THE CREATIVE PATH
Like a Genius, I Quit Morning Pages
Here’s what happened
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Oops
I thought I was so smart, so efficient!
A few days ago, I decided to drop my recently adopted morning pages practice and just use that time to do the writing for a new project directly. I’ve also kept a journal in some form for years, so I figured that I didn’t really need to do both.
It’s a good thing I actually did do the pages over the last few months. Because of them, I discovered that I shouldn’t stop!
It turns out that I’m getting my own “custom” benefits out of the practice that I didn’t expect — and if you do something like morning pages, you might get your own, completely different benefits.
“Morning Pages” — Groan!
I avoided reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way for a long time — or, rather, I started reading it years ago but set it aside quickly. I was very focused on visual art (I still am, but I approach it in an “older, wiser” way now) and felt that the program might be a better fit for writers than painters.
And everybody was doing it. Meh!
A creative community recently offered a group participation in some of the book’s program (which was originally designed for 12 weeks), so I got out my old copy and followed along. After all, I had added writing back into “things that I do” so I thought it was a good moment to jump in.
Morning pages are Julia Cameron’s popular contribution to reawakening creativity, and the idea now floats by itself across the creative world outside of credit to the author or attachment to a guided 12-week program.
What are morning pages? They’re 3 pages of handwritten free writing done in one sitting at the beginning of the day. There are no other rules.
I am not here to fangirl the concept of morning pages or the author — but I am fangirling the practice of discovery by doing.
