I made some progress with my most important task of the week which was to get some rest! My embodied day was a huge part of that, as was choosing leisure activities that feel restorative to me. Reading and walks in nature are always a winner for me!
I didn't make any progress on it, but I really think I'd like to get a fish tank for my office. It's kind of a frivolous thing - I'm already very tight on space and struggle to keep my potted herbs alive but the thought of it delights my inner artist and maybe that's reason enough to do it?
I didn't list my creative goals for the coming year/month/week, but I'm hoping to do that over the weekend.
So glad that you were able to get some rest this week, Clare!
I got a bit behind and only just read Chapter 9 this morning. I may pop into the last post's comments to add to the discussion around discipline and enthusiasm.
Out of all the chapters so far, this one was the most positive for me – I didn't get riled up at all (although she continues to make assumptions and use ableist disability metaphors. ;)
I've received a couple rejections this weekend (it's a holiday Monday in Canada, so still the weekend) and reached another stalemate with my novel WIP. I could easily just give up or scrap everything and start all over, so the section on Creative U-Turns came at the right time. I will be gentle on myself and give myself whatever time I need to work through the kinks in my novel. I will read more and spend as much time as I need to work through the structure, without worrying about it being perfect right away. And I can learn from others without feeling intimidated by them, without comparing myself to others who have had a different trajectory in life and writing.
I haven't done any of Cameron's suggested activities so far, but I think I'll start with listing resentments, fears, and what can be gained by doing the work (that seems more productive to me than what might be gained by not doing it).
I neglected my morning pages many days this week and will work on getting back into them.
Sounds like you're right on track to me, Tracey 💕 We all get a little behind sometimes but it seems like this chapter came along at the exact right moment. I found it really useful to list the things to be gained from completing a creative project too, rather than just focusing on the things that could keep me stuck. I hope it'll be helpful for you too, especially as you're in a tricky moment with your novel!
Wishing you a beautiful rest week, and look forward to diving into the final few chapters soon too! 💕
You're doing great, Tracey! Every rejection is an invitation for a creative u-turn, I tell myself. Keep on keepin' on, my friend! And keep compassion for yourself front and center. This is hard work we are doing. You already astound me by putting your work out there, which I've not done for quite awhile, since getting beaten back by so many agent rejections on my novel. Now, however, it appears this novel and I need another dance together, another whirl around the room of my imagination. I am not yet in dancing condition, so this will have to wait and I'm trying to be compassionate about that, too.
Oh I love this dance metaphor. It captures that precise feeling of being in conversation with a piece of work, and needing to find a way to sync your rhythms so that you might make something beautiful. I love the physicality of it too - how it involves your whole body and (in many ways) your whole self.
Hello Everyone! I managed to keep up with The Artist's Way which I'm proud of given a few hiccups that occurred in my life lately. I'm a little late in posting my fav quotes and takeaways, but here's my thoughts on Chapter 9.
Fear
“Most of us have spent years using the wrong names for our behaviours.”
“Blocked artists are not lazy. They are blocked.”
This is the same shame card tossed at every vulnerable or different group. Lazy is an excuse as an observer instead of digging deeper to find the true North truth of the matter.
“The blocked artist does not know how to begin with baby steps. Instead, the blocked artist thinks in terms of great big scary impossible tasks.”
“Most frequently, it is fear of abandonment. This fear has roots in childhood reality.”
An enjoyment in solitude does not remove the fear of abandonment. You don’t want to open the closed door to find your world outside empty.
“To go squarely against your parents’ values means you’d better know what you’re doing.”
A realization this was part of why some things I ended up not giving it all I had – I’d put on the brakes myself because of my fear, not for any concrete reason.
“The need to produce a great work of art makes it hard to produce any art at all.”
As soon as I was told my novel was good and needed in the world I froze and went from writing to panicked and forced creation overthinking and second guessing to the point I avoided continuing.
“Do not call procrastination laziness. Call it fear.”
“Stop yelling at yourself. Be nice. Call fear by its right name.”
Enthusiasm
“The discipline itself, not the creative outflow, becomes the point.” This week I also came across some other quotes that immediately brought me back to this.
Rha Goddess – she talks about need to have a belly full of – the need for security or safety or certainty before proceeding. It goes from being helpful to a hinderance.
Randy Pausch – encourage big dreams, even if sometimes it means a late bedtime.
