What are Morning Pages? 5 Helpful Tips for The Artist's Way
