The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, but I have not yet committed to the full 12-week program. I’ve dabbled in Morning Pages and Artist Dates, but not consecutively for 12 weeks.

The book assumes that you the reader are blocked, that your creativity or inner artist is suppressed. I might be somewhere in between, and I wish it weren’t presented in such a 0 to 100 way. Maybe that’s the point, though, that you have to step on the gas and fully unleash your creative energy. I am of course skeptical about some things, but she deftly anticipates the reader’s skepticism and addresses it. Even so, that doesn’t mean all skepticism is necessarily invalid.

There are many great ideas in here that I’d like to return to write about. For now, I'll plant just two.

On artist brain

Cameron talks about “Artist brain” unlocked while driving, running, walking, showering, shaving, etc. Apparently Steven Spielberg has his best ideas while driving on the freeway.

I've written about searching for more artist brain moments, like number two. Airplanes are totally another one for me. I’ve actually flown a good bit over the past five years or so. I usually read or listen to podcasts, and I think that I think really well on flights. They are energizing in that way. So maybe motion is a common theme? Walking, running, biking, driving, flying…

On nine slow miles for every fast one

Log nine slow miles for every fast one. She likens writing to running. When training, marathoners run the majority of their mileage slowly and reserve speed for select training runs and race day. Applied to writing, this means volume is good. You shouldn’t save your writing or worry about spending up your good writing. Write a ton, and for every nine mediocre pages you’ll produce one great one.