21st Century Artist's Way
November 11, 2022 5:42 AM Subscribe
How does one adapt Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way to work for the modern day, especially if they are a marginalised person who's turned off by anything vaguely "manifesty"?
I'm just about to start a round of The Artist's Way in a group facilitated by a friend of mine. I've had the book for about a decade now and have tried it perhaps more than once but never really got past Week 1 (and have never been consistent with morning pages). I have had a big slump this year, being waylaid for about 6 months with 2 intense bouts of Covid and a major family emergency & losing a bunch of projects in the process. I've been chomping at the bit for something to do now that I've (mostly) recovered and this seemed promising.
Being involved in the arts myself, almost everyone I know who's done it speaks highly of it - the worst anyone has to say about it is "the book's kinda dated, take what you like and leave the rest". I actually really appreciated this AskMefi thread because it was the first I've seen of people saying "hey this didn't work for me", so at least I won't feel like too much of a failure if I end up bailing out.
I'm keen to get started, but I'd like to know what strategies people had for completing The Artist's Way in current time when the book was published 30 years ago. Some points in particular:
- I'm already going with more techy alternatives to morning pages instead of hand-cramping longform handwriting. But what about different formats, such as a drawing or recorded audio or video? Have you tried this and has this worked for you?
- As mentioned above the fold, I shudder at anything that's like "manifest your life! Spirit will grant your wish!" - too many letdowns. I didn't actually realise how woo the book was until my facilitator friend flagged it in our first group meeting - she's very canny about inclusion and access and gave us some alternate ways of thinking about "God" in the text. But how do you not get stuck in cynicism and stay open to the process while not pinning too much hope on the results being as life-changing as people claim they are?
- I haven't read the book too closely yet, but from what the above AskMefi thread pointed out, it seems that there's not really a ton of recognition of systemic barriers - for instance, a lot of my prior barriers to artmaking (besides Covid recovery eating away at my stamina) were due to racism or xenophobia, which is not something you can solve on your own in 12 weeks. Are there ways to still gain something out of those perspectives even if they seem really incongruent to your own? Anything I should really keep an eye out now?
- I have ADHD, as well as a highly inconsistent life & body that likes to throw curveballs at me, so sticking to one habit long term is very difficult if not impossible. (I find daily streak things like Duolingo very stressful for this reason) Are there neurodivergent-friendly ways to do things like Morning Pages, especially if you end up dropping a day or two?
- What else did you do, or wish you did, to adapt your Artist's Way journey to modern-day concerns? Practical, intellectual, spiritual - what helped you get the most you can from the book?
Any and all experiences welcomed, thank you!
I'm just about to start a round of The Artist's Way in a group facilitated by a friend of mine. I've had the book for about a decade now and have tried it perhaps more than once but never really got past Week 1 (and have never been consistent with morning pages). I have had a big slump this year, being waylaid for about 6 months with 2 intense bouts of Covid and a major family emergency & losing a bunch of projects in the process. I've been chomping at the bit for something to do now that I've (mostly) recovered and this seemed promising.
Being involved in the arts myself, almost everyone I know who's done it speaks highly of it - the worst anyone has to say about it is "the book's kinda dated, take what you like and leave the rest". I actually really appreciated this AskMefi thread because it was the first I've seen of people saying "hey this didn't work for me", so at least I won't feel like too much of a failure if I end up bailing out.
I'm keen to get started, but I'd like to know what strategies people had for completing The Artist's Way in current time when the book was published 30 years ago. Some points in particular:
- I'm already going with more techy alternatives to morning pages instead of hand-cramping longform handwriting. But what about different formats, such as a drawing or recorded audio or video? Have you tried this and has this worked for you?
- As mentioned above the fold, I shudder at anything that's like "manifest your life! Spirit will grant your wish!" - too many letdowns. I didn't actually realise how woo the book was until my facilitator friend flagged it in our first group meeting - she's very canny about inclusion and access and gave us some alternate ways of thinking about "God" in the text. But how do you not get stuck in cynicism and stay open to the process while not pinning too much hope on the results being as life-changing as people claim they are?
- I haven't read the book too closely yet, but from what the above AskMefi thread pointed out, it seems that there's not really a ton of recognition of systemic barriers - for instance, a lot of my prior barriers to artmaking (besides Covid recovery eating away at my stamina) were due to racism or xenophobia, which is not something you can solve on your own in 12 weeks. Are there ways to still gain something out of those perspectives even if they seem really incongruent to your own? Anything I should really keep an eye out now?
- I have ADHD, as well as a highly inconsistent life & body that likes to throw curveballs at me, so sticking to one habit long term is very difficult if not impossible. (I find daily streak things like Duolingo very stressful for this reason) Are there neurodivergent-friendly ways to do things like Morning Pages, especially if you end up dropping a day or two?
- What else did you do, or wish you did, to adapt your Artist's Way journey to modern-day concerns? Practical, intellectual, spiritual - what helped you get the most you can from the book?
