Write for Life / Week 5 ("Dismantle Your Perfectionist")

Reflection and discussion of Week 5 of Julia Cameron's Write for Life

We are now through Week 5 now of this 6-chapter, 6-week book, Write for Life by Julia Cameron. I hope some of you are still reading along and finding some of this material helpful, thought-provoking, resonant, or actionable in your own creative life. Thank you to those of you who have responded in the previous weekly threads about your experience reading this book and reflecting on your own writing process.

“Perhaps all stories are stories we have heard before, and our pleasure lies as much in their retelling as their telling. The accurate telling of a tale moves us because of its accuracy. As we seek the vulnerability to write the details of our personal lives, we write the universal, and the universal cannot fail to move us.” Julia Cameron, Write for Life

Chapter 5 Themes

Despite the chapter title, "Dismantle Your Perfectionist," the topics in Week 5 didn’t feel particularly perfectionist-oriented. Instead, they seem to fall along lines of roadblocks, self-care, and the value of friendship. (Perfectionism is, of course, one of the large roadblocks that has come up in this book.) Recurring themes of fear, doubt, the inner critic, and the risks inherent in overstretching or pushing too hard are woven throughout Week 5.

Specific topic discussed in this chapter:

• Fear that our stories are not new or original and the assertion that originality is the result of honesty and authenticity (this came up in a previous chapter as well)

• “Limiting beliefs,” ideas we have about how writing and creativity work, that can get in our way

• “Media deprivation” (or “no words”) as a tool

• Moderation, self-care, and bribes (for the self)

• Connections with others

• Dealing with rejection

• Getting around “the wall” by continuing to write and giving ourselves permission to “write badly”

Here are a few quotes from this week (in addition to the ones at the top and bottom of this post):

“Where do we get the idea that our work must be new, that it must say something no one has previously said? If we reflect for a moment on the work that moves us, we will realize that it is not ‘newness’ that moves us. We are moved instead by our recognition of the human condition. In other words, not something new, but something familiar.” (p 138)

“Many of us believe that our lives are boring, that they do not hold material for our work. But our lives are not boring, and they do hold material for our work. At its root, the fear of being ‘boring’ is a fear of not being original. We forget that ‘original’ has as its root the word ‘origin,’ and we are the origin of our work, which is, by definition, original, not boring.” (p 139)

“When we give ourselves permission, we find that by being willing to write badly, we may write very well indeed.” (p 157)

Your Week

How was your week writing and with this book? Was this an important or eye-opening chapter for you?

• Were there sections you especially liked or found helpful?

• There were tasks this week related to “limiting beliefs,” “media deprivation,” self-care (both treating yourself and finding an object of “delight”), and “The Wall.” Did any of these tasks have resonance for you?

• Have you experienced moments of synchronicity as a result of your weeks with this book?

• How did the core practices go: Morning Pages, Artist Date, walks, and daily quota?

• How are you feeling about your writing, your habit, or the book now that you are almost through the six weeks? Have your feelings changed since you started?

Into Week 6 we go!

“Instead of trying to convince ourselves of the brilliance of our idea, we need to say instead, ‘I am willing to finish this piece of work even if my idea is terrible.’ In other words, ‘I am willing to write badly.’” Julia Cameron, Write for Life