The anxious writer is thinking of herself, but the calm writer is thinking of her readers. The calm writer is sensitive to the experience of her reader. And that is the gateway to clear and lucid writing.

To tap into this sensitivity, you can use the following exercise: being your reader. It will allow you to literally read what you write, as you write it. It is a very effective mindfulness trigger.

The whole act of writing becomes far less driven by “I am trying to write something good”, to reading your words through another’s eyes, as you write them. This makes it far, far easier to see when your writing is becoming unclear or rambling. Because you can literally watch it happening!