Drama in our lives often keeps us from putting drama on the page. Some drama happens and we lose our sense of scale in our emotional landscape. When this happens, we need to reconnect to our emotional through line. We need a sense of our “before, during and after” life. This tool is a personal […]
Persistence
Faith is a commodity we always feel is lacking. Who among us feels he has “enough” faith? And yet, we all do. It takes faith to establish an atmosphere where our creativity can flourish. Take pen in hand and list five occasions in which you have demonstrated persistence. For example: 1. I went back to […]
The Silver Lining
“Gain disguised as loss” is a potent artist’s tool. To acquire it, simply, brutally, ask: “How can this loss serve me? Where does it point my work?” The answers will surprise and liberate you. The trick is to metabolize pain as energy. The key to doing that is to know, to trust, and to act […]
Q: What if my thoughts race faster than I can write them down?
Recently I had a student say, “My thoughts race faster than I can write them down. So I get frustrated and stop writing.” My answer: “Don’t stop.” I think it’s a common occurrence for the thoughts to race faster than the pen. And I think that you should keep writing Morning Pages. What you do […]
What if I miss a task while doing The Artist’s Way?
I ususally tell people to do about half of the tasks in each chapter. If there is one you missed that is conspicuoulsy haunting you, go back and do it. I suggest doing the tasks you are most drawn to and the ones you are most repelled by. But the “medium” ones, just leave them […]
What next step are you evading?
I have said before that creativity is a spiritual issue. Any progress is made by leaps of faith, some small and some large. At first, we may want faith to take the first dance class, the first step toward learning a new medium. Later, we may want the faith and the funds for further classes, […]
Do you worry about “the odds”?
I wil be blunt: I think “the odds” are a drink of emotional poison. No one invokes “the odds” who isn’t trying to keep you from committing creativity. For one thing, your odds of succeeding immediately increase if you try succeeding. Your odds of publishing a novel, for example, are a lot higher if you write […]
Are you afraid to begin?
When we say we are afraid to begin a project, we are actually saying something else: “I am afraid of how I will feel as I continue.” We do not want to start because we do not know that we can continue. It is not the start, it is the finish that troubles us. Wanting […]
Morning Pages: why by hand?
In the era of iPads and new technology at every turn, I am asked even more frequently if people really need to do their Morning Pages by hand. In short, the answer is yes. When we write by hand, we connect to ourselves. We may get speed and distance when we type, but we get […]
Facilitating Forgiveness: do you need to “let go”?
There are few things more painful than the feeling of resentment. It has been described as “drinking poison and then waiting for the other person to die.” When we are caught in resentment, we poison our own well. We are the ones who are suffering. And it is for ourselves, as much as for the […]
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