Any and all experiences welcomed, thank you!
I am an artist and I have read TAW at least twice. It seems to me that you are WAY overthinking this.
At its core, the method centers on two basic concepts -- inflow and outflow. For me, an 'artist's date' is anything I haven't tried before. And sometimes that means different things, depending on opportunities and responsibilities. Sometimes it means two 'dates' a week... other weeks maybe zero... depending on life.
Then there's 'outflow' - I stopped doing pages - and just made sure I was 'outputting' (i.e. painting, drawing, sketching etc.) regularly.
I've stayed away from all of the other fringy ideas/concepts and have stuck with the basic formula - and it has worked for years to keep the loop active and flowing.
posted by mrmarley at 6:04 AM on November 11, 2022 [9 favorites]
At its core, the method centers on two basic concepts -- inflow and outflow. For me, an 'artist's date' is anything I haven't tried before. And sometimes that means different things, depending on opportunities and responsibilities. Sometimes it means two 'dates' a week... other weeks maybe zero... depending on life.
Then there's 'outflow' - I stopped doing pages - and just made sure I was 'outputting' (i.e. painting, drawing, sketching etc.) regularly.
I've stayed away from all of the other fringy ideas/concepts and have stuck with the basic formula - and it has worked for years to keep the loop active and flowing.
posted by mrmarley at 6:04 AM on November 11, 2022 [9 favorites]
Best answer: But how do you not get stuck in cynicism and stay open to the process while not pinning too much hope on the results being as life-changing as people claim they are?
I half-assedly worked through TAW many years ago and it was not a life-changing experience (would it have been, if I had really committed to it? I think probably not, it's just not my thing) but I still got lots of good out of it! I think there's value in committing to a practice, even if it doesn't end up being the perfect practice for you.
Rather than going into this with "this is going to be a life-changing experience that will finally unjam my art," I think a more realistic approach is, "I am not going to dismiss any of this out of hand, even though it's not my usual thing; I hope to identify some elements of the practice that work for me."
(Also I hear you on streaks - personally, I sometimes get resistant, like, "You can't tell me what to do, Apple Watch! I'll sit on my ass all day just to spite you!" But I don't think daily pages need to be a streak, they just have to be something you make space for and make an honest effort to do every day.)
posted by mskyle at 6:11 AM on November 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
I half-assedly worked through TAW many years ago and it was not a life-changing experience (would it have been, if I had really committed to it? I think probably not, it's just not my thing) but I still got lots of good out of it! I think there's value in committing to a practice, even if it doesn't end up being the perfect practice for you.
Rather than going into this with "this is going to be a life-changing experience that will finally unjam my art," I think a more realistic approach is, "I am not going to dismiss any of this out of hand, even though it's not my usual thing; I hope to identify some elements of the practice that work for me."
(Also I hear you on streaks - personally, I sometimes get resistant, like, "You can't tell me what to do, Apple Watch! I'll sit on my ass all day just to spite you!" But I don't think daily pages need to be a streak, they just have to be something you make space for and make an honest effort to do every day.)
posted by mskyle at 6:11 AM on November 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer: I think you are right to see these criticisms and I also think there's deep wisdom in daily reflection and I think Cameron gets far too much credit for this. The earliest source I've found for this specific style of writing comes from a book called Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande in 1934. Here's how she describes it:
In my own research, I've studied people who credit major life change to morning pages in a non-woo way and found this, if it's helpful:
Good luck in this exploration, I hope you find a source and community that helps you tap into a fruitful place!
posted by 10ch at 6:12 AM on November 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
Rise half an hour, or a full hour, earlier than you customarily rise. Just as soon as you can—and without talking, without reading the morning’s paper, without picking up the book you laid aside the night before—begin to write. Write anything that comes into your head: last night’s dream, if you are able to remember it; the activities of the day before, a conversation, real or imaginary; an examination of conscience. Write any sort of early morning reverie, rapidly and uncritically.Peter Elbow (writing teacher, not woo at all) is another source of instruction on this. He calls the practice freewriting. This is a good place to start.
In my own research, I've studied people who credit major life change to morning pages in a non-woo way and found this, if it's helpful:
Writing Morning Pages is a powerful, life changing practice for these writers. It supports meaningful change and direct action in their lives. Sometimes pages are a blank slate to imagine what life may become. Sometimes they are a rehearsal space to figure out how to react in an anticipated situation. Sometimes they serve as an illuminating light, revealing a path forward or a clarifying an emotion or idea. Nearly always, though, pages are a conversation with the self — a completely honest and safe conversation — where they find support, courage, and the discernment to make choices that might otherwise feel overwhelming or seem impossible.As for alternatives to writing, you might find The Tree of Contemplative Practices helpful, in particular, the "generative" and "creative" branches. It lists all sorts of ways to tap into the space Morning Pages creates.
