Timeline for Shared Reading of Write for Life

A timeline for the six weeks/six chapters of Julia Cameron's Write for Life

Thank you to those of you who have commented with interest in reading and writing along with me as I go through Julia Cameron’s Write for Life. (If this is the first you are hearing of this, you can learn more in this post.)

(Important: If you are not interested in receiving posts about this shared reading, jump to this post that will help you customize your subscription. You can turn off these emails!)

As I’ve mentioned to many of you in response to your comments, I think it may be that we simply use the substack comment section (and potentially the substack chat) to talk about the book. In the past, I would have set up a private Facebook group, but I think keeping it all here will work. (I decided that I want my focus to be on the reading, the writing, and the reflection. Keeping things flowing through this space, where I am dedicating a lot of energy, makes sense.)

Doing the read-along via the substack, I can’t make things “private.” Even in chat, as a free substack, there is not a way for me to set up a private space.

The group is small. There are a handful of us. Many of you have done other things with me through the years as part of the podcast. Some of you I know from Illustrate Your Week and/or the weekend drawing group. Several of you have read The Artist's Way before (and/or other titles by Cameron). Some of you are writers. Some of you are not.

It sounds like most of you have the book.

Everyone seems eager to start. I have asked you not to read ahead. I’m holding to that as well. I have been waiting to make sure I gave time to allow anyone who wanted to join to make that decision and to check out a copy of the book.

Given the small size, I think we can begin!

A Timeline

This is a "6-week" book. To follow along with the "weeks" of the book, I would like to suggest the following timeline:

• Week 1: Priming the Pump

  Finish Week 1 by/around April 6. I will plan to post about Week 1 and open discussion questions next Wednesday (April 5).

• Week 2: Begin Where You Are

  Finish Week 2 by April 13.

• Week 3: Trust Your Process

  Finish Week 3 by April 20.

• Week 4: Resist Your Resistance

  Finish Week 4 by April 27.

• Week 5: Dismantle Your Perfectionist

  Finish Week 5 by May 4.

• Week 6: Celebrate Your Achievement

  Finish Week 6 by May 11.

Each week, I’ll be planning to post on Wednesday (a day ahead of each listed date). That way the post will be there, with questions, ready for you. I’ll be posting in the “Read-Along” section of the substack, and the weekly post will arrive in email.

You Tell Me

How does this sound? I do not want to shut anyone out by starting too soon, but most of you have commented that you have the book and are ready. (If you are still waiting on the book, comment below, and I can help with some basic information that you can start putting into place for the next week to get you started.)

What to Know

The book is structured in six weekly chapters. Ideally, you’ll want to be able to start "doing" (or reflecting upon) what the chapter is talking about for that week. You may want to read the chapter early in the week.

At the end of each chapter, there are some additional tasks as well as some check-in questions. We can talk about those here together as well as share anything else about our experience each week.

Each chapter is about thirty pages.

This may seem like a spoiler, but this will help set the stage so that you know what to expect. There are four things that will come up as part of what Cameron advises:

1. Morning pages (every day)

2. Walks 

3. Artist dates

4. Working on a writing project (and a daily quota)

(These are all more fully defined and explained in the book.)

The first three should be within reach of most of us. They do not need to be complicated or fancy. I encourage you to not overthink these. Think about them, yes. Do them and reflect on the doing yes. But don’t get too caught up in what counts as an artist date, especially. (I do many of these things already, not attributed to reading Cameron. You might as well. Paying attention to these things as part of working through the six weeks may still open you to some discovery, inspiration, and mindful reflection.)

I am looking forward to the rubric of the six weeks and to doing all of these deliberately, with intentionality, and in the context of the reading.

Note: Some of you have mentioned the daily quota and are concerned about reading the book because you don’t have a writing project. My suggestion is to go ahead and do the practices that make sense for you and your goals. If you are not working on another project (and that isn't an objective for you), focus on the other threads, which are all important in her other writings, too. 

Keep in mind that you will probably want to “read” the chapter for the week at the start of that week so that you know the focus for the week. 

What You Need

• Something to write with.

• Something to write in/on. You do not need a fancy journal for your daily writing (or morning pages). I think that would likely make it more difficult in some cases, especially if you are new to free-writing, free-form journaling, or morning pages. My experience with free-writing (through the years and now having done these pages for the last 45+ days) is that I write fast, messy, and probably only legible to me, and sometimes that is questionable. I am a big fan of composition books anyway, and that is what I am using for this process. The simple container makes the paper and the journal ordinary, functional, and not precious. I encourage you not to overthink this. You’ll be writing “3 pages” a day long-hand, so grab a composition book, spiral notebook, or some other journal that has been sitting on your shelves.

You also will need:

• An open mind.  I ask that you be open to the process.

• A willingness to try the routines she outlines.  

• A willingness to read the chapters, one a week.

• A willingness to share your experience “doing” each week, to whatever degree you are comfortable. (Nothing is required of you in this space, but I hope you might contribute to discussions.)

• A willingness to engage with others who are also reading along.

• An understanding that there are no right answers and that we all are approaching this from different vantages, at different points in our lives, and with different contexts. Some of us already write daily. For others, this may be very new. I ask that we all meet together with understanding, appreciation, and respect. There is no room for competition here. Instead, I hope we make space for a shared journey and some discussion and reflection on how this reading and these approaches work for us individually.

• A positive approach. Please approach your reading with positivity and a sense/hope/belief that maybe there is something here for you to discover, be inspired by, and find helpful in your creative life.

Leave a comment below letting me know how this timeline sounds and if you have any questions. I think most of you are ready to start, and it's best that we just "do it"!

Manage Your Subscription!

This post was sent to everyone who follows the Illustrated Life substack. Only a few of you have expressed interest in reading this book, so I want to make sure you know that you can control your subscription so that the weekly posts about the shared reading are not sent to you.

I set up a page of directions to help you customize your settings.

If You Know Someone Who Might Want to Read Along….

If you have a friend who you think might want to read along, please do share.

Need the book? Check your library. Otherwise, Amazon has it available both in paperback and for Kindle.