If you’re a writer, chances are you’ve heard of The Artist Way by Julia Cameron. It’s a book that helps artists and creatives recover their creative voices. Synonymous with The Artist Way is something called “Morning Pages.” Morning Pages are three pages, of stream-of-consciousness writing by hand. You do them every morning, to get the “stuff” out of your head so you can move about your day. The Morning Pages also help you discover – and uncover- the things that have blocked your creativity.
I have been writing Morning Pages for years. Close to ten years, I think. I owned the book and the workbook. And I also have a perpetual The Artist Way calendar that I found when I randomly popped into a small store in East Austin a few years ago. Until recently, though, the one thing I had never done was take the workshop.
There’s more to this story, and I plan to tell you about it later because it aligns with the essence of the book, but a few months ago, I made a connection through Instagram and found out that this person was starting a workshop on The Artist Way. What are the chances? I signed up in the blink of an eye!
When the workshop started, I thought it would be really cool to do a weekly recap of my experience. My original goal was to do a 13-week series of posts, recapping each week, but as usual, life got in the way. Here I am, nine weeks in, with zero blog post recaps to show for it. So, truth be told, maybe I’ve already botched this blog post. So, why bother?
But here’s the thing – I’m so tired of letting that version of myself “win.” The version that stops me before I even get the chance to start. That version of myself is the reason I wanted – and needed – this workshop.
Does it matter that I didn’t get the chance to post a blog each week? Would posting one big recap of the end of the workshop be any different? If I didn’t tell anyone that my original idea “failed,” would anyone have figured it out? I don’t think so. Maybe someone out there will see what I’m doing right now and say, “oh, hey. This is cool.” So that’s where I’ve decided to operate today. And I say “today” because, for me, this is an ongoing creative struggle. One day, I’ll be super motivated. And the next day, I’ll tell myself it was a crazy idea, to begin with.
As I’ve worked through the past nine weeks of the workshop, it’s allowed me to realize that, amongst other things, I am queen of something called THE CREATIVE U-TURN: a time when we want to do something creative but focus on the big picture instead of the small actions along the way. In the process, we get overwhelmed, stop, and find our way back to where we started. Inevitably, we don’t grow in the creative process and we lose confidence. So when the next creative idea comes along, we don’t have evidence that we can execute it. Seasoned creators will see a challenge and pivot. They will use their experience to make the shift. But blocked creatives like me? We don’t pivot. We stop. We stifle a skill in the midst of learning it. Enter: The Artist Way.
On the very first day of this workshop, I shared with the group that my “block” as a creative was not that I ran away from a creative challenge but rather that I simply stopped. I know what you’re thinking…that’s the same thing, Angela! But remember, this was week 1, and I wanted to believe there was a difference, I guess.
After nine weeks of doing deep work in peeling back the layers and walls that block my creativity, I’m learning how to recognize my creative blocks, and learning to reframe those creative fears. So yes, while pre-Artist Way Angela originally saw this blog post as a “fail,” this version of myself is out to prove her wrong.
*hits PUBLISH*
See you next Tuesday for a recap of Week 10.
If any of this resonates with you, I have three words for you: THE.ARTISTS.WAY. Even more, here are three more: TAKE.ANNA’S.WORKSHOP!