Good luck in this exploration, I hope you find a source and community that helps you tap into a fruitful place!
posted by 10ch at 6:12 AM on November 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
If this is not too off-topic, since you asked specifically about The Artist’s Way, I would like to make a suggestion. You might look at The Wayward Writer by Ariel Gore, recently released. The subtitle is Summon Your Power to Take Back Your Story, Liberate Yourself from Capitalism, and Publish Like a Superstar.
Published by Microcosm Press, a small press that focuses on marginalized voices.
Gore also has a website,
Caveat: I have just received my copy of the book and have not yet read it. A friend of mine, however, worked with Ariel Gore on her book Detroit Fairy Tales. She has nothing but good things to say about Ariel Gore.
posted by Well I never at 6:22 AM on November 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Published by Microcosm Press, a small press that focuses on marginalized voices.
Gore also has a website,
Caveat: I have just received my copy of the book and have not yet read it. A friend of mine, however, worked with Ariel Gore on her book Detroit Fairy Tales. She has nothing but good things to say about Ariel Gore.
posted by Well I never at 6:22 AM on November 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Best answer: I just went through TAW with a small group earlier this year. It was pretty cool. Like almost everyone, I didn't have perfect adherence to morning pages but, as a practice, it's been pretty interested.
Like anything, there's room to criticize. I think it might be helpful, or just worth considering, framing it as a tour that you're joining to see what can come of it... rather than a focal point for critique. Maybe give it a go, and keep the critique elements for part of how you evaluate things at the end of the project. For what it's worth, I feel like the book itself kind of addresses this from time to time. It says: look at yourself, you're what's working with your own creativity, here are some examples and anecdotes along the way, none of which are intended as anything beyond illumination or analogy or example.
I shudder at anything that's like "manifest your life! Spirit will grant your wish!"
Likewise, but I came away with the feeling that this book is agnostic as hell. For every mention of the Talmud, there's a quote from Louis Armstrong. I'm not going to obsess over the sophistry behind including either when the section seems to be more about the value of building routines and habits and less about, you know, the woo.
Maybe you have trouble sticking to a routine, so I'd say give it a go. I don't think that means there's no value in trying to commit to a long-term project. So what if you don't want to write long-form handwriting, who's going to chastize you for doing it in a way that's relevant for you?
FWIW, the little contract, and the idea of taking yourself on creativity dates with some frequency, has kind of helped me guide myself back into the world. I've been treating these things as a build up to something like a new year's resolution. It's super simple stuff that came out of my run-through of TAW this year: reading books outside, going to lectures at a library/museum that I really missed during lockdowns, not multitasking having meals and instead eating at a table without devices, etc. Those things might not necessarily seem "creative," but I wouldn't have given them much consideration if I hadn't been using TAW as a very intentional tool to give me some very specific prompts along the way to bringing some change into my life.
I bet you can use it to your advantage, too. Once you do, if you spot something that does it better or resonates in a more relevant way I hope you'll come back and share it with us!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 7:17 AM on November 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Like anything, there's room to criticize. I think it might be helpful, or just worth considering, framing it as a tour that you're joining to see what can come of it... rather than a focal point for critique. Maybe give it a go, and keep the critique elements for part of how you evaluate things at the end of the project. For what it's worth, I feel like the book itself kind of addresses this from time to time. It says: look at yourself, you're what's working with your own creativity, here are some examples and anecdotes along the way, none of which are intended as anything beyond illumination or analogy or example.
I shudder at anything that's like "manifest your life! Spirit will grant your wish!"
Likewise, but I came away with the feeling that this book is agnostic as hell. For every mention of the Talmud, there's a quote from Louis Armstrong. I'm not going to obsess over the sophistry behind including either when the section seems to be more about the value of building routines and habits and less about, you know, the woo.
Maybe you have trouble sticking to a routine, so I'd say give it a go. I don't think that means there's no value in trying to commit to a long-term project. So what if you don't want to write long-form handwriting, who's going to chastize you for doing it in a way that's relevant for you?
FWIW, the little contract, and the idea of taking yourself on creativity dates with some frequency, has kind of helped me guide myself back into the world. I've been treating these things as a build up to something like a new year's resolution. It's super simple stuff that came out of my run-through of TAW this year: reading books outside, going to lectures at a library/museum that I really missed during lockdowns, not multitasking having meals and instead eating at a table without devices, etc. Those things might not necessarily seem "creative," but I wouldn't have given them much consideration if I hadn't been using TAW as a very intentional tool to give me some very specific prompts along the way to bringing some change into my life.
I bet you can use it to your advantage, too. Once you do, if you spot something that does it better or resonates in a more relevant way I hope you'll come back and share it with us!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 7:17 AM on November 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Best answer:
More serious suggestion: Annotate the text, yelling back at it when necessary! "This is absolute goddamn nonsense, and if your Greenwich Village dentist knows a big-deal literary agent, that is a level of privilege that absolutely NO ONE I KNOW has!" Go through it with a black Sharpie, if necessary!
