As I mentioned in the previous blog post, I have followed The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron) on and off for years now.

It is definitely a valuable tool for an artist, whatever your art form, and within its cover, you will find many ways to unleash your creativity. It’s full of writing tips, advice and positive steps to being creative.

The Morning Papers are, not something that are delivered to your door in the morning, but three pages of freehand that you write as soon as you wake up.

The idea is that you write whatever comes into your head, without stopping. You don’t think about it, you just do it. You just write, write, write. What you write doesn’t matter. You can even write three whole pages of ‘I don’t know what to write!’ repeated again and again. There’s no rules, aside from finishing three pages.

As a writer often struggling for a break into a story, the morning papers have always been a valuable resource for me. They kickstart the creativity!

While some mornings they are full of complete gibberish, some mornings there is sense! Or, at the very least, they get me thinking sense, thinking clearly, focussed on my narrative and ready to go!

The main thing to do is to make a commitment to do them. The Artist’s Way says not to read them back over for some time, (and you don’t have to) but that’s like saying, ‘don’t look now but see that guy over there…’ Of course we will look! I know I do! I also keep them fiercely private.

Remember, you don’t need to be a writer to write the pages, it isn’t about the writing, It’s about unlocking your creativity.

I also like to think it’s about making the commitment to do them.

If you can get up every morning, bleary eyed, without coffee, and sit writing three whole pages of whatever comes into your mind, you overcome a massive stumbling block in being an artist. You have what it takes to committing to your art! Go you!

So, what are you thinking? This will be easy? This will be difficult? I swing between the two with these papers, some mornings they are a complete struggle, some mornings the words just flow from the pen. (Some mornings I hit the snooze button.) But anything that IS worth it, is worth IT!

Step 1) Get a nice notebook. A4 or A5, it’s up to you.

Step 2) Decide when you are going to start and set your alarm.

Step 3) Turn up at the page, at the set time, and write!

It really is that simple.

Be sure to let me know how you get on, or if you have any tips that help you, post below, I will definitely thank you 🙂