Write Where You Are
Julia Cameron's Write for Life, week 2
Welcome to the week two post for Julia Cameron’s Write for Life! Keep reading for my reactions to the first chapter, followed by the weekly check in.
“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s only way you can do anything good.”
-William Faulkner
Laying Track
Cameron begins this chapter by discussing what it means to lay track; i.e., to go from point A to point B without worrying about whether or not where you’re going is the “right” way.
Write the rough draft, she says, and let it be rough, because it can be fixed later.
I want to believe Cameron is right, but if so, why is my memoir manuscript such a mess? Is it possible to be so unconcerned about doing it the right way that you actually never get where you thought you wanted to go?
First Thoughts
Cameron writes about the trust she places in her first thoughts, even if it’s not the direction she expected it to go.
As much as I whine about the current messy state of my memoir, it did grow out of trusting my first thought. Years ago, before I started working on it, I kept rolling around a series of events that had happened to me. I kept thinking, “there’s something here.” But I had no idea what. Still, I started there, and it was easy to write about being young and a little dumb in my twenties. If I hadn’t written that, I don’t know that I ever would have gotten to the real story, which isn’t about that at all (although I’m sure will contain plenty of examples of me being young and a little dumb), but is about a father and a daughter and the inheritance of trauma.
Cameron assures us, “The wisdom contained in first thoughts is often revealed later.”
What to Write
Cameron has a whole system worked out for what to write. She takes cues from her Morning Pages; if there’s nothing there, she goes for a walk. And if that doesn’t work, it’s time for an Artist Date.
Writing Schedules
Cameron of course begins with Morning Pages, recording her mood and the weather.
“Whether set by mood, or on the clock, regularity is key. Writing is flexible, but it thrives on routine.”
Sometimes I wonder who Cameron is giving advice to. Her writing routine sounds dreamy, and indeed she structures her entire day around putting words on the page. I am unsurprised that she has written as many books as she has, or that she feels so at home in her writing routine. But what about those with jobs/ households/ caretaking responsibilities? The only routine thing about my days is that there’s not a lot of routine. Exceptions abound, and some days are busier than others (it’s significantly hared for me to find time to write on a Monday than it is on Thursdays).
Grabbing Time
Speaking of, Cameron swears that writing requires the barest sliver of time. “One of our most damaging myths about writing is that it requires great swaths of uninterrupted time.”
ugh, okay.
Cameron goes on to say that time is one of primary writer’s blocks- which might explain why I haven’t made much progress on my memoir, believing I just need to get my life to a place where I have a little more time. (Which doesn’t exist.)
“Grabbing time is a tool for dismantling perfectionism,” Cameron says. This made me think of how many times I’ve snuck in a row of knitting. I try to carry my knitting bag with me, because you really never know when you’re going to be stuck somewhere for a few minutes and I’d rather make progress on a sock than scroll my phone.
Is it really as simple as rethinking how and where my writing happens?
The trick, Cameron says, is to “drop down the well,” trusting that the flow of creative ideas is always running just below the surface of everyday life.
Spiritual Chiropractic
More Morning Pages propaganda. Cameron says they “prioritize the day” for us, moving us into alignment with our own dreams, hopes, and goals.
Since moving back into the habit of daily Morning Pages, I have been more focused, especially in the evenings, making sure that the kids start bedtime on time and that I’ve tended to any evening chores so that I can go to bed early and wake up early.
Perfectionism
Cameron argues that writers get too hung up on searching for the “right” word to make progress, and suggests standing up to your inner critic.
The Inner Critic
While you can’t eliminate the inner critic, you can miniaturize them. Keep up with Morning Pages and allow the critic to squawk away, Cameron advises.
I wrote a little about my inner critic, some dumb kid named Matt from fourth grade, in this post:
Lowering the Bar
We think of the whole project and are daunted, Cameron says. (True.) But, she goes on, we can lower the bar and think in terms of “one page at a time.” This way we can trick ourselves into productivity because writing a little yields a lot, rather than being overwhelmed by the whole thing.
