I think Chapter 12 was among my favorites for its emphasis on trust, surrender, the mystery of creativity, and having a sense of faith about ourselves and the "big magic" of creativity as Liz Gilbert describes in her wonderful book about creativity. I missed doing the morning pages only once, took myself on an Artist's Date to the Mediterranean Sea for my first dip of the season and will try out a new ice cream place this weekend, Clare you inspired me! I will miss all of you but Clare, you have earned a well deserved break from shepherding us so beautifully through this shared experience. I hope everyone has a fantastic summer and if you are ever in Barcelona, please get in touch with me!
I am in a season of letting go, not holding onto the notions I have held so long for what "makes" me a "successful" creative writer (ie., publishing a novel in the traditional way via an agent). I can't say these past weeks have sent me scurrying to my neglected new novel or revisions to the one that got so many agent rejections and no doubt needs yet another draft. And that's because I am healing not only my physical body from the back injury of February but also healing myself from a lifetime of "doing," "producing," ticking off to-do lists and accomplishments. That is the lens with which I approached The Artist's Way in this season of my life, taking on board her gentler guidance and not the prescriptive ones. I felt quite allergic to the idea of "tasks." If I were to revise this book, I would call them "invitations." So much better!
I love Liz Gilbert's Big Magic. I remember it as being such a grounded, generative book - I really should re-read it.
I loved this chapter too. It felt right to end this journey talking about faith, and the things we cannot see but trust and believe in nonetheless.
I'm so glad that you got your first dip in the Mediterranean of the season, Amy! What a treat. And I hope you enjoyed the ice-cream. My inner artist/child was delighted with her's.
It's incredible to read about how you're healing yourself from a lifetime of productivity. One of my takeaways from The Artist's Way was the recognition that I probably am a workaholic, and that's something I want to reflect on during my time away. Is this the kind of life I want to live? In some ways yes, but it doesn't always serve me and I'd like to feel my way toward a new, more balanced path. (Hopefully this is possible... time will tell, I suppose!)
I love the reframe of tasks vs invitations too. Just a simple word change really changes the emotional meaning and resonance of the invitation. Thank you for sharing this beautiful reframe.
I'm going to really miss you and this process too, Amy. But I'm excited for my break and also to see what might unfurl next. I promise to keep you posted. All my best, Clare x 💕
I’ll miss you too but oh, what exciting days are ahead of you, all the love that awaits; so happy for you. And I’ve no doubt our kinship over the vagaries of the creative life will continue. We’ll stay in touch. 💗
This week’s tasks were really fun. I am a little nervous about what will happen to my creativity when I remove the weekly structure of The Artist’s Way. When I imagine it, I feel a sense of space which is exciting. I’m eager to return to my novel, in particular! But I also have some lingering fears and anxieties and it was useful to work through those in my Morning Pages.
In terms of current areas of procrastination, I’ve been experimenting with sharing a little more on Instagram. I’ve been “off” social media for many years and was nervous to return, but I wanted to explore it as a new kind of visual creative outlet. It hasn’t become a timesuck yet, but I’m conscious that I need to watch that.
I haven’t yet shared my creative dreams with people in my life. I feel awfully shy about the idea to be honest, but I think it’d be good to try it. I’m gonna add it to my list for later this summer!
How about you? I’d love to hear how you got on this week!
I think Chapter 12 was among my favorites for its emphasis on trust, surrender, the mystery of creativity, and having a sense of faith about ourselves and the "big magic" of creativity as Liz Gilbert describes in her wonderful book about creativity. I missed doing the morning pages only once, took myself on an Artist's Date to the Mediterranean Sea for my first dip of the season and will try out a new ice cream place this weekend, Clare you inspired me! I will miss all of you but Clare, you have earned a well deserved break from shepherding us so beautifully through this shared experience. I hope everyone has a fantastic summer and if you are ever in Barcelona, please get in touch with me!
I am in a season of letting go, not holding onto the notions I have held so long for what "makes" me a "successful" creative writer (ie., publishing a novel in the traditional way via an agent). I can't say these past weeks have sent me scurrying to my neglected new novel or revisions to the one that got so many agent rejections and no doubt needs yet another draft. And that's because I am healing not only my physical body from the back injury of February but also healing myself from a lifetime of "doing," "producing," ticking off to-do lists and accomplishments. That is the lens with which I approached The Artist's Way in this season of my life, taking on board her gentler guidance and not the prescriptive ones. I felt quite allergic to the idea of "tasks." If I were to revise this book, I would call them "invitations." So much better!
I love Liz Gilbert's Big Magic. I remember it as being such a grounded, generative book - I really should re-read it.
I loved this chapter too. It felt right to end this journey talking about faith, and the things we cannot see but trust and believe in nonetheless.
I'm so glad that you got your first dip in the Mediterranean of the season, Amy! What a treat. And I hope you enjoyed the ice-cream. My inner artist/child was delighted with her's.
It's incredible to read about how you're healing yourself from a lifetime of productivity. One of my takeaways from The Artist's Way was the recognition that I probably am a workaholic, and that's something I want to reflect on during my time away. Is this the kind of life I want to live? In some ways yes, but it doesn't always serve me and I'd like to feel my way toward a new, more balanced path. (Hopefully this is possible... time will tell, I suppose!)
I love the reframe of tasks vs invitations too. Just a simple word change really changes the emotional meaning and resonance of the invitation. Thank you for sharing this beautiful reframe.
I'm going to really miss you and this process too, Amy. But I'm excited for my break and also to see what might unfurl next. I promise to keep you posted. All my best, Clare x 💕
I’ll miss you too but oh, what exciting days are ahead of you, all the love that awaits; so happy for you. And I’ve no doubt our kinship over the vagaries of the creative life will continue. We’ll stay in touch. 💗
I loved being part of this and it has been so inspiring. I sent my short contribution to you and I know I will be writing more thanks to this.
Thank you Liza. Looking forward to reading those posts whenever you're ready to share them 💕
the artist way is what led to me starting to share my writing on substack. i’m so grateful for this experience and what it re-awakened in me!!!!
That's amazing! I am so happy for you, and so grateful to have you as part of our community. Thank you 💕
This week’s tasks were really fun. I am a little nervous about what will happen to my creativity when I remove the weekly structure of The Artist’s Way. When I imagine it, I feel a sense of space which is exciting. I’m eager to return to my novel, in particular! But I also have some lingering fears and anxieties and it was useful to work through those in my Morning Pages.
In terms of current areas of procrastination, I’ve been experimenting with sharing a little more on Instagram. I’ve been “off” social media for many years and was nervous to return, but I wanted to explore it as a new kind of visual creative outlet. It hasn’t become a timesuck yet, but I’m conscious that I need to watch that.
I haven’t yet shared my creative dreams with people in my life. I feel awfully shy about the idea to be honest, but I think it’d be good to try it. I’m gonna add it to my list for later this summer!
How about you? I’d love to hear how you got on this week!