Julia Cameron is the author of, “The Artist’s Way.” The book/program is supposed to help unblock the blocked and discover the undiscovered artist in each of us. It may sound a little woo-woo for some people, but oh well.

I’ve started and stopped this program about twice now. However, I have restarted it and am determined to finish this time, as I discussed in an earlier blog post. So far, so good. I know I will finish it this time. I expect you to yell at me if I don’t. We can yell at me together. It’ll be fun.

Anyway, below is an interview with Julia Cameron, primarily about “The Morning Pages.” (In other clips linked on the page, she discusses other aspects of The Artist’s Way as well.)  The Morning Pages are one of the key stepping stones in The Artist’s Way path. Seriously, when I first started the course, I thought they were pointless. I’ve always resisted free writing. I’m more of a stare out the window till inspiration hits, incubate the ideas for a while and have them pretty much solid before I ever commit them to paper or screen. Staring at a blank page freaks me out and tends to scare away my already flighty muse.  I arrive at the blank page armed with ideas, but that’s not the point of the morning pages.

Last week though, I had a breakthrough.  I’d been doing the morning pages, but filling them with ho-hum journal-ish type things like how I wish I had a cup of coffee, and, oh dear god why won’t the cat make me a cup of coffee, or if I could just use the force to make myself a cup of coffee I’d be so happy. You get the point.

However, last week I actually wrote a piece of fiction. Not a story really, but a little slice of time. Just a page long, more of a descriptive piece than anything, but there it was. It came from nowhere. I hadn’t tossed it around beforehand, I hadn’t developed a mental sketch of anything. I just sat down and wrote, and it was great. Can’t wait to see how the rest of this journey unfolds.

Click here to see Julia Cameron on The Artist’s Way.

Is there a piece of art, or music or writing that you wish you had done or been a part of?

I thought about this recently while talking with a friend who said they wish they could have been involved in the Star Wars movies. That got me thinking, well, me too. Who wouldn’t  want to say they had a part in one of the cinematic phenomenons of our time? And then I started thinking about other movies that would have been fun to be a part of, or books I’d written, songs I’d sung, etc., because it IS an amazing feeling to be a part of something truly great and something you are proud of.

Of COURSE our projects are ones that we are happy to be a part of, and it one day, it will be OUR projects that people wish they were a part of, but for now, what is that guitar riff that you wish you had played, or that line you wish you’d written?And no fair saying “Harry Potter” or something that just made a lot of money. You have to pick something that you are passionate about even if not a single dollar was made.

There are a few on my list, but I’ll keep it brief. For music, I’ve got to say I wish I could have done something with Queen, or with David Bowie. I’m not a songwriter or a musician, so I have no clue how I would be involved in a project with them, but they are artists I would have liked to work with. I have worked with an incredibly talented musician, Martin Page, but not in a musical way, more in a marketing kind of way, so who knows. Maybe David Bowie will call. If you’re not familiar with Martin’s work, I strongly encourage you to check him out. Working with Martin has been very rewarding, so I can check that off my list.

For fiction writing though it’s a tough one because it’s such a solitary pursuit. I would have liked to have met Ernest Hemingway, although I don’t think I could have stuck to his eating red onions and drinking red wine for breakfast regiment. When I do that, my writing is nowhere near as good as his.

I could go on and on, but what are some of your ‘dream’ projects or people?

Following up with goals…one of my goals this year is to start *and* finish, The Artist’s Way course. For those that don’t know, The Artist’s Way is a book by Julia Cameron, but is also a 12 week program to help with recover your creativity from various blocks, including fear, self-doubt, etc.

I started the course earlier this year when I felt particularly blocked. I wanted to complete the final draft on my novel, but I just couldn’t do it. I had no power, no drive, nothing. When things like that happen, I, like most creative people go to that dark place where I wondered why I even bothered writing. Those tiny thoughts tend to grow exponentially. First it’s why do I do this, next it’s, why bother? You’ll never make it anyway, hell you’ve never even sold a short story. You should be focusing on REAL things, not self-indulgent, artsy-fartsy things.

The problem is, I can’t do it. Every time I come to that point where I think I should give it up, I can’t. Even if I never make a dollar doing it, I can’t stop writing. When I’m writing, I’m happy. When I’m not, I feel like something is missing. So why, if I love it so much, do I run into these blocks? Why does anybody?

Various reasons of course…no time, life gets in the way, etc.

What the Artist Way course tries to do is find out what your blocks are and get you past them. Creativity is one of those ellusive things that we can’t just turn on or off. It comes and goes, and for me anyway, I can never quite pin it down. It’s like one of those friends you have who you LOVE visiting with, but then they don’t call or e-mail for a few weeks or months and you start feeling rejected, but then they come back and everything is right with the world again.

So, in embarking on The Artist’s Way journey, I’m hoping to equip myself with the tools I need to be able to get through these blocks when they happen, because they WILL happen. The people I know who have completed the course have said it was incredibly useful. Fingers crossed. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Have you done The Artist’s Way course or read the book? Any comments or suggestions? If you haven’t and you’re interested, drop me a line, maybe we could be study partners.

…a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead – your next stop…

Creativity-Portal.com!

You thought I was going to say the Twilight Zone, right? Actually, just  writing that made me want to go watch a few episodes.

Anyway…I found a fun new website for Fun Friday! Creativity-Portal.com is the brainchild of Chris Dunmire, who founded the site in 2000. I’ve just started poking around, but I’ve found everything from writing prompts to craft ideas to interview with artists of all stripes. This site has a little something for a variety of creative types.

So, without further ado…check it out and have FUN!