The Artist’s Way found its way to me this past Christmas, and I’ve been steadily working through the program. This book is a self-help classic, and I’m surprised I haven’t read it before now because it is certainly my sort of thing. In fact, much of the material is familiar, sharing a common ancestor, perhaps, with my previous Inner Child Healing and Simple Abundance gratitude practice.
Daily Pages
And thus, I find myself writing daily pages. For years—decades—friends have talked to me about their daily pages practice, and here I am, finally giving in. I even look forward to it. “Daily pages” is a free writing exercise. Write whatever comes mind. “Dear Diary, I did x, y, and z yesterday.” Or work out a tricky plot point. Or just stream-of-consciousness anxious thoughts. There is something about writing down an obsessive thought that loosens its grip.
Less Stuck, More Creative?
The goal of the daily pages is to get moving. Find the creative energies, get-a-round-to-it, and whatever it takes to stop ruminating and start doing. Focused intention seems to arise from the page.
The pages are also a great place to write affirmations, if chanting them to one’s reflection seems too much. Baby steps.
Do you keep a diary or journal? Or ever just write to clear the cache? Comment on the blog.
If you enjoyed this journal entry, you might like to read about Blogging.
Don’t miss The Big Cinch from Montag Press, a supernatural noir adventure by Kathy L. Brown. Sean Joye, a fae-touched young veteran of 1922’s Irish Civil War, aims to atone for his assassin past and make a clean, new life in America. Until he asks the wrong questions. . .
I started this blog thread on the gritty details of the writing process over on my Facebook Author page, @kbkathylbrown, but think I might be better served putting it over here. If you’re interest in following my writing process in an informal way, you’ll find a few posts on Facebook that might interest you. You can subscribe to the blog from the website landing page (scroll down).