The Artist’s Way, Week 6, Ch. 5: Accepting Generosity & Possibility

MYSTERIOUS WAYS They say that God works in mysterious ways. Now, perhaps you don't believe in God, but I'm sure that even if you don't, you admit that sometimes, this world syncs things up in very interesting ways. I find it very funny that chapter 5 of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way is all about…

Planning Your Novel, Part 1

Reading Helps Me Think About Writing My writing work this week, coupled with reading The Artist's Way and a fiction book, have made me very thoughtful. How does one go about plotting a clever book that will be unpredictable and engage the reader? This has been my topic of the week. I started out by…

The Artist’s Way, Week 5: Don’t Let Go of What is Precious to You!

A Terrible Confession Dear readers, I betrayed you by not posting when I said I would. I made it sound like I would post every week, without fail, but I failed to uphold that promise and your trust. Please accept my sincere apologies. Since so much time has passed, I've had time to think about…

The Artist’s Way, Week 4, Ch. 3: Realizations & Re-filling the Well

This week's Artist's Way was an exciting eye-opener. It felt like getting closer to seeing the top of the mountain as you climb it. For my artist's date, I went to a ceramics studio and painted a bowl, which I am super excited to pick up this week! It was so relaxing to just sit…

The Artist’s Way, Week 3, Chapter 2: Writer’s Self Doubt

No Pain, No Gain This week's chapter of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way was very good. It made me take a deep breath, grumble and groan, but it was good. I had to face the many ways in which I block myself from writing. I say so many negative things to myself in my head,…

Don’t compare yourself to other writers

Every writer is different. This week I've been contemplating the issues and non-issues in my work-in-progress novel and how to fix said issues. At the same time, I've tried to be gentle with myself and not make myself so stressed that I struggle to write at all. In light of this difficult balance, I decided…

A Depressed Writer Day

  A Big Shout-Out Today was a weird day for me, writing and "In Real Life". But before I get to that gunk, I want to do a big, joyous, arm-flinging SHOUT OUT!! To my wonderful, new, shiny and squiggly 39 new followers...I wish I could do a shout-out post for all of you. Alas,…

The Artist’s Way, Week 2, Ch. 1: The Artist’s Date & Morning Pages

My Second Chapter of Reading The Artist's Way Reading chapter 1 of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way was not easy. My mind wanted me to skip over it, or parts of it. It said, "What are you doing? This is stupid. You read this just last year! What a waste of time." But I told…

The Artist’s Way, Week 1, Ch. 0: The 10 Principles Creative People Should Live By

After so long, I am so excited - scared! nervous! ack! - to finally be starting my Artist's Way journey. Again. With you! It is both nerve-wracking and wonderful. When I started this book last spring/summer with a group of friends, it was a group adventure. We were all in it together, and I didn't…

Sad Monkey Needs Your Help Spicing Up this Blog, Please

I didn't get a lot of response to my post where I asked readers what they want to see on my blog this year. It made me a bit sad, recently, like a high school student who didn't get his friends to sign his yearbook. Pretend a friend were asking you, or you could create…