Once upon a time there was a writer who had a story to tell but she did everything she could think of not to tell, or revise, the story. She needed to do something different, something to revive her revision. But what?
She already has a lot of shoes. No, what she needs a revised manuscript. So that means she needs another idea. Hmm.
Fast forward a few days when...
This writer decided to shake things up a bit since for the past few months I've done pretty much nothing in terms of writing. Sure, I've thought about a lot of things - need a plot, a concept, a germ of an idea? And I have two first drafts completed. I need to get them from first draft to final draft, aka ready to be submitted to an editor. Hmm. I realized something needed to change.
But what would the change be?
I'd like to say "the work". Hahahaha. But really the answer is: Duh! Me. I am the work.
With that clarified I needed to decide what I would be changing.
I considered doing something I tried a few years ago and I actually liked it but of course it fell to the wayside. But trying once and not succeeding doesn't mean I can't try again. So here it goes. Morning pages.
Not familiar with them? Let me recap.
First, lets give credit to Julia Cameron (author of several books including the Right to Write, the book I have).
She instructs writers to write first thing in the morning and the writer needs to write three pages by longhand everyday. These pages aren't meant to be perfect prose. These pages may not make sense, probably won't be related to your current WIP, the grammar will be horrible, your spelling may suck and you may not be able to read your writing (remember, this is first thing in the morning).Your pages will probably read like you've just dumped
a clump of information that doesn't connect to anything and that's okay.
The reason for doing these three pages in morning before anything else is to allow your creativity to flow without any barriers, internal editors or interruptions. You'll be surprised what you'll find after you repeatedly write Morning Pages.
So, here I go. Morning Pages it is.
Since this is brand new to me, I have no idea what you'll find here. Snippets of my life (the good, the bad and the WTF moments), my journey to becoming published, a favorite recipe or two, an interview with a fellow writer, writerly wisdom (I've been told I'm insightful...seriously). What I do know you'll find here are pictures of my dogs - Susie & Billy. I love those little mops, I mean Shih-Tzus.
My focus these days is revising my manuscript, so my new home on the blogosphere may look a little sparse. I'll spruce up the joint as time goes by and make it look more like a real blog. So pardon the appearance as I settle in.
Okay, I think it's time to wrap this post up.
Saw you've got a new blog over on the Divas and came to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a believer in the "morning pages" idea - but longhand? no way, not me.
Good luck with your new blog, I'll bookmark ya! :)
Hi Debora,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I know what you mean by longhand. Maybe that's why it's only 3 pages and not 4!
Have a great day,
Debra