Ready to Read Write for Life

After resisting The Artist's Way for more than a decade, I am going to read Write for Life and see what it offers me.

Want to read and write along for the next six weeks?

As a prelude, I feel I need/want/have to say a few things that set the stage and help me contextualize this as a point in time. I have a background in writing and years and years of defining myself as a writer. I have never struggled with writing or been at a loss for words when I put pen to a page or fingers to keyboard. But there has been a lifetime in between the this and the that, in between the years where I envisioned myself as a certain kind of bohemian writer working in coffee shops and today. There has been a lot of writing in that lifetime in between, too, and hundreds of podcasts. Even so, with all those years behind me, I feel I am emerging now into a new space, and I find myself at a point where I am seeking something and am open, maybe in new ways. I am returning to my writing and my words. I like to think I never left, but something is different, there is a difference, and it does feel like a return, a rekindling, and a reclaiming. I am also not new to the virtues of habit. Talking about creative habit has been a foundation of the Creativity Matters Podcast through all of its almost 17 years. My daily drawing habit (which now takes the form of an illustrated journal) is a mindful and balancing part of my day, but it is one that unfolds each day almost like breathing. These habits do not form overnight, but after many years of daily work, this simply is a part of who I am. I am also really "big" on productivity systems and tools. I enjoy tracking. I enjoy documentation. I love databases. Finally, I am not interested in competition between creative types, subtle or otherwise. That's a pretty big preamble, but somehow it feels necessary. 

I am going to read Julia Cameron‘s Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer.

I debated about how I want to do this and if I want to do this. After a lot of soul searching, I decided I really do want to do this, that I want to do it in a way that allows me to reflect on what I’m reading and the experience, and that I would like to do it with other people. 

I checked out Write for Life a month or so ago. I only read a few pages when I first had it from the library. I decided to start doing my own morning writing at that point, without reading the book (although I intended to), and then I had to return the book. It took weeks for me to get it again.

The book is set up in a series of six chapters that take you through six weeks. I have read a bit of the first chapter, and I am continuing. But I thought I would put out some feelers.... and see if anyone else is interested in reading along.

Several of her books have a similar six-week approach, and I think many of them probably contain similar content. I am pretty sure that her "morning pages" feature in most (maybe all) of them. She is, after all, famous for The Artist's Way, and I know the underpinnings of Write for Life stem from that. 

I am not a Julia Cameron person. 

I have to put that out there right away because it's central to why it's been hard for me to dive in. I have always had some resistance to her books and to The Artist's Way, which I have not read. I know many, many, many people have been profoundly influenced by her work, by The Artist's Way, and by the concept of morning pages (and even of artist's dates). But I cut my teeth, so to speak, on Natalie Goldberg‘s Writing Down the Bones. It was a pivotal book for me back in the late 80s when I was a young writer. Free writing was central to many of the classes I took as an undergraduate student. (I think Writing Down the Bones may have been required reading in my Freshman Studies class, which was similar to what many people take as their Freshman English/composition class. This timeline all makes sense. Writing Down the Bones was first published in 1986. The Artist's Way came out in 1992.)

What does all this have to do with not reading Cameron?

I have always felt like the process of morning pages (fairly well known even if you haven't read the book) is similar to the free writing that Goldberg describes and advocates. For me, the popularity of The Artist’s Way was a stumbling block.

¹

(Clarifying that this was the biggest point of resistance. I was a “Goldberg person,” which must seem and sound really silly. Plus, I already knew about the benefits of free writing.)

In addition, I also have always had some resistance to The Artist's Way precisely because I know that it has spiritual foundations. It's in the title: The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. This is not to say anything about personal belief (my own or anyone else’s). But I know that the spiritual underpinnings have played into my reluctance to read a book that so many people rave about. One might think I would immediately read the book everyone raves about, but I tend to walk a slightly different road. 

I think I always knew “just enough” about The Artist’s Way to think it wasn’t for me. I let that resistance build through the years.

