Sit Write Here - by April Dávila (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A transformative path to overcome creative blocks and cultivate a joyful, sustainable writing practice through mindfulness.

In Sit Write Here, award-winning novelist and certified mindfulness instructor April Dávila presents a groundbreaking approach to writing that integrates the practice of Insight Meditation. Drawing from her personal journey and professional experience, Dávila reveals how mindfulness can help writers improve their craft and navigate common challenges such as writer's block, self-doubt, and ubiquitous distractions. Through practical exercises and relatable anecdotes, she demonstrates how cultivating present-moment awareness can enhance creativity and bring greater ease to the writing process.

Structured around six key practices, the book guides writers to:
-Get Writing by developing deep concentration to foster a state of creative flow.
-Embrace Discomfort to better portray conflict on the page.
-Keep Going by identifying and overcoming internal obstacles that masquerade as "writer's block."
-Explore Emotions to deepen authenticity.
-Engage Reality to refine the editing process with mindful awareness.
-Find Equanimity to maintain resilience in the face of feedback and rejection.

Whether you're a seasoned author or just beginning your writing journey, Sit Write Here offers a compassionate and practical framework to transform your writing practice. By embracing mindfulness, writers can not only enhance their craft but also find greater fulfillment and joy in the creative process.

Review Quotes

"Novelist Dávila uses a Buddhist framework to ground this gentle writing guide. ... Compassionate and refreshingly nonprescriptive, this will be a boon to blocked creatives seeking a fresh approach." -Publishers Weekly

"... An encouraging manual ... Dávila uniquely intertwines Buddhist teachings and mindfulness to help writers hone their craft in an affirming way." -Library Journal

"If you want to learn how to meditate and use it to deepen your writing, this simple, knowledgeable and encouraging book can show you how." -Jack Kornfield, New York Times bestselling author

"As the author of twenty-seven published books, I strongly recommend to beginning writers and seasoned professionals alike April Dávila's lessons on how the practice of mindfulness meditation and Buddhist wisdom can enhance one's creativity. Sit Write Here is filled with reader-friendly instruction worthy of our trust." -Charles Johnson, National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage and The Way of the Writer

"The toolkit every writer needs to stay focused and do their best work." -Zibby Owens, author, publisher, and podcast host

"Not since Writing Down the Bones have we seen such a clear and seamless blend of writing and meditation practices." -Rev. Matt Laney

"If I've learned anything in my career, it's that good writing comes from understanding your own mind. April Dávila approaches writing as an ongoing practice of attention and strengthens a writer's ability to finish what they start. Sit Write Here is a steady companion you'll return to again and again throughout your writing life." -Jennie Nash, founder and CEO of Author Accelerator

"To write is to sit still and concentrate--two activities that most people find increasingly difficult in our hyper-mediated, screen-addicted age. Sit Write Here makes a clear and compelling case for how meditation and mindfulness practice can help writers do their best work." -Brad Listi, bestselling author and host of Otherppl

"A ground-breaking, life-changing, creativity-expanding walk through real-time transformation! April Dávila's Sit Write Here shows the power of meditation to lift up writers and help them step into their true talented selves. A gem of a gift for writers!" -Lynne Golodner, award-winning novelist and publisher of Scotia Road Books

"Wise, grounding, and deeply encouraging, Sit Write Here offers mindfulness practices that will profoundly alter the way you approach the page. Anyone seeking greater peace, clarity, and confidence in their writing will find true guidance here." -Debra Landwehr Engle, author of The Writer's Miracle Method

"I would have killed for a book like this when I was starting out. April Dávila gets the balance of craft and consciousness exactly right and shows that noticing lies at the heart of it all. Compassionate, wise, yet filled with practical techniques, tips, tricks, Sit Write Here is a marvelous work, destined to live on every writer's shelf, dog-eared and often returned to." -Mark Sarvas, award-winning novelist

"April Dávila offers a gift to her fellow creatives in Sit Write Here. Through her lived experiences as a writer and meditator, she guides writers through the ups and downs of the journey of the writing process, pointing them to the most essential - that which lies within." -Ofosu Jones-Quartey (Born I), author of Lyrical Dharma: Hip-Hop as Mindfulness

"With Sit Write Here, novelist and certified mindfulness teacher, April Dávila offers a masterful and necessary guide, showing writers that the path to a powerful, consistent practice in our hyper-distracted world is found in stillness. Grounding her systematic, six-chapter framework in contemplative science, Dávila teaches us to cultivate the deep focus necessary to write more and suffer less, dismantling obstacles like the 'myth of writer's block' and the paralyzing inner critic. This book is the essential toolkit for every author seeking to move from mental chaos to creative flow. I will be using and recommending it!" -Faith Adiele, award-winning author of Meeting Faith: The Thai Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun

"A generous and grounding book for writers and mindfulness practitioners alike, coming from April's lived wisdom both as a writer and as a meditator. I was personally inspired to begin writing again after reading this." -Celeste Young, Theravadin Buddhist mindfulness and Dharma teacher

About the Author

APRIL DÁVILA is an award-winning author, speaker, and writing coach. Publishers Weekly called her debut novel, 142 Ostriches, a "vivid, uplifting debut" and the book went on to win the WILLA Award for Women Writing the West. Writer's Digest listed her blog (at aprildavila.com) as one of the Best 101 Websites for Writers and she is the creator of the Sit Write Here writing coaching program, helping writers quiet their inner critics, overcome writer's block, and edit more effectively.