The Tao of Pooh – Pooh referring to Tigger when he tried to open a jar and dropped it. “He tried too hard.”
There’s always a balance between too little, too much, and juuuuusssst right.
“Over any extended period of time, being an artist requires enthusiasm more than discipline. Enthusiasm is not an emotional state. It is a spiritual commitment, a loving surrender to our creative process, a loving recognition of all the creativity around us.”
“As with playmates, it is joy, not duty, that makes for a lasting bond.”
“What other people may view as discipline is actually a play date that awe make with our artist child: “I’ll meet you at 6:00 A.M. and we’ll goof around with that script, painting, sculpture…””
“At the heart of this play is the mystery of joy.”
Creative U-Turns
“An artistic U-turn arrives on a sudden wave of indifference.”
“Creativity is scary, and in all careers there are U-turns.”
When I started blogging a friend gifted me my domain name. I never pursued using it or renewing it.
“Typically, when we take a creative U-turn we are doubly shamed: first by our fear and second by our reaction to it.”
“A successful creative career is always built on successful creative failures.”
“Have compassion. Creative U-turns are always born from fear-fear of success or fear of failure. It doesn’t really matter which. The net result is the same.”
“First of all, take a look at what jumps make your horse so skittish. You may find that certain obstacles are far more scary than others.”
“Once we admit the need for help, the help arrives.”
Blasting Through Blocks
“Blocks are seldom mysterious. They are, instead, recognizable artistic defenses against what is perceived (rightly or wrongly) as a hostile environment.”
“Make your deal. The deal is: “okay, Creative Force, you take care of the quality, I’ll take care of the quantity.” “ Sign your deal and post it.
Tasks:
I will be reading my morning pages, though a few weeks later than expected.”
Visualizing isn’t a new practice for me but I’m looking forward to putting some conscious energy behind this.
Priorities – creative goals. Strangely I forgot about this until early June and realized that I “just happened” to do that this week in my morning pages.
Creative U-turn that kills me - not finishing a particular story I started it. I'm about to change that.
Artist’s date was pulling three books from my shelf that seemed to be calling to me and opening each to a random passage.
I love this idea for an Artist's Date! What a simple, but potentially very impactful idea. I'm going to borrow that one, Jewel. Thanks for the inspiration 💕
It was nice to hear a little more about your novel too. I've also had that terror of realising that something could be good, and then really struggled to keep working on it. I'm hoping to ease myself back toward those scary projects over the months ahead, and will keep you posted on how I get on!
I hope reading your morning pages went well - I have reviewed old journals in the past but only with a few years distance. Reading about my life in real time made me feel seasick and unmoored, but perhaps I should give it another go!
Hope you got on well returning to that story you started too! If you need some encouragement, I'd be delighted to cheer you on!
Thanks for being here Jewel - I always so appreciate your insights 💕
I am late jumping in here. I did my morning pages with a couple of days skipped, and pages "plural" isn't quite accurate, but if I show up and scribble down something first thing in the morning, I consider it good enough. Given the physical healing journey I am on, "good enough" is my mantra, or don't force, but feel for what it is I want to do in any given moment. That means a lot more listening to my body. And that is why this theme of compassion was spot on for me this past week, even if I didn't do the exercises. I am showing compassion to myself, every day, hour to hour, even minute by minute when the aches and pains in my low back become... A LOT. Clare, your recipes looked delicious and I am so glad you gave yourself that leisurely day.
"Good enough" more than counts, Amy. That's especially true when you're managing debilitating physical symptoms and the mental toll of chronic illness. Often, my only aim is to maintain the momentum, to keep stringing together the days when I made time for a little creative work even if it wasn't as much or as good as I might have hoped. I heard this line on a fitness podcast once: "never belittle any effort that you make" and it seems to make fit here too. Wishing you lots of self-compassion, and maybe even a little pride in all you have been able to accomplish my friend 💕
P.S. Dunno why I was listening to a fitness podcast, that's not usually my genre.. but that line stuck with me all the same! 🙃
Thanks for this, Clare, and we do get inspiration from the unlikeliest sources sometimes don’t we? This week my good enough is nursing a very sick artist, with a nasty cold who hasn’t done her morning pages in days. She can barely get out of bed. More self compassion.
I made some progress with my most important task of the week which was to get some rest! My embodied day was a huge part of that, as was choosing leisure activities that feel restorative to me. Reading and walks in nature are always a winner for me!