Even so, I have checked out at least two of Cameron's other books in the last few years, maybe three. I only looked at a few pages of each, but both made me want to read more. In both, I felt like I was reading an approach to writing that I know, an approach that has resonance, an inner mindscape that has echoes for me. I felt that strongly when I looked at The Sound of Paper during my 50 Before 50 year. I still want to go back and fully read that one. Right to Write is another I know I checked out. And I think I pulled (but didn't read) Listening Path at one point.

That all brings me to now, to this point in time, to a year that has some underpinnings of being open, of softening, and of unfolding.

I'm ready to read Cameron, and I'm starting with Write for Life. 

Writing in the Margins

I've been writing again, consistently. I completed NaNoWrimo again last November. I am working on a book. It's not one I talk about in specifics (even when asked). I guess I have trust issues. But I do have something concrete started (with a simple goal). I also write, always, as a part of understanding the world, or trying to, of exploring the quotidian, of seeking meaning and reminding all of us to move through our days with our eyes open to the small moments of wonder, whimsy, and serendipity. I forget so much, and I always hope that writing will give me bread crumbs at some point. At least I'll be able to read about a life.... whether I remember it as my own or not. 

In my world, there is a lot of anxiety over medical issues and day-to-day uncertainty. There are massive financial fears that are connected and that have been eroding things for the last decade. I am also watching other changes happen, changes that come about naturally as we age and as our roles in the lives of others shift. These are changes I feel I am dealing with less than gracefully. Through it all, I work at a nonprofit, where I am, basically, dead-ended. I have zero real connections, which is a source of great and growing fear and anxiety about my coming years. I work long days, and I make art at night and run things like #illustrateyourweek, the podcast (since 2006), Sunday online drawing groups, and, now, this substack space.

So, I'm at a point maybe of convergence.  I don't think things are coming together. I think, instead, I've reached some tipping point. My response to this is to appreciate and embrace slowness but to continue to seek balance in my margins and to continue to widen them.

Part of that means I am writing more than ever. 

This book falls right into the middle of this current mindset. It seems to be just the right moment, and while I still have some hesitation and some resistance, I am drawn to the idea of going through this book. It may be that I work through this one and then start working through a pile of similar titles, let this reading and documenting be a series of its own. (The ex-academic in me is happy at the thought.) 

Daily Morning Writing

As I mentioned, I have already started writing what, in essence, amounts to morning pages, and I’ve been doing this daily for over a month. More than 30 days in, this short but powerful morning routine includes a daily story at Instagram. That story has become an important part of this habit stack, one that has several layers of meaning. (I talked about this fledgling habit stack in Episode 484). I am feeling good about how this is going, protective of the habit and the process, really determined, and excited by having successfully carved out a new space in my day and created a routine and habit that seems to be sticking. 

Now, I am ready to read this book. I am still not sure if I will gain anything from really deliberately and intentionally going through the book, but I am going to read Write for Life. Because it's set up as a 6-week program (in 6 chapters), I'm going to take it a week at a time and not just rush through the book. 

I don’t know that I will come away with anything different or new from reading the book, but I think that I want to do this. Something is pulling me along. I think I may need to do this. I am not sure what the tug is, but I am not one to completely turn away when the universe seems determined. I am a little bit excited about what this reading may hold. I will be going through it, maybe with a third eye towards documenting the process and somehow tracking the whole thing. (There may be some sketchnotes.)

Like I said, I’m already doing the pages, and I don’t know that reading Write for Life will amount to more than that. Or maybe it will. I am going to try and be open to the whole process, try the whole system, and see what happens.

The Door is Open

I sometimes give in to thinking group things might be fun. I think reading this book sounds like a fun thing to do with a group or a small community of people who are at a similar point where they think they might benefit from shaking up the process a little bit differently for themselves — or who want to begin a process of daily writing.

I picked the book up this morning before logging in for work and sat and looked at a few pages. I feel like I am at the right point. I'm open. I'm soft. I'm determined. I'm optimistic even if a bit hesitant, hopeful even if a bit skeptical. I feel like there is something here for me this time.

Maybe you are at the right point, too. 