But also: do some freewriting about what creative work can give you if it never gives you fame or money. Freewrite about the fact that you're walking uphill in the snow compared with people who have easy access to the time and space they need for creative work, and let that radicalize you instead of leading you to despair. If there's a devil on your shoulder saying "I'm not going to be successful because I have to work a day job, unlike those trust fund babies," cultivate the angel on your shoulder saying "To hell with those trust fund babies, I'll find fifteen minutes before work, I'll find fifteen minutes during my lunch hour, I can outwork them and outfight them."
On Twitter, my spiritual guides are Taco Bell Quarterly:
Books I like better than The Artist's Way on creative work are Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland and The Gift by Lewis Hyde.
posted by Jeanne at 7:41 AM on November 11, 2022 [15 favorites]
- As mentioned above the fold, I shudder at anything that's like "manifest your life! Spirit will grant your wish!" - too many letdowns. I didn't actually realise how woo the book was until my facilitator friend flagged it in our first group meeting - she's very canny about inclusion and access and gave us some alternate ways of thinking about "God" in the text. But how do you not get stuck in cynicism and stay open to the process while not pinning too much hope on the results being as life-changing as people claim they are?Serious suggestion: razor out the entire chapter on money.
More serious suggestion: Annotate the text, yelling back at it when necessary! "This is absolute goddamn nonsense, and if your Greenwich Village dentist knows a big-deal literary agent, that is a level of privilege that absolutely NO ONE I KNOW has!" Go through it with a black Sharpie, if necessary!
But also: do some freewriting about what creative work can give you if it never gives you fame or money. Freewrite about the fact that you're walking uphill in the snow compared with people who have easy access to the time and space they need for creative work, and let that radicalize you instead of leading you to despair. If there's a devil on your shoulder saying "I'm not going to be successful because I have to work a day job, unlike those trust fund babies," cultivate the angel on your shoulder saying "To hell with those trust fund babies, I'll find fifteen minutes before work, I'll find fifteen minutes during my lunch hour, I can outwork them and outfight them."
On Twitter, my spiritual guides are Taco Bell Quarterly:
Even if you're not that good at this. Even if you're not going to have an audience of more than a few other friends and writers. Do it anyway. We need to break the system that makes us feel like garbage and failures when it's not even real. Join the conversation. Become a writer.And Matthew Burnside:
1. u are here. it’s yr world tooYou may not be able to manifest a literary agent, but even so, putting time and thought and energy into creative work for its own sake is... maybe the only real way of "manifesting" anything in this world. And I think The Artist's Way is a pretty decent book if you approach it with that mindset: no, doing the work is not going to make any doors magically open up for you. But the work is worth doing on its own terms.
2. because, however improbable, there is always if
3. to make something out of nothing
4. u are the epitome of possibility—the song that sings itself out of noise
5. u contain more windows than walls
6. u are necessary
Books I like better than The Artist's Way on creative work are Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland and The Gift by Lewis Hyde.
posted by Jeanne at 7:41 AM on November 11, 2022 [15 favorites]
I’m in the arts and everyone I know thinks Julia Cameron was briefly married to Martin Scorsese who is a real artist. Jeanne’s advice is very good, but I’d razor out even more of the useless chapters.
posted by Ideefixe at 8:10 AM on November 11, 2022
posted by Ideefixe at 8:10 AM on November 11, 2022
Based on what you've written here, it doesn't sound like The Artist's Way would be the most useful program for you.
The morning pages are one of the core practices, and if your immediate reaction to the idea of writing three pages by hand in the morning is nope, then it might be better to find a different program.
It's like getting a recipe for spaghetti with meatballs, substituting the spaghetti for rice, the sauce for oil, and the meatballs for mushrooms--why not just get a recipe for mushroom rice from the beginning? In this analogy, the spaghetti is morning pages, the meatballs are artist's dates, and the sauce would be the exercises.
If you really want to do the group with your friends, you could always focus on the artist's dates, which are basically about setting aside some time to do your own thing.
posted by betweenthebars at 8:26 AM on November 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
The morning pages are one of the core practices, and if your immediate reaction to the idea of writing three pages by hand in the morning is nope, then it might be better to find a different program.
It's like getting a recipe for spaghetti with meatballs, substituting the spaghetti for rice, the sauce for oil, and the meatballs for mushrooms--why not just get a recipe for mushroom rice from the beginning? In this analogy, the spaghetti is morning pages, the meatballs are artist's dates, and the sauce would be the exercises.
If you really want to do the group with your friends, you could always focus on the artist's dates, which are basically about setting aside some time to do your own thing.
posted by betweenthebars at 8:26 AM on November 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Ah yes, for anyone who hesitates at this blurb: "Without The Artist's Way, there would have been no Eat, Pray, Love." —Elizabeth Gilbert
You've asked great questions and I wish I had more concrete answers! Some reflections:
It was meaningful for me to do AW in a group that was very comfortable questioning the dated aspects of the book ("I will get AIDS," anyone?!) or noting our areas of resistance ("Welp, Julia's in clueless rich horse woman territory here"). It's great that you have a facilitator who is thinking inclusively, and I hope your group doesn't shy away from discussing what they're not taking with them.
