Morning Pages

I've been lucky to have avoided artist block.
It partly has to do with me having so many hobbies that I can switch from one to another, if I get tired of one.
Plus when school and other stuff has kept me away from creative work, I'm desperate to get back to it.

But when someone gave me a box of books they were getting rid of, I found one about curing artist block.
I thought it would be good to read, so I can help people.

The book is called The Artist's Way, by Cameron. They have a lot of interesting topics, and exercises. So I'll post about some of them in the following weeks.

The first exercise is all about getting creative juices flowing. And it's especially about ignoring your inner critic. It's good to critique yourself, but when that critic gets too strong, it criticizes everything you do to the point where you're afraid to create anything.

The exercise is called Morning Pages.

Every morning when you get up, spend three pages writing.
Just write whatever comes into your head, and keep going. It's stream of consciousness.
If you start thinking it's stupid, ignore it. Your inner critic has no place here. Just keep swimming. It gets your juices flowing, and gets you thinking creatively.
The pages let you get stuff out of your system.
They let you get down to your core.

If you're blocked, write your morning pages every morning. Don't let excuses get to you. Wake up earlier, if that's what it takes to get them done. They're one of the central parts of recovering creativity. The book uses the word "nonnegotiable."
Some people do their pages every single morning, even if they're not blocked. They find them that helpful.
Even the most reluctant of morning-pagers will benefit from them.

Let your pages sit for a good long while before you come back and read them again. You don't need to let anyone else see them.
I did morning pages for a few days in Spain. I wanted to see what they were like. Unsurprisingly, I mostly ended up writing about my trip. I should go back and read them. I've forgotten a lot of what I wrote.