I didn't make any progress on it, but I really think I'd like to get a fish tank for my office. It's kind of a frivolous thing - I'm already very tight on space and struggle to keep my potted herbs alive but the thought of it delights my inner artist and maybe that's reason enough to do it?
I didn't list my creative goals for the coming year/month/week, but I'm hoping to do that over the weekend.
I'm curious to hear how you got on too..
So glad that you were able to get some rest this week, Clare!
I got a bit behind and only just read Chapter 9 this morning. I may pop into the last post's comments to add to the discussion around discipline and enthusiasm.
Out of all the chapters so far, this one was the most positive for me – I didn't get riled up at all (although she continues to make assumptions and use ableist disability metaphors. ;)
I've received a couple rejections this weekend (it's a holiday Monday in Canada, so still the weekend) and reached another stalemate with my novel WIP. I could easily just give up or scrap everything and start all over, so the section on Creative U-Turns came at the right time. I will be gentle on myself and give myself whatever time I need to work through the kinks in my novel. I will read more and spend as much time as I need to work through the structure, without worrying about it being perfect right away. And I can learn from others without feeling intimidated by them, without comparing myself to others who have had a different trajectory in life and writing.
I haven't done any of Cameron's suggested activities so far, but I think I'll start with listing resentments, fears, and what can be gained by doing the work (that seems more productive to me than what might be gained by not doing it).
I neglected my morning pages many days this week and will work on getting back into them.
Sounds like you're right on track to me, Tracey 💕 We all get a little behind sometimes but it seems like this chapter came along at the exact right moment. I found it really useful to list the things to be gained from completing a creative project too, rather than just focusing on the things that could keep me stuck. I hope it'll be helpful for you too, especially as you're in a tricky moment with your novel!
Wishing you a beautiful rest week, and look forward to diving into the final few chapters soon too! 💕
Thank you, Clare. Wishing you continued rest this week as well!
Thanks Tracey 💕💕
Awww…glad you liked it. With my recent limiting back issues, dancing which I love gives me great joy to think about if only in my imagination 😀
💕💕
You're doing great, Tracey! Every rejection is an invitation for a creative u-turn, I tell myself. Keep on keepin' on, my friend! And keep compassion for yourself front and center. This is hard work we are doing. You already astound me by putting your work out there, which I've not done for quite awhile, since getting beaten back by so many agent rejections on my novel. Now, however, it appears this novel and I need another dance together, another whirl around the room of my imagination. I am not yet in dancing condition, so this will have to wait and I'm trying to be compassionate about that, too.
Oh I love this dance metaphor. It captures that precise feeling of being in conversation with a piece of work, and needing to find a way to sync your rhythms so that you might make something beautiful. I love the physicality of it too - how it involves your whole body and (in many ways) your whole self.
Beautifully put Amy, thank you for sharing 💕
Thank you for your encouragement, dear friend! That dance will no doubt happen when you're ready – I can feel the music!
💕💕
Hello Everyone! I managed to keep up with The Artist's Way which I'm proud of given a few hiccups that occurred in my life lately. I'm a little late in posting my fav quotes and takeaways, but here's my thoughts on Chapter 9.
Fear
“Most of us have spent years using the wrong names for our behaviours.”
“Blocked artists are not lazy. They are blocked.”
This is the same shame card tossed at every vulnerable or different group. Lazy is an excuse as an observer instead of digging deeper to find the true North truth of the matter.
“The blocked artist does not know how to begin with baby steps. Instead, the blocked artist thinks in terms of great big scary impossible tasks.”
“Most frequently, it is fear of abandonment. This fear has roots in childhood reality.”
An enjoyment in solitude does not remove the fear of abandonment. You don’t want to open the closed door to find your world outside empty.
“To go squarely against your parents’ values means you’d better know what you’re doing.”
A realization this was part of why some things I ended up not giving it all I had – I’d put on the brakes myself because of my fear, not for any concrete reason.
“The need to produce a great work of art makes it hard to produce any art at all.”
As soon as I was told my novel was good and needed in the world I froze and went from writing to panicked and forced creation overthinking and second guessing to the point I avoided continuing.
“Do not call procrastination laziness. Call it fear.”
“Stop yelling at yourself. Be nice. Call fear by its right name.”
Enthusiasm
“The discipline itself, not the creative outflow, becomes the point.” This week I also came across some other quotes that immediately brought me back to this.
