First, I wanted to thank fellow Montclair Patch blogger Melody Lima for her comment on my recent blog post: “Why Aren’t You Writing?” Melody brought up an excellent point about organization. Where can we write? Where does writing fit in? Is it in the middle of soccer games or homework or full-time jobs? Is it on the bus or train or subway? Is it before we close our eyes for the evening?
In my experience, I write anywhere I can: on the backs of old receipts, in the Notes application of my Blackberry, on a check (don’t tell my Accountant that). Sometimes, I even carry note cards around me or record my ideas on my voice recorder on my smart phone.
I know this doesn’t work for everyone, and I respect that because we all have different lives: some lives are busier than others. I am going to suggest two possible remedies for organization: the Morning Pages and an Artist’s Date by Julia Cameron author of The Artist’s Way.
Julia Cameron’s the Morning Pages are three pages of stream of consciousness done first thing in the morning that help you start the day with your writing in mind. Cameron says that that Morning Pages are not a form of “high art,” so don’t think you have to write a Pulitzer Prize winning novel first thing in the morning. Truth is, your pages may be “negative, fragmented, repetitive or bland.” But that’s the point! Remember “Worrying about your job, the laundry, the weird look your friend gave you – all that stuff distracts you from your creativity. It eddies through your sub consciousness and muddies your day. Get it on the page first thing in the morning and move on with your day with a freer spirit,” says Cameron.
Cameron also encourages writers to have an “Artist’s Date.” I think this is a great way to spark your imagination and get you to do something with you! Take yourself on a date and go explore something that you are interested in on your own. Make it once a week or more. The bottom line is to allow yourself to become inspired. It doesn’t have to be an over-the-top date. Take a walk around Montclair. Do you notice something about your town that you didn’t notice before? What did you find?
Try either technique. What worked? What didn’t work?
Related articles
- On ‘Being’ Creative (jerindesign.wordpress.com)