My group was more about habit than discipline -- we were forgiving about morning pages formats or having partners on artist dates. (Not sure what's standard, but our virtual meetings had both discussion time and working time on mute for the exercises.)
I have read many books in this genre and my recommendation is Beth Pickens's Make Your Art No Matter What (2021). The chapter on money is far more relatable and realistic than other self-help/professional practices books. And it's the ONLY book I've found that explicitly acknowledges that "having [one's] art consumed mainly by white people or experienced out of its context" is a valid concern. Check it out!
Best of luck as you approach this with vulnerability and courage!
posted by birds at 8:28 AM on November 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
You've asked great questions and I wish I had more concrete answers! Some reflections:
Best of luck as you approach this with vulnerability and courage!
posted by birds at 8:28 AM on November 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
clearly I'm in the minority. i think the long-hand morning pages are the principle practice of the artists' way. i.e. if you're not doing it, it's not the artists' way, it's something distinct.
which, i think, doesn't impair your search for utility within modified practices. i think it'd fair to your cohort to say you're not 'doing' the book, you're 'mining' the book.
on preview, I'm more or less cocurring with betweenthebars.
posted by j_curiouser at 8:34 AM on November 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
which, i think, doesn't impair your search for utility within modified practices. i think it'd fair to your cohort to say you're not 'doing' the book, you're 'mining' the book.
on preview, I'm more or less cocurring with betweenthebars.
posted by j_curiouser at 8:34 AM on November 11, 2022 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I think the key to this — which you've already locked onto with your question — is how to adapt it to make it work for you.
What I'm about to suggest is probably a very unartist's way to approach the challenge, but it's how my brain works, so I'm offering it to you in case there's any similarity or utility in the way I process things. So I might take a systems thinking approach here, specifically, the ladder of abstraction (LoA). In it's very simplest (and crudest, apologies to the practitioners out there), the LoA has abstract ideas at the top and specific instances and examples at the very bottom. “Manifest your life!” is way up there and “you must write 3 full, handwritten pages first thing every morning” is waaay down at the bottom.
Basically, when a book or person or whatever offers a very specific and concrete idea that doesn't work for me, I ask myself, “What are they getting at here? What does doing this thing accomplish (for others)?”
What those questions do is take the idea higher up the ladder, making it more abstract. With Morning Pages, taking the idea higher up the ladder sounds something like “do a thing early in the day that allows you to purge unhelpful cruft from your mind”
From there, I need to take the idea back down the ladder, into concrete actionables. So I ask myself, “How could I get at that? What could I try that accomplishes that goal?”
For Morning Pages, for me, taking it down the ladder a rung or two is doing a “morning thought” or “morning paragraph”. But I also find that speaking into Otter at other points in the day accomplishes that goal as well. Also, leaving Marco Polo videos for my friends with thought dumps (gotta love them for being up for watching that, they're the best).
It doesn't matter exactly HOW you get down the ladder again, just whatever way works best as you try things over time to accomplish the more abstract goal.
This silly trick works for all kinds of stuff; abstracting ideas and then bringing them back down again (or vice versa) until they make sense for you.
I find it especially useful for things that are too woo or spiritual or overwhelmingly positive for my liking. It's almost like I need to translate and literally ground the ideas in order to understand the value in them.
Somewhat related to that, a coach once said to me “Nobody can waste your time. How can you make that true?” I've found that to be especially valuable advice for getting through courses, programs, talks or books that don't necessarily speak to me directly. I challenge myself to get as much value out of it as possible, even if that simply means practicing levelling up or down the ideas they're offering.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:35 AM on November 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
What I'm about to suggest is probably a very unartist's way to approach the challenge, but it's how my brain works, so I'm offering it to you in case there's any similarity or utility in the way I process things. So I might take a systems thinking approach here, specifically, the ladder of abstraction (LoA). In it's very simplest (and crudest, apologies to the practitioners out there), the LoA has abstract ideas at the top and specific instances and examples at the very bottom. “Manifest your life!” is way up there and “you must write 3 full, handwritten pages first thing every morning” is waaay down at the bottom.
Basically, when a book or person or whatever offers a very specific and concrete idea that doesn't work for me, I ask myself, “What are they getting at here? What does doing this thing accomplish (for others)?”
What those questions do is take the idea higher up the ladder, making it more abstract. With Morning Pages, taking the idea higher up the ladder sounds something like “do a thing early in the day that allows you to purge unhelpful cruft from your mind”
From there, I need to take the idea back down the ladder, into concrete actionables. So I ask myself, “How could I get at that? What could I try that accomplishes that goal?”
For Morning Pages, for me, taking it down the ladder a rung or two is doing a “morning thought” or “morning paragraph”. But I also find that speaking into Otter at other points in the day accomplishes that goal as well. Also, leaving Marco Polo videos for my friends with thought dumps (gotta love them for being up for watching that, they're the best).
