Tag: The Artist’s Way

  • Writer Wednesday – A Genius Viewpoint

    Along with talented friends on an artist’s forum, I am reading Julia Cameron’s book “Walking in This World”.  It follows the same thread as her “Artist’s Way” guide, both aimed at helping people unlock and explore their creative potential.  One continuing theme of Ms. Cameron’s program includes inspirational quotes in the books’ margins.  Proceeding through each weekly chapter I tend to find at least one that stands out.
    Week nine gave me the following:
    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
    This rousing, seemingly unscientific outlook led me to look up the genius on Wikipedia.  There I found something nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer said at Mr. Einstein’s memorial.  The following words reinforce the lauded theoretical physicist’s opinion.
    “There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn.”
    What better way to describe someone who sees miracles?  Of course this is a visionary approach not only toward scientific achievement, but also artistic.  Julia Cameron encourages both a childlike idealism and a strong (one might say stubborn) work ethic.
    Whether theorizing on relativity or plotting a novel, human beings must see beyond the scope of reality.  Yes, our storyline and characterizations may stay within a real world context.  Our minds, however, are creating fiction.  We are inventors.
    I may be no Einstein, but I’m going to go now and invent something the world has never seen.  Happy writing!
    –

  • Update, News, and Goings-On

    Hello, world!  I’M CAFFEINATED!

    Let’s see.  What’s new in the land of Writer Zen Garden?  WE HAVE A NEW MEETUP GROUP!  I’m so excited.  We are the Writer Zen Garden and joining up is free.  If you join, you will be prompted to set up a Meetup account, if you don’t already have on; you will then be kept apprised by email of events and goings-on in person.  If you’re interested, please check it out:

    Writer Zen Garden

    We are running two workshops at the moment.  The first is Walking In This World, using Julia Cameron’s book by the same title.  The second in her bestselling Artist’s Way trilogy, Walking focuses on expanding our creativity and learning tools that help us stay on the page.  It runs every other Sunday and we had our first meeting yesterday, October 13th, at Pumping Station: One.

    Secondly, we will have a Prompts Circle.  Our first meeting is this Saturday, October 19th, also at Pumping Station: One.  If you want some new ideas to play with in your writing, or just need to get back onto the page, join us!

    Finally, National Novel Writing Month is coming!  Every year in November, thousands of writers around the globe participate in the madness that is NaNo.  If you haven’t heard of it yet, or if you haven’t signed up for this year’s madness, visit their website.

    That’s all the news for now.  We are hard at work on Submission Guidelines for the blog and some more announcements throughout the rest of the year, leading up to our big announcement in January.  Be sure to stay tuned!

  • Writer Wednesday – Using the Tools


    Tips and tricks abound to aid the creative process.  I’ve become familiar with some very clever ones, often through the warm and wise counsel of accomplished author Catherine A. Noon.  She introduced me to the multi-talented Julia Cameron, for example, who has an entire side career dedicated to inspiring fellow artists.  Another gifted friend reminded me just this morning of some grand ways to hush the inner critic (Thanks, E!).

    Unfortunately, I’ve discovered a recurring failure to utilize these tools.  However much sense a plan makes, my good intentions somehow evaporate.  Why?  I think I’ve pinpointed a reason.  Buried in my psyche, a notion seems to persist that good writing materializes like a rabbit out of hat.  It’s supposed to be magic.
    I do believe that art has magical properties.  Without it, existence lacks a sense of hope or wonder.
    An important thing to remember about magic, though, is that David Copperfield didn’t really walk through the Great Wall of China.  Criss Angel can’t actually levitate.  They’re illusionists who put countless hours into manipulating the willing minds of an audience.
    Performers on any stage workto entertain us.  Why should writing be any different?  The answer: it’s not.
    Julia Cameron summed up my quandary in a line from “Finding Water”.  To paraphrase, my ego wants creativity shrouded in mystery.  This snooty persona thinks that artistic pursuit is somehow above punching a time clock.
    Today I defied this snob by setting a timer.  And you know what?  Thirty minutes dedicated to storytelling didn’t feel constrictive at all.  The added paragraphs gave me a sense of accomplishment even if the critic still sneered at the low word count.  So what?  I can set the timer for another thirty minutes when this post is up.

    What gets you on the page, stage, or wherever you wish your art to flourish?  I hope you’ll find the time to get out there today and do it.

