Morning Pages

Some time ago I read a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist Way.  Its a guide to help people become more creative; in life, in their work, what ever.  As you go through this program to make your self a creative genius, Julia recommends every morning you write, long hand, three pages of stuff.  First thing in the morning, well after you grab that coffee or tea, you empty your mind of what ever is floating around in there, any thought you have no matter how odd. The idea is that once you clear your mind of crap you are freeing your self to be creative; artistic.  


Example of my morning pages:  "I'm too sleepy to write this early in the morning.  Why is it so cold in here? Why is my pajama top turned around backwards?  Should  I wash my curtains?  Is the lady across the street up yet? Why doesn't she chop down those vines growing on her house? Why did Kim K get married? Was it for real or a scam?  Why do so many people care? Why don't i get married and make a lot of money like she did? Is it too early to go to Shipley's and get a donut?  How far do I have to walk to walk off that donut?

See, you don't have to write a novel or even be a creative writer.  You just need to empty your mind. But I have this slight problem doing it.  I don't want to do it long hand.  You see when I write something out I have to write it in a certain kind of notebook.  They can't be spiral bound.  If I skip doing the morning pages for a while, i have to have a whole new notebook to write in.  Its too depressing to write in an old, used notebook.  I need a fresh start to be motivated. So i have about 8,573,468 notebooks lying around the house as a reminder of my lack of accomplishment.

I also have to have a certain kind of pen to write with.  It has to be a colorful gel pen.  Anything else and it just isn't worth writing. So I have more pens then Office Depot scattered around my house.  Though I never seem to be able to find one when needed.  I think it's easier to go buy new pens then to look for the old ones.

So what's the point of this long drawn out story of my lack of commitment to being creative? I found this web site called 750words.com.  This site has taken Julia's concept of three pages a day and converted it into a web site.  750 words is how many words it takes to fill up three pages by the way.
Don't worry, it's private.  No one can read what you wrote so you can have all your deviate sexual fantasies written about your boss and no one will know.  You can even misspell words and you won't be judged.

Every day that you do your Morning Pages you get a little cyber cheer from the site! That's a big deal for me because I'm kinda competitive and I like to see how I have done.  I need to know how many check marks i got in a month and how many months i went over 750 words. It also can tell me how fast I wrote my Morning Pages that day.

If you are looking to make a creative change in your life then I recommend reading The Artist Way.  No matter what your talent is; a writer, a painter, a mime, this program can help get you back on track.  If you are a crappy long hand writer like myself, then check out 750words.com.