It doesn't matter exactly HOW you get down the ladder again, just whatever way works best as you try things over time to accomplish the more abstract goal.
This silly trick works for all kinds of stuff; abstracting ideas and then bringing them back down again (or vice versa) until they make sense for you.
I find it especially useful for things that are too woo or spiritual or overwhelmingly positive for my liking. It's almost like I need to translate and literally ground the ideas in order to understand the value in them.
Somewhat related to that, a coach once said to me “Nobody can waste your time. How can you make that true?” I've found that to be especially valuable advice for getting through courses, programs, talks or books that don't necessarily speak to me directly. I challenge myself to get as much value out of it as possible, even if that simply means practicing levelling up or down the ideas they're offering.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:35 AM on November 11, 2022 [8 favorites]
Yeah, I have issues with Julia Cameron. A lot of people I know have found The Artist's Way useful but I can't get past some of her attitudes.
The only system that has ever worked for me is Jami Attenberg's #1000words program. She runs it on twitter and on her Substack periodically through the year. She does have a book about the program coming out, in 2024 I think, but it's dead simple. She just sends you emails saying, "Today you will write 1000 words," along with a few other encouraging thoughts. I think the thing about her program is partly that she is who she is-- which is a delightful person and also a successful novelist-- and partly that there is nothing to it but continuity and giving yourself the space to create.
If I had to do The Artist's Way right now, I would simply commit to the "every day" part of it. Morning pages, evening pages, ten photographs a day, whatever it is that you do. Just make sure you don't stop for considerable periods of time. Then read The Artist's Way with your friends and see what they say about it. Certain ideas and pieces of advice can help you if they come along at the right time, as long as you are already engaged in a continuous creative practice.
Good luck!
posted by BibiRose at 9:18 AM on November 11, 2022
The only system that has ever worked for me is Jami Attenberg's #1000words program. She runs it on twitter and on her Substack periodically through the year. She does have a book about the program coming out, in 2024 I think, but it's dead simple. She just sends you emails saying, "Today you will write 1000 words," along with a few other encouraging thoughts. I think the thing about her program is partly that she is who she is-- which is a delightful person and also a successful novelist-- and partly that there is nothing to it but continuity and giving yourself the space to create.
If I had to do The Artist's Way right now, I would simply commit to the "every day" part of it. Morning pages, evening pages, ten photographs a day, whatever it is that you do. Just make sure you don't stop for considerable periods of time. Then read The Artist's Way with your friends and see what they say about it. Certain ideas and pieces of advice can help you if they come along at the right time, as long as you are already engaged in a continuous creative practice.
Good luck!
posted by BibiRose at 9:18 AM on November 11, 2022
This article about Cameron in the New York Times from 2019 (link is free to access) may help with some background.
posted by gudrun at 10:11 AM on November 11, 2022
posted by gudrun at 10:11 AM on November 11, 2022
Best answer: I'm currently finishing my slow run through Artist's Way (done 10 weeks in 4 months), and my thoughts so far:
- morning pages remind me very much of talking in therapy, in that you lead yourself on various analysis and conclusions. The exercises too. My therapist actually is familiar with the program and agrees that it's basically self-led therapy in a way.
- I don't have problems with the handwriting, but I'm a fountain pen geek so getting to use my pens and inks is fun
- the book is terrifyingly American, especially the way she assumes everyone's family was suspicious of artists as Not Righteously Puritan Enough. There's a very specific morality and religiosity that she aims to circumvent, which is puzzling to amusing when you're a lapsed European Catholic going "...Protestants are very strange."
- privilege, woah. All over, not just the manifesting
- I would love to see anyone below C-suite in an office job get away with not reading anything for a week while not on holiday in a monastic retreat
In particular with ADHD I've given myself carte blanche to do morning pages when my brain is actually ready for them - which may well be before bed. This makes me more likely to do them. (She clearly has no pets if she thinks first thing in the morning can be writing and not feeding the horde.) I also allow myself to get distracted and come back to them when I feel ready, because yep, focus issues. I still get a lot out of them this way and it's been nearly five months now with skipping maybe once a month when health or schedule just didn't allow me to get to it properly.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:22 PM on November 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
- morning pages remind me very much of talking in therapy, in that you lead yourself on various analysis and conclusions. The exercises too. My therapist actually is familiar with the program and agrees that it's basically self-led therapy in a way.
- I don't have problems with the handwriting, but I'm a fountain pen geek so getting to use my pens and inks is fun
- the book is terrifyingly American, especially the way she assumes everyone's family was suspicious of artists as Not Righteously Puritan Enough. There's a very specific morality and religiosity that she aims to circumvent, which is puzzling to amusing when you're a lapsed European Catholic going "...Protestants are very strange."