    –

  • Resuscitating the Inner Artist


    I’ve been making a real attempt to renovate the front garden this year.  The neighbors must be pleased; I know I am.  While gardening is invigorating, if often sweaty and exhausting work, the results have been spectacular.  But as punishment for years of neglect, a noxious weed plagues my perennials.  Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), otherwise known as wild morning glory, is sprouting all over as the season advances.  What I once considered an acceptable invader with its tiny white flowers now alarms me with several feet of growth in mere days.  The skinny vine rapidly winds around my cherished butterfly bush, mangling the delicate blooms.

    As I unwind this vermin, deceptively tender stems snap off at the ground and give me a false sense of accomplishment.  Only upon identification of the weed have I learned that new shoots will emerge from the smallest bits of roots left in the soil.  Complete removal requires pesticides that I’d rather have avoided for the sake of the wildlife I want to attract.  There’s just no way that I want to try eradicating this thing without modern chemicals.  Heck, one recommended compound is 2-4, D, a component in Agent Orange!  So I’m going to continue unraveling the vines from my flowers, leaving enough at ground level to target with the broad spectrum herbicide glyphosate while avoiding the desired plantings.
    I face a prolonged, fastidious process.
    With a weakness for metaphors, I can’t help but see yet another in this lesson.  My artistic side has been suffocating for a long while.  I’m slowly learning that there are a number of weeds I’ve allowed to infiltrate and strangle my writing.  Time and persistence are required to identify, control, and eventually decimate these damaging trespassers.
    Distractions, doubts, and detractors that keep me away from the page have to be systematically acknowledged before destruction.  That critic in my head with those easy whispered excuses must be confronted.  I have tools at hand such as those taught by Julia Cameron.  In fact, a group of very supportive forum friends (some of whom contribute to this blog – thanks to you all, dears!) are currently guiding me through Cameron’s “Finding Water”.

    This fight can be won.  I just need to stay alert, attentive, and consistent with my efforts.  The fruits of these labors will be well worth the effort.  Now excuse me while I go work on a story.

    –

  • Creature Care

    Having finished evening pet care, busily scrubbing the sink until it shone, I came to realize that little time is spent on caring for myself.  It’s a common theme among peoples of all situations, but worth addressing.  After all, if we adults don’t care for ourselves, who will?

    And the first to suffer is my inner artist.  That’s something any reader of Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” knows all too well to be a true shame.  All the same, I’ve succumbed to bad habits and failed to refuel my creative nature.  Time for that to change.

    Never a fan of New Year’s resolutions, for goal setting should never revolve around the calendar, I do intend to change this behavior as soon as possible.  So why not now?  There are plenty of fun projects at my fingertips; just a few minutes of letting my inner kid play would do wonders.

    First, of course, I need to feed the fish.  Oh, well, I hope you’ll join me in doing something fun today!

  • Darla’s Writer Wednesday – Keeping the Faith

    Today I find myself nearly smack in the middle of National Novel Writing Month.  If you’re a writer, I hope you’re with me.

    This, my third effort, started shakily.  With only a title thought up on a whim, one character that has starred in numerous unpublished short stories, and the vaguest of plot concepts, I fell prey to my biggest failing – editing instead of writing.  The word count floundered, the tale going nowhere as I painstakingly sought the perfect verb for a single sentence instead of pouring forth the paragraphs required to generate fifty thousand words for the month.
    Then yesterday happened.  Dreams from the night before woke me with vivid if nonsensical images.  I wrote what I remembered in my morning pages (like a journal, it’s an exercise recommended by Julia Cameron’s “Artist’s Way” creativity workshop), whether to purge them from mind or record them for posterity, I do not know.
    Still getting an early start after that, I sat at the keyboard with no clue how to continue.  The people on the page meandered through some dialogue when the notion of a dream sequence occurred to me.  I’m sure you know where this is going, but I’ll say it anyway.  Why not use the new material my sleeping mind generated?  I proceeded with my largest daily word count ever.
    The whole sequence might be throw-away material; I don’t know yet.  But knowing I’ve produced something that has never before existed has left me invigorated to keep going.  And as soon as I post this, I’m going to get back into that document and strive forth.

    I’ll say again, I hope you’re with me.

  • Play Time – An Invaluable Resource for the Busy Person

    “How are you?” people ask.  Those more in-the-know folks question whether or not I’ve been writing.

    I’m happy to answer lately that I am well and the writing is finally flowing again.  It took a major event for me, leaving a lucrative job with a good team, but I feel free now to express myself.

