Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way
Spiritual Electricity:
The Basic Principles
Over the past few months, we’ve taken a deep dive into AI writing tools. Now we’re coming up for air and trying to reconnect with our human creative souls. What better book for this than Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way?
Published over thirty years ago, Cameron’s much beloved Creative Recovery Program is the reason why so many writers drag themselves out of bed for Morning Pages. This is a twelve week course, so buckle up – we’re in it for the long haul. And it’s not just a book for wannabe authors – this self-help tome promises to unleash the creativity of “potters, photographers, poets, screenwriters, dancers, novelists, actors, and directors.” What’s not to love?
Well, there’s a catch: Cameron’s book is veryspiritual, packed with calls to a higher power. We dive into Cameron’s Great Creator, whether this book works if you’re not particularly religious, and what we’re hoping to get out of this whole endeavor – besides possibly talking to the universe.
Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
The Artist's Way Introduction – We Join a Cult (Maybe)
Well, dear listeners, we’ve done it. We’ve cracked open the book that launched a thousand morning pages and probably just as many abandoned journals. If you’ve been hiding under a creativity rock (and/or missed the woo-woo generation of the 90’s)The Artist’s Way is a 30-year-old self-help juggernaut that promises to unlock your creativity through the power of… God? The Universe? Good Orderly Direction? Process…we’ll call it Process.
Why This Book, Why Now?
Why commit to three months of spiritual platitudes amid journaling and artist dates? Kim’s stuck 70,000 words into her second book and needs a creative kick in the pants. Renee’s finished her memoir and is pivoting to horror (because apparently mining your own trauma for content wasn’t scary enough). We’re hoping this 12-week program will help us, even if it means wading through more spiritual rhetoric than a New Age bookstore’s crystal section.
Meet Our Fearless Guru: Julia Cameron
- Former Hollywood screenwriter (worked on Miami Vice, y’all!)
- Was married to Martin Scorsese for exactly one year
- Wrote a mysterious movie called “God’s Way” that has somehow been scrubbed from Rotten Tomatoes
- Got sober in 1978 and decided to apply AA principles to creativity
- Has built an empire on essentially one idea: morning pages
What about credentials? Cameron claims she was walking down a street in the West Village and, out of nowhere, just knew she should teach creativity. In Cameron’s case: no credentials necessary, just vibes. As Kim points out, “she was walking down the street and I caught a virus,” which, to be fair, is basically how most religions start. If only Renee hadn’t wasted her time with certificates in teaching composition and post-secondary reading…
The Good Orderly Direction Problem
Cameron warns upfront that the book uses the word “god.” A lot. Although she does suggest substitutes like “Good Orderly Direction” or “Flow,” Renee (a self-described staunch atheist) notes that Cameron drops the g to the o to the d references on like every single page. So…in a tale as old as time…or at least this podcast, Renee wouldn’t shut up about the whole thing so Kim had to implement a new rule: Renee is only allowed one god-related rant per episode. Max. Booooo.
Suffering a Creative Block? Um.....
Well, if we look past all the deity references, Cameron does provide a list of ways an artist may feel creatively blocked. What sounds like you probably just need a bit of fiber added to your morning routine really means your creative efforts are experiencing a kind of slump. Both of us (your awesome hosts) found ourselves uncomfortably relating to several “creative blocks:” Here are the ones with which we identify:
Renee's Creative Blocks
- “Stop telling yourself it’s too late”
- (After years of memoir-wrestling, the voice saying “cash in your chips” is loud)
- “Stop telling yourself that creativity is a luxury”
- (When you’ve climbed from poverty to stability, asking for more feels ungrateful)
Kim's Creative Blocks
- “Stop telling yourself it’s just my ego”
- (The assumption that wanting creative success is egotistical)
- “Stop telling yourself that dreams don’t matter”
- (The world’s burning, who has time for silly stories?)
- “Stop telling yourself that creativity is a luxury”
- (See above re: gratitude)
Cameron goes on to claim that her 12 week
Did she just say "Birthing Process?"
The book is structured as a week-by-week program, complete with exercises, emotional arcs (delight → anger → grief with waves of hope), and what Cameron calls a “birthing process.”
I’m not sure what we’re supposed to give birth to, but I’m afraid to find out.
Week 4: The Morning Pages Report
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Four: Recovering A Sense of Integrity Do Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages work? Specifically, do they work for us? We begin this podcast by discussing...