- privilege, woah. All over, not just the manifesting
- I would love to see anyone below C-suite in an office job get away with not reading anything for a week while not on holiday in a monastic retreat
In particular with ADHD I've given myself carte blanche to do morning pages when my brain is actually ready for them - which may well be before bed. This makes me more likely to do them. (She clearly has no pets if she thinks first thing in the morning can be writing and not feeding the horde.) I also allow myself to get distracted and come back to them when I feel ready, because yep, focus issues. I still get a lot out of them this way and it's been nearly five months now with skipping maybe once a month when health or schedule just didn't allow me to get to it properly.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 12:22 PM on November 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: - the book is terrifyingly American, especially the way she assumes everyone's family was suspicious of artists as Not Righteously Puritan Enough. There's a very specific morality and religiosity that she aims to circumvent, which is puzzling to amusing when you're a lapsed European Catholic going "...Protestants are very strange."
Right? My hardworking (American) Southern protestant parents had gone against that grain and had been genuinely ecstatic to have a kid who loved to write and make things. So growing up, I'd been under a lot of pressure to pursue that successfully, so naturally I clammed up, spent my career writing for other people, and now finally I'm writing for me.
So, hey, a small group of us completed The Artist's Way here on metafilter this past summer, and we have a lengthy thread about how it went, in case you want a peek into that.
Before this year, like you, I had tried and abandoned the program several times before then (my first attempt was in 2003!) and this time it worked. Here's what I did differently:
- I went with through the program with a small group. We had much the same experience as birds, who mentioned above that it's genuinely helpful to have someone to react to Julia being outdated, off the map, or hopelessly out of touch. There's plenty of LET THEM EAT BRIOCHE here, and it's fine to laugh at that.
- I decided to approach this thing with a LOOSE GRIP. In my previous attempts, I had resembled Tracy Flick on triple espressos and tried to force everything apply to me. This time, I promised myself that it's a process, I'd take what I needed from it, and it's 1000% okay if not everything applies to me.
- I was faithful to doing the morning pages. Honestly, if you're happier typing, that's fine. Part of LOOSE GRIP is that I did try writing by longhand, and after a few weeks I started holding the pen differently. I wrote on wide rule loose leaf, and that felt really natural for me.
- I read every chapter twice, and some essays multiple times if they resonated.
- I wasn't able to do artist dates every week due to reasons, but even just making a point to sit outside and watch the neighborhood went a long way.
- There were entire weeks where I skipped the exercises. And it was FINE.
The God stuff dilutes quite a bit after the initial few chapters.
I will say, again, that there will be a ton of stuff that may not relate at all to you. That's okay. Julia casts a wide net and that's by design. Some chapters were totally irrelevant to me, so I'd go back and reread a previous chapter that I'd found helpful. Some chapters I lingered on because I needed to simmer on it.
And that -- well, that and the morning pages, which is a daily joyful thing I look forward to every morning -- was the single most helpful aspect of the book. After feeling so fledgling and anxious about creating things, so rudderless for so long, it was genuinely empowering for me to read every chapter with a critical eye, recognize what was working, what didn't apply, what was straight out bananas. That whole process of learning what I liked and what I needed as a creative person was great practice for becoming more decisive and as a result feeling more confident.
So now I'm writing again. I'm working on getting a more constant practice, but I can say that in the past few months, I've had more inspiration and output than I've had since I was in college.
Anyway, I hope you have a great experience. Even if you start and decide to stop, that's a lesson: that information helps you navigate closer to something that works for you. All the best.
posted by mochapickle at 1:25 PM on November 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
Right? My hardworking (American) Southern protestant parents had gone against that grain and had been genuinely ecstatic to have a kid who loved to write and make things. So growing up, I'd been under a lot of pressure to pursue that successfully, so naturally I clammed up, spent my career writing for other people, and now finally I'm writing for me.
So, hey, a small group of us completed The Artist's Way here on metafilter this past summer, and we have a lengthy thread about how it went, in case you want a peek into that.
Before this year, like you, I had tried and abandoned the program several times before then (my first attempt was in 2003!) and this time it worked. Here's what I did differently:
- I went with through the program with a small group. We had much the same experience as birds, who mentioned above that it's genuinely helpful to have someone to react to Julia being outdated, off the map, or hopelessly out of touch. There's plenty of LET THEM EAT BRIOCHE here, and it's fine to laugh at that.
- I decided to approach this thing with a LOOSE GRIP. In my previous attempts, I had resembled Tracy Flick on triple espressos and tried to force everything apply to me. This time, I promised myself that it's a process, I'd take what I needed from it, and it's 1000% okay if not everything applies to me.
- I was faithful to doing the morning pages. Honestly, if you're happier typing, that's fine. Part of LOOSE GRIP is that I did try writing by longhand, and after a few weeks I started holding the pen differently. I wrote on wide rule loose leaf, and that felt really natural for me.
- I read every chapter twice, and some essays multiple times if they resonated.
- I wasn't able to do artist dates every week due to reasons, but even just making a point to sit outside and watch the neighborhood went a long way.
