By Guest Author: K.T. Mehra
One of the things I love most is writing, but no matter how much you love it, there are moments when you can’t write a sentence to save your life! Yes, we’ve all been there, and if you are experiencing writer’s block, I’m sure you have heard countless tricks to overcome it. I am not here to just list off generic tips and tricks that you won’t ever use.
I want to share with you my personal experience with writer’s block and how I’ve discovered a powerful way to get myself writing again even when I’m not inspired at all. The story started in a college classroom when my teacher introduced me to something called “Morning Pages.”
What Are The Morning Pages?
“The bedrock tool of a creative recovery is a daily practice called Morning
Pages.” – Julia Cameron.
Morning pages are three pages of long-hand morning writing. The method was coined by Julia Cameron in her 1992 book, The Artist’s Way. Take it from her, “There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages.” Morning pages are about letting your intellect go and writing whatever comes to mind, similar to free writing or a meditation with pen and ink. It’s a way to cleanse your mind and get you ready to write. You can write anything at all! “I forgot to buy kitty litter,” “I didn’t call my sister back,” “I need to wash the curtains.” These are just a few of the examples Julia gives in her blog. Every thought that passes by should be written until you have filled up three full pages of writing. It is recommended to do this with pen and ink. This should be a well-deserved break from your glaring computer screen.
How To Integrate Morning Pages To Overcome Writer’s Block
If you need to overcome writer’s block, you want to integrate this practice into your daily writing routine. I have found it can help if you do this once, but it does not always. If you want serious results, you need to integrate this into your daily routine. In the morning, of course!
When I first heard about Morning Pages in the 90’s, my first thought was, “how am I going to write three full pages every morning?” If you are thinking that, you’re not alone! The good part? Once you begin, you won’t believe how fast it goes by, and how you may just find it to be your favorite part of the morning.
Although it should be a relaxing experience, it does need to be a routine, especially if you are dealing with serious writer’s block. You want to pick an exact time and place every morning to do it. My place is a beautiful spot outside where I can feel the new winds of fall and write with my favorite fountain pen at 9:00 AM. Choose a place and time, and specific days if you are not ready to commit to it as a daily practice. There is no problem with picking a couple days out of the week to begin writing your Morning Pages.
How Do Morning Pages Help To Reduce Writer’s Block?
Morning Pages has been an amazing way for me to get my creativity flowing and begin working on new stories or old ones I’ve never finished. Why? Why do Morning Pages help with writer’s block?
Clearing Your Mind
First, they help to center and clear your mind. Morning Pages are a dumping ground for mental clutter that may be preventing you from writing. Writing down your thoughts helps you to stop worrying about them. By writing down every thought that comes to you, you are creating space and less anxiety so that creativity can come back to you.
Clearing out your mind helps you kick procrastination, increase focus, and, most importantly, lets you recognize the good ideas instead of them getting lost in the clutter of your mind!
Find Creative Ideas
To be creative, you need to be in a fertile mood for creative ideas. I have found nothing that gets me in the mood for creativity like Morning Pages. I may have to include music and Morning Pages on that list of things that get me ready to write. Writing with no intention of what you’re writing to be even intelligible opens your mind up to the creative ideas that are manifest in your right now! You may not even be aware you stumbled upon an idea to add to a novel or other writing until you finish your morning routine and read through the three pages you completed.
Find What Is Holding You Back
Morning Pages has been something that not only has helped my ability to get words on the page, but it has really helped my personal life too. It is something you are doing for yourself! It isn’t a magic course or anything like that. You are searching for the answers for yourself, and what you put into it, you get out of it.
When relaxing at your spot with your pen in hand and journal at your lap, thoughts will come and go, and get written down. This is a highly psychological exercise and if you pay close attention, you will learn things about yourself and your thought patterns. You may find potential real life causes that are holding your writing back, or just your personal life and goals. Morning Pages are a way to look at your life and what you want, and to reflect on your life as whole.
You are writing!
The biggest reason writers love Morning Pages is that it gets you writing! One of the top causes of writer’s block is the inability to get words flowing and the inability to get into a state where you are continuously writing. Morning Pages is designed to get you into this state. If you give it a chance, you will find that you have more to express than you ever knew.
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Guest Author Bio: K.T. Mehra is a writer, journal keeper and owner of Goldspot.com – an online store that specializes in fine writing materials.
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