Rha Goddess – she talks about need to have a belly full of – the need for security or safety or certainty before proceeding. It goes from being helpful to a hinderance.
Randy Pausch – encourage big dreams, even if sometimes it means a late bedtime.
The Tao of Pooh – Pooh referring to Tigger when he tried to open a jar and dropped it. “He tried too hard.”
There’s always a balance between too little, too much, and juuuuusssst right.
“Over any extended period of time, being an artist requires enthusiasm more than discipline. Enthusiasm is not an emotional state. It is a spiritual commitment, a loving surrender to our creative process, a loving recognition of all the creativity around us.”
“As with playmates, it is joy, not duty, that makes for a lasting bond.”
“What other people may view as discipline is actually a play date that awe make with our artist child: “I’ll meet you at 6:00 A.M. and we’ll goof around with that script, painting, sculpture…””
“At the heart of this play is the mystery of joy.”
Creative U-Turns
“An artistic U-turn arrives on a sudden wave of indifference.”
“Creativity is scary, and in all careers there are U-turns.”
When I started blogging a friend gifted me my domain name. I never pursued using it or renewing it.
“Typically, when we take a creative U-turn we are doubly shamed: first by our fear and second by our reaction to it.”
“A successful creative career is always built on successful creative failures.”
“Have compassion. Creative U-turns are always born from fear-fear of success or fear of failure. It doesn’t really matter which. The net result is the same.”
“First of all, take a look at what jumps make your horse so skittish. You may find that certain obstacles are far more scary than others.”
“Once we admit the need for help, the help arrives.”
Blasting Through Blocks
“Blocks are seldom mysterious. They are, instead, recognizable artistic defenses against what is perceived (rightly or wrongly) as a hostile environment.”
“Make your deal. The deal is: “okay, Creative Force, you take care of the quality, I’ll take care of the quantity.” “ Sign your deal and post it.
Tasks:
I will be reading my morning pages, though a few weeks later than expected.”
Visualizing isn’t a new practice for me but I’m looking forward to putting some conscious energy behind this.
Priorities – creative goals. Strangely I forgot about this until early June and realized that I “just happened” to do that this week in my morning pages.
Creative U-turn that kills me - not finishing a particular story I started it. I'm about to change that.
Artist’s date was pulling three books from my shelf that seemed to be calling to me and opening each to a random passage.
I love this idea for an Artist's Date! What a simple, but potentially very impactful idea. I'm going to borrow that one, Jewel. Thanks for the inspiration 💕
It was nice to hear a little more about your novel too. I've also had that terror of realising that something could be good, and then really struggled to keep working on it. I'm hoping to ease myself back toward those scary projects over the months ahead, and will keep you posted on how I get on!
I hope reading your morning pages went well - I have reviewed old journals in the past but only with a few years distance. Reading about my life in real time made me feel seasick and unmoored, but perhaps I should give it another go!
Hope you got on well returning to that story you started too! If you need some encouragement, I'd be delighted to cheer you on!
Thanks for being here Jewel - I always so appreciate your insights 💕
I am late jumping in here. I did my morning pages with a couple of days skipped, and pages "plural" isn't quite accurate, but if I show up and scribble down something first thing in the morning, I consider it good enough. Given the physical healing journey I am on, "good enough" is my mantra, or don't force, but feel for what it is I want to do in any given moment. That means a lot more listening to my body. And that is why this theme of compassion was spot on for me this past week, even if I didn't do the exercises. I am showing compassion to myself, every day, hour to hour, even minute by minute when the aches and pains in my low back become... A LOT. Clare, your recipes looked delicious and I am so glad you gave yourself that leisurely day.
"Good enough" more than counts, Amy. That's especially true when you're managing debilitating physical symptoms and the mental toll of chronic illness. Often, my only aim is to maintain the momentum, to keep stringing together the days when I made time for a little creative work even if it wasn't as much or as good as I might have hoped. I heard this line on a fitness podcast once: "never belittle any effort that you make" and it seems to make fit here too. Wishing you lots of self-compassion, and maybe even a little pride in all you have been able to accomplish my friend 💕
P.S. Dunno why I was listening to a fitness podcast, that's not usually my genre.. but that line stuck with me all the same! 🙃
Thanks for this, Clare, and we do get inspiration from the unlikeliest sources sometimes don’t we? This week my good enough is nursing a very sick artist, with a nasty cold who hasn’t done her morning pages in days. She can barely get out of bed. More self compassion.