During the month of April, I'm going to blog every day except Sundays. Each day will be a post inspired by a different letter of the alphabet. It's all part of the A-Z Blog Challenge—I'm one of more than 650 crazy bloggers trying this experiment!
I can hear the purists groaning already, but I couldn't let a little word like "the" stand in the way of me sharing this book with you.
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron changed my life. I feel a little funny saying that. Among artist and writer circles, admitting that you liked this bestselling book is a little like saying that you enjoy chocolate. Big deal. Who doesn't?
But if you missed this book when it came out in 2002, I want to give you an introduction. The Artist's Way is a 12-week program that helps you unblock your creativity. The two most important items are the "morning pages" and the "artist date." Even if you don't do anything else with the book, just those two items could be life-changing.
Morning Pages
For "morning pages," you write three pages longhand first thing in the morning. You can write about anything, but I've found that I tend to write about things that are not going right in my life. Over time, complaining in writing (especially longhand!) gets tiresome and gradually you come up with solutions. That doesn't mean you'll love the solution or that it will make everything perfect. The first time I did these morning pages I ended up quitting my job. The next job wasn't perfect either, but it lead me in a whole different direction that I never would have explored otherwise.
Artist Dates
It took me longer to appreciate "artist dates," where you go out alone once a week for a couple of hours. The idea is that creativity thrives on images, so you need to "fill up the well" or you'll feel like you have nothing new to say. It's easy to fill up on images online, but it seems like everyone is looking at the same things. So it's key to go out into the world to a museum, a park, to the thrift shop. For me, this step was harder to justify, especially when I was working 9-5 in an office job.
What I finally realized is that with the morning pages, you're addressing problems head-on. It feels more straightforward and logical. With the artist's date, it's much more subtle. You're solving problems you didn't even know you had. You might go look at an antique shop, for example, and suddenly think of a character for a novel. Or maybe your experience will be much more practical. I think my recent wire storage post is a good example. I just went in the store to look because I thought it would be fun. I didn't have a specific goal in mind. I didn't think that my mess of wire was bothering me, but I had been spending very little time at the beading table. Maybe my mess was holding me back from creating.
This is the kind of book I love—and hate—to recommend. This is not a "read it and forget it" book. I feel like it should come with some warning labels, the kind in red with the word "Danger" stamped on them. I want you to have the same experience I did, but at the same time, I'm a little scared for you. Who knows what will happen to your life if you read it?