Additionally, lowering the bar means that one Artist Date a week is enough to fill the well; we are not bingeing when the writing is going well and depleting ourselves.
and I discussed how I could lower the bar on the daily quota on last week’s post. She shared that she’d had a writing instructor suggest to aim for 1/3 of what you imagine you could get done in a week. I like this advice but have to get over my own issues of thinking that if I’m “only” writing 900ish words a week, it will never get done.Place
Cameron says good writing gives us a sense of place, and that writing does best when it is grounded. She mentions Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather and End of Story by John Bowers as examples of books with a strong sense of place. (Have you read either of these? I have not.)
Procrastination
ah, my old friend. Cameron notes that writers procrastinate because “we think we must write the entire project.”
I think this goes back to trust in your artistic vision. It’s easy to get bogged down trying to figure out the shape of a big project. What happens when you’re able to trust yourself enough to just keep going, knowing that the shape will become clear over time?
Accountability
Cameron comes back to Morning Pages again. It keeps her accountable. Before doing Morning Pages, she says she wrote erratically, at times she “was often that miserable animal, a non-writing writer.”
Having had long stints of writing Morning Pages in the past, I can say that I feel they do help me, however, they don’t have quite the same magical effect they seem to on Cameron. I can write, and not write, on Morning Pages, the same as when I’m not in the habit of writing Morning Pages. I think accountability to yourself is super important and I’m not sure Morning Pages are it for me…
The Dailiness of Writing
Again, Cameron wants us to write every day, to take things one day at a time and to not worry about the entirety of a project. She comes back to the idea of lowering the bar, and suggests choosing an unreasonably low bar of daily writing and to write only that amount, no more.
“The low daily quota yields a quickly increasing piece of work,” she writes.
After reading this section, I’m fully convinced I need to rethink my Daily Quota, as well as what kind of writing routine I can construct for myself in this season of life.
Portable Art
“The daily practice of creativity makes us happy,” Cameron says. “But perhaps no art form is as easily practiced as writing… All that is needed is pen and page.”
I began working on this post on a sacred Thursday morning; I had dropped my oldest off at a homeschool program and had some time ~actually alone~ to work. Except I’d realized about half way into our twenty minute drive that I’d left my laptop (and iPad) at home. Annoying. But I did have my notebook, and a pen, so all was not lost. I could read and start jotting down my thoughts.
As I struggle to get back to my own writing routine, I have thought about writing a draft of my memoir by hand— how would this change my process?
Check In
Another so-so week for me, but lots to think about.
I wrote Morning Pages 6 days this week, although I knocked it down to two pages (and one day I managed just one page).
I managed a Daily Quota zero (!!!) times. As mentioned above, I think I’m just expecting too much of myself. Back to the drawing board.
I also did not do a walk. Alone, anyway. My kid and I did a hike with a group of homeschoolers and that was nice. I’ll admit I’m not super motivated to get into this weekly task, especially not in January when it is cold!
I was feeling particularly claustrophobic (if you also manage a household, perhaps you are familiar with the Sisyphean feeling of “omg the dishes and laundry and tidying up never end.”) this weekend and did take myself on an Artist Date to the reuse store and bookstore. That was nice but I’m not sure if it was particularly productive as far as “filling the well.” I’d like to go to an art museum soon.
Onwards to week 3!
How many days did you do your Morning Pages this week? Are you able to get to them quickly and do them without interruption or distraction? (On Thursday I tried to write while my kids were arguing over the remote)
Did you take your artist date? What was it? How was it? Did you experience synchronicity, optimism, or a sense of a benevolent higher power? All three?
Did you take your walks? Are you able to do them alone and without distraction? Did you try walking out with a question and seeing if you returned home with an answer?
Did you hit your daily quota? How many pages are you into your project? Do you feel a sense of excitement as you watch your page count building?
Feel free to answer the check in Q’s (taken directly from pgs 31 and 32 of Write for Life) in the comments, or link me to a Substack post or Note. Did you find any of Cameron’s essays this week particularly resonate?