SOULBASE Talk:

Franziska Hülshoff-Freelance Writer & Author & Writing Rituals


You studied journalism. When did you know that you wanted a change in your professional life?

It was actually right after my studies. I studied journalism in undergraduate and graduate school and did plenty of internships all aimed at my goal of becoming a journalist or working at a publishing company. By the end of my studies, however, it became clear to me that I didn’t feel comfortable at all in these environments. The media world is way too stressful for me. Everything has to happen quickly and perfectly, and everybody is so ambitious and sees each other as competitors. I realized that I don’t want to be part of that reality but to instead create my own reality in which I focus on mutual support, trust, creativity and freedom. I had no idea where this decision would lead me. All I could do was to go step by step, always following my curiosity and my intuition. This meant some trial and error, of course, but that’s part of the journey. It also meant stopping writing professionally for some months, in which I was working as a tour guide and traveling around the world. But in the end, I naturally came back to writing because it is not just a professional skill for me but also a personal necessity.

What does writing mean to you?

Writing is part of my personal life every day. I need it to gain clarity inside – for example in times of challenge, conflict or decision making. I have a very active mind, and I prefer using it creatively instead of being “swamped” by it and feeling overwhelmed (which happens if I don’t write for some time). 
For example, while traveling and working as a tour guide, I was writing English poems – just because. I had no idea what they were for; it just helped me to express and process the experiences and learnings I made along the way. In the end, these poems found their way into my latest book, which combines poetry and inspirations for mindful living called “Lebenspoesie.”
Writing is my anchor in the now. It brings me back to myself and allows me to express myself freely and creatively, to grow and trust, to share and inspire. I am truly grateful for what writing gives to me, and even if for some reason I couldn’t work as a freelance writer anymore, writing would always stay a part of my life.

Hi Franziska! You are based in Portugal. Can you share with us what you do for a living?

Hi! Thank you for allowing me to share my story here with you.

If you want to put a general term on what I am doing for a living, you can call me a “freelance writer.” You may immediately think of a copywriter, author of books or journalist for a newspaper, but you cannot really put me into any of these boxes. I do indeed write books and publish them, but as a self-publisher, which means that I am my own publishing company in a way. This of course gives me immense freedom when it comes to what to write about and how to design my books. I am much freer to create them truly from my heart, which is really important to me. 
In addition to that, I also write for partners in the field of personal development, spirituality, mindfulness and creative writing. I am very interested in inner development and deep transformation. I am supporting my working partners not only as a writer, but also as an editor for self-published books in these fields.
And last but not least, I am offering online classes called “writing rituals” in which I combine meditation and what I call “mindful writing.” This connects my profession as a writer to my interest in personal development. Mindful writing can change your life in a slow but powerful way if you use it regularly because it brings about changes from deep within you. 

Can you share more about the writing workshops: who are they for and what was your approach when you created them?

My writing workshops, or “rituals” as I call them, aren’t about learning a difficult craft that you have to learn or “understand.” Instead, they inspire you to take time to pause and go within in order to connect with your inner world through meditation and writing. Writing mindfully means that you are writing by hand without correcting, expecting or judging. It’s not about a beautiful outcome or any kind of goal; you are just writing down whatever comes up inside of you. Through that, you make your thoughts and feelings visible on the paper in front of you. You are becoming more conscious of your inner world. And at the same time, you are getting thoughts and feelings out of your system by actually processing them instead of pushing them down, which we all do unconsciously. Your life naturally changes to be more in harmony with your true self and not what others expect from you.
My biggest motivation for creating my mindful writing rituals is to make more people aware of themselves in a loving and accepting way. Only if we find peace within ourselves does peace in the outside world become possible.

How can writing and mediation support us in finding clarity?

Both meditation and writing invite us to pause and be still for a moment. By “still,” I don’t mean that all your thoughts and feelings magically disappear. Rather, you are creating stillness on the outside to give yourself the space and time to consciously observe and process them. The “goal” is to give them loving attention, meaning that you don’t judge yourself for them. But at the same time, you observe and you don’t push them away or just react blindly to them, which we often do in our everyday lives. You see, feel and, by that, go deeper. 

You are originally from Germany, but you are now living in Portugal. Why did you move to Portugal?

Before I knew I would move to the south of Portugal, I was starting to feel uncomfortable with my life in Germany. In my eyes, it was too busy and too career- and consumer-oriented. I longed to live a quieter life in connection with nature by the sea. While traveling as a tour guide, I found the right place to fulfil my dreams in Portugal. I started surfing and immediately fell in love with my quiet lifestyle here without shops, events or big schedules – but with plenty of time to go within. It’s not for everybody because nothing much is happening on the outside. But to me it immediately felt like a perfect fit.

You are an author, and you have written multiple books. Can you share more about your books and where we can find them? I just started writing my own books during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Before, I was mainly focused on writing for clients. In March/April 2020, a lot of client work was “paused” due to the unknown situation and also surfing was forbidden in Portugal. I found myself with a lot of free time on my hands, which I used to write my first novel called “Mehrweh.” It’s a “developmental novel” that tells the story of a Portuguese girl living in a quiet, narrow-minded village, who wants to break free, travel the world and follow her passion of drawing by working as a freelance artist. This novel I published with a self-publishing company that only prints on-demand. Within only two months the novel was written, even though I never really planned to write one. It was kind of waiting inside of me, I guess. The second (and most recent) book I published in November of 2021, and, as mentioned before, it is a combination of poetry and “self-help” texts. This time I printed and published it myself so that there is a limited number of books available. It’s only on my website and in a few shops. This book summarizes in a poetic way what I have learned about mindful living during the past few years of my life. By “mindful,” I mean in harmony with your inner truth, which you can only find deep within yourself. If you seek out to connect with yourself on this deep level, everything else on the outside develops naturally. The book accompanies you on your journey inside, to find peace and create a life in harmony with yourself.

You can find more information and buy both of my books on my website www.franziska-huelshoff.de .

How can people work with you and find more about you?

You are welcome to participate in my online writing rituals, which can be booked on my website (these workshops are facilitated in German). I have intensive programs, which means that you have a writing ritual once a week over an 8-week period. Or you can just try them out by booking a single and shorter ritual, which I offer every now and then.
If you need my help with writing or editing in the field of personal development, spirituality and mindfulness, you can also contact me via e-mail. Additionally, I am offering support for those who are writing a book and would like to find their own unique way into self-publishing. All information about how to partner with me is on my website: www.franziska-huelshoff.de.
To read my writing for free, check out my Instagram channel called “worte.und.meer” . Also, you can sign up for one of my free newsletters about either my writer’s life or my journey of inner development, healing and mindfulness. The latter I call “mindful mail,” and I send a freshly written one out every week with inspirations for mindful living. You can sign up for it here: https://franziska-huelshoff.de/schreibrituale/mindful-mail