    I see things in a different light, as if there’s more clarity.  And tasks are welcome hurdles instead of insurmountable leaps.

    Why couldn’t I face the paying job in the same way?  I think it’s because I didn’t give myself time to play.

    Whatever you do, and however you meet your finances, I wish for you the ability to play.  Please give yourself over to chances at random acts of joy.

    Busy with projects that suffered while I worked full-time, I welcome stories of what you might do with much needed free time.  Please share and hopefully find helpful hints from our busy members as to how you might achieve your goals.

    Cherish your time, as I cherish your commentary.  It’s something I learned from Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” and happily share with you.

  • Resisting the Critic

    Inspired to write this moments ago, I recognized an attack by the inner critic. I’m sure anyone reading this knows what I’m talking about.  I gratefully say that “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron makes these insidious traps easier to recognize and combat.

    In my case, my wandering mind wondered if I should continue writing a particular theme on another website. After all, I don’t have all that many readers or reviewers. Maybe it’s time to veer away from that particular character.

    And that’s when my thoughts froze in realization that the skeptical and cranky critic in my mind was on the loose. As I’m gently reminded again and again by friends from this very blog, Story is God. Thank you, A. Catherine Noon, for sharing that particular, poignant phrase.

    After all, who am I really writing for? Myself. It’s a creative urge that gives great pleasure and satisfaction. What else ultimately matters? Sure, it’s nice to know others appreciate what I’ve penned. In this information age, though, I should be grateful for any kind of niche in which to be found.

    That’s not criticism of my writing, it’s simple fact. I find myself with limited time to read and a subsequently small list of writers which I faithfully follow. One can only wonder, out of all the blogging and twittering going on, how much time others lend to reading any fiction at all.

    So that returns me to what’s important – following my muse. I really just need to be grateful I hear this calling at all considering the dry spell of which I’ve lamented in previous posts. Recalling how much joy has been garnered from material I’ve never even shared with the public, I feel darn lucky at the moment.

    I hope sharing my brief battle with the critic will enable you to dip into your creative well for the sheer, childlike enjoyment of the process. Happy creating!

  • Wiley Wednesday – Mechanics Over Muse

    Often of late, it seems all my writing has been confined to emails for the day job. I’ve been going home without even the inspiration to sit in front of a keyboard or pad of paper. Despite this, I have made up my mind to look at the bright side.

    There are positive aspects to my daily tasks. For example, every email typed is given proper grammar and spelling. Many also take a special skill at diplomacy or succinct explanation. And there is some self expression involved, though neither particularly fun nor the least bit fictional. At least I am still honing my craft if only in a mundane way.

    How about you? Are you up to anything interesting these days? If not, I hope you’ll take to heart that your creativity will eventually find a way of expression. While waiting for my own muse to take over and demand an out, I’ll work on the mechanics of writing.

    In addition, I’ll try to keep my spirit primed by way of Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”. That means artist’s dates to entertain my inner child and morning pages to channel negativity. Want to know more? You’ll find tons of resources on the web in general as well as this very blog. Whether or not you need the boost, I hope you’ll check out her valuable tools to creativity.

  • Keeping the Faith

    I recently finished reading an m/m book from the “Heaven Sent” series by Jet Mykles. I really enjoyed “Faith”, the story of Heaven Sent drummer Darien and his burgeoning relationship with the lawyer who finalized his divorce. Attorney Chris Faith is not only every bit as likeable as members of the band, his believable flaws make him very approachable to the reader. My kudos to Ms. Mykles.

    For his realism, the character actually inspired this blog post with what I consider an interesting dimension. In short, Ms. Mykles created Mr. Faith as a rather stuffy but consummate lawyer with a passion for acting. The Englishman went so far as to have Shakespearian training! This understandably impresses Darien, who wonders what it would be like to watch his new lover on stage. Alas, he seems to keep this admission to himself.

    Meanwhile, the lawyer’s reason for staying out of the limelight as legal counsel to actors and musicians stems from a dislike of auditions. His career puts him in touch with people he admires without the potential risks inherent in artistic performance. That sounds exactly like fear sabotaging Chris Faith’s inner creativity.

    In my humble opinion, Chris Faith has lost faith in himself. He needs to follow at least one course in Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”. I’m even half tempted to contact Jet Mykles to ask that she evolve this character into a man living his artistic potential. Do you think she’d be amused or think I’m crazy? Maybe I should just keep this fan girl notion to myself. What do you think?