent tone.
• Practical editing and proofreading tips to help you become your own best editor
• A powerful prompt to help you know what your writing needs before you finalize and publish

Intuitive editing will help you unlearn rigid writing habits from school and corporate environments. Plus, you'll be able to break down the editing process into manageable layers.

I'm so excited for you to take these tips and strategies to give you the confidence to get your drafts out there.

Links:

• 03. The Surrendered First Draft Is the Key to Your Authentic Writing Voice

• 02: Co-Creating with Nature's Rhythms: Writing with the Moon

• NaNoWriMo alternative

• Intuitive Writing: The Remedy for Writer's Block and the Secret to Authentic Communication

• Power Thesaurus

• Grammarly

• ProWritingAid

Timestamps:

00:00 How Women Write Podcast Introductions

00:07 Writing with Nature's Rhythms

00:55 The Energetic Qualities of the Moon Phases

02:11 Editing Tips and Techniques

02:30 Overcoming the Fear of Editing

05:09 Unlearning Academic & Corporate Writing Habits

07:45 The Surrendered First Draft (SFD)

10:03 Common Editing Challenges

12:24 Getting Past the Fear of Publishing

20:21 Practical Editing Tips

24:03 Making Your Writing Approachable & Conversational

25:20 Embracing Intuitive Editing

28:49 Layered Editing Techniques

32:25 Practical Editing Tips

39:58 Final Editing Checklist

44:02 Conclusion and Encouragement to Publish