I think I will probably document my experience reading this book here in my substack, and I’m sure it will come up on the podcast, but I thought I would see if there is anyone else who might be interested in somehow connecting over this process. 

Are you looking to start writing? Do you wish you had a stronger journaling practice? Do you have a book in process or tucked away in you? Do you have stories you want to record or poems you want to write or observations about the world that you want to collect? Do you already draw or make art but feel like there is more you want to capture or explore in written form? Do you already define yourself as a writer or have a long-term history with writing and personal writing?

You don’t have to be a fiction writer. Your interest might be nonfiction, essays, poetry, creative fiction, or personal journaling. It can be any kind of writing. If writing is central to how you identify yourself and how you process the world at large and your place in the world, and what it means to be here, then you might be interested in reading this book and maybe we could sort of do this in tandem. "Buddy read" sounds a bit too trite for what I hope this book holds, the magic I hope it brings forth for each of us, but it's also "sort of" what I mean.

It may be that my reading of Write for Life will turn out to be just a series of posts with some wonderful discussion in the comments. And it may be that you aren’t interested in reading the book or starting a writing practice, and that you don’t have your own dreams around books you need to write, but that you will follow along here, take in and absorb the documentation and the summaries, and find something in it for you as a reader.

(If you have already read The Artist's Way, then this isn't necessarily a book you will want or need to read.)

Leave a comment if you might be interested in reading along. If you want, tell me a little bit about why. 

Timing: I’m ready to start. If anyone is interested, I’ll hold off a week for people to see if they can get the book. Otherwise, I’ll dive into chapter one this week and get started on my own journey.

What will you need?: You’ll need a copy of the book (library is totally fine), a stack of paper, a composition book, or a simple journal (don’t overthink it), and a pen. You’ll need to be open to the process, willing to devote a bit of time each day, and, hopefully, willingness to share your experience as we go along.

What will be involved?: The shape of this is still a bit amorphous. While I am often quick to jump into setting up a dedicated space for things like this, a wise voice within me is reminding me that managing a group may eat away at the time I hope and need to devote to the writing itself (and to my other projects). After I hear from you to see how many/if (a few) people are interested, we’ll see what happens.

Currently:

• I am hoping to post here, weekly, with thoughts on the week (of the book/process) and discussion questions.

• It may be that responses and discussion are just in comments.

• Or maybe we try the substack chat feature for weekly chats.

• Or maybe, depending on the group, we try a zoom session (or a few). It really depends on the mix, the interest, and the involvement.

(Note: This book does partly have an assumption that you are working on another writing project, too. That may or may complicate the reading for some. You shouldn’t let it rule out the benefit a daily writing habit can offer. But the book’s discussion of “quota” may or may not have relevance. That’s not meant to be a spoiler, just a bit of context.)

Related Reading

For anyone curious about Cameron or Goldberg titles, here are some you might check:

Julia Cameron:

• The Artist's Way

• Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer   

• The Right to Write

• Listening Path 

• The Sound of Paper 

• Seeking Wisdom 

• Walking in this World: The Practical Art of Creativity 

• It's Never Too Late to Begin Again: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond 

• The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart 

• Finding Water: The Art of Perseverance 

Natalie Goldberg:

• The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language  

• Old Friend from Far Away 

• Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer's Craft 

• Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life 

• Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home: A Memoir 

• Living Color: A Writer Paints Her World

A few other rogue titles that I want to keep in the foreground:

• Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear (Elizabeth Gilbert) 

• Escaping into the Open: The Art of Writing True (Elizabeth Berg) 

• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Anne Lamott) 

• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King) 

• The Art of Memoir (Mary Karr) 

This post has made me see, clearly, that lining up a series of books I work through is really what I need to do. I’ve got two others checked out that I’ve checked out again and again and never made time for. Maybe now is the time to get intentional.

(Note: Amazon links are affiliate links that help support the podcast and the writing here at Illustrated Life.)

1. Cameron and Goldberg do seem to know one another and may be friends. I do know that there are references to Goldberg in Write for Life, and a recent edition of Writing Down the Bones has a preface by Cameron.