Working Through Writer's Block
Writers – and Artists of All Genres – Can Unblock Creativity
May 7, 2009
Writers, and indeed, any artists, whether dancers or painters, sculptors or poets, can blast through writer's block with a surprisingly simple tool.
The time involved an be as little as 15 minutes, or as much as one hour. The time involved is not the point. Rather, using the tool daily is what yields results. So what is this tool that can knock through writer's block?
The Morning Pages
In her book, The Artist’s Way (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992), author and professional writer Julia Cameron assigns those who are blocked what she calls the Morning Pages. Others may call this practice journaling. But whatever it is called, this technique can be a valuable tool in beating creative blocks.
What the Morning Pages Are
- The Morning Pages are three hand-written pages of whatever is on the writer’s mind. They can ramble, make no sense, hold rantings and ravings, and through it all, allow the writer to clear his or her mind and be ready to get down to the business of creating.
- The Morning Pages can be written in expensive blank diaries purchased at book stores, but they are just as effective in 98 cent spiral notebooks. It is helpful to number the notebooks by volume number on the cover, so they can be reviewed easily, and the artist can determine how much he or she has grown through the practice. The writer can simply title the notebooks Morning Pages 1, Morning Pages 2, and so on. Date each beginning page of each session of the morning pages.
- The Morning Pages are perhaps most effective when done in the morning, as they allow the artist to clear their mind for the day ahead. But if that is inconvenient or not possible, they also can be done in the afternoon, or before bed. The important thing is to do them.
- The Morning Pages can be the seed for a creative project. Cameron tells how a character suddenly “wandered” onto her pages one morning after a long period of nothing but rambling.
What the Morning Pages Are Not
- The Morning Pages are not a piece of writing. Whilst writing happens to be the medium for completing them, writing three pages of freehand thoughts is for any creative artist, or indeed, for all people who want to clear their minds and understand themselves better.
- The Morning Pages are not polished, pretty, or for anyone else but the writer to read.
- Do not read them back right away. Just do them. After the first notebook is finished and volume two is begun, then go back and read from the beginning. Keep a highlighter handy and highlight anything that seems significant.
- The Morning Pages are not to be shared in workshops or critiqued in any way. They simply are. Use them to discover the level of growth achieved, but do not edit them.
Some specific techniques can help writers or any artist beat creative blocks by taking the pressure off creating and focusing on filling the well from whence the creativity comes.
The copyright of the article Working Through Writer's Block in Writing Techniques is owned by Pamela Mooman. Permission to republish Working Through Writer's Block in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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