- There were entire weeks where I skipped the exercises. And it was FINE.
The God stuff dilutes quite a bit after the initial few chapters.
I will say, again, that there will be a ton of stuff that may not relate at all to you. That's okay. Julia casts a wide net and that's by design. Some chapters were totally irrelevant to me, so I'd go back and reread a previous chapter that I'd found helpful. Some chapters I lingered on because I needed to simmer on it.
And that -- well, that and the morning pages, which is a daily joyful thing I look forward to every morning -- was the single most helpful aspect of the book. After feeling so fledgling and anxious about creating things, so rudderless for so long, it was genuinely empowering for me to read every chapter with a critical eye, recognize what was working, what didn't apply, what was straight out bananas. That whole process of learning what I liked and what I needed as a creative person was great practice for becoming more decisive and as a result feeling more confident.
So now I'm writing again. I'm working on getting a more constant practice, but I can say that in the past few months, I've had more inspiration and output than I've had since I was in college.
Anyway, I hope you have a great experience. Even if you start and decide to stop, that's a lesson: that information helps you navigate closer to something that works for you. All the best.
posted by mochapickle at 1:25 PM on November 11, 2022 [6 favorites]
I just want to note that as a Not A Morning Person, I haaaaaaaaaated doing morning pages. I wake up and feel like shit every morning and all I did in the pages was whine about how awful I felt and how tired i was. I got literally nothing out of that experience. I don't write down dreams (rarely have them) or have any remotely good insights in a bright, early, frigid morning.
If you are not a morning person, this may not work for you. Or perhaps just do that whole journaling thing (I note 750words.com kinda does the same thing) at night.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:47 PM on November 11, 2022
If you are not a morning person, this may not work for you. Or perhaps just do that whole journaling thing (I note 750words.com kinda does the same thing) at night.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:47 PM on November 11, 2022
Best answer: Late to this thread, but I did Artist's Way about five years ago, and learned some stuff along the way! I'm not sure I'm an artist, but someone recommended it as a way to get unstuck/do some internal processing, and it was helpful for me with that. Some things that worked:
I ignored the manifesting stuff, and honestly, that worked fine for me. I ended up adopting a similar approach to iamkimiam's frame above - focusing on whatever it took to make it doable/interesting for me. I think the practicality of this may be tempered by how much the group you're doing it with ends up focusing on the more spiritual elements.
I absolutely did not hand write the morning pages. As a person with ADHD, I free write/journal many mornings by typing. I actually was thinking back and I suspect this practice, which I now do somewhat regularly, came from doing morning pages. Now I just do it if I have some stuff that's floating around in my head that I need to get out before I start my day. I've found that 4thewords is a fantastic tool for it for me. I'm not sure if it's too close to Duolingo streaks (but on 4thewords you can backfill your streak if you miss days, or just press the "I did it" button if it's not happening), and the idea of fighting monsters and unlocking a story has helped me keep a longer practice than 750 words (which I've also used).
I will also say that the artist's dates were genuinely a good way for me to think about how much of my time I spent doing things with/for other people as opposed to focusing on myself. I fondly look back on going to an art museum (something I love doing solo but had usually only done if I could find someone to go with) and buying a beautiful book that I would have just convinced myself I didn't need before.
All of this is to second all the folks who have said that you should take what you can from the process, and ditch what doesn't work for you. I hope that it brings you useful (or enjoyable) experiences. (And now I'm thinking I should schedule an art museum visit for myself...)
posted by kserra at 4:41 AM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
I ignored the manifesting stuff, and honestly, that worked fine for me. I ended up adopting a similar approach to iamkimiam's frame above - focusing on whatever it took to make it doable/interesting for me. I think the practicality of this may be tempered by how much the group you're doing it with ends up focusing on the more spiritual elements.
I absolutely did not hand write the morning pages. As a person with ADHD, I free write/journal many mornings by typing. I actually was thinking back and I suspect this practice, which I now do somewhat regularly, came from doing morning pages. Now I just do it if I have some stuff that's floating around in my head that I need to get out before I start my day. I've found that 4thewords is a fantastic tool for it for me. I'm not sure if it's too close to Duolingo streaks (but on 4thewords you can backfill your streak if you miss days, or just press the "I did it" button if it's not happening), and the idea of fighting monsters and unlocking a story has helped me keep a longer practice than 750 words (which I've also used).
I will also say that the artist's dates were genuinely a good way for me to think about how much of my time I spent doing things with/for other people as opposed to focusing on myself. I fondly look back on going to an art museum (something I love doing solo but had usually only done if I could find someone to go with) and buying a beautiful book that I would have just convinced myself I didn't need before.
All of this is to second all the folks who have said that you should take what you can from the process, and ditch what doesn't work for you. I hope that it brings you useful (or enjoyable) experiences. (And now I'm thinking I should schedule an art museum visit for myself...)
posted by kserra at 4:41 AM on November 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:58 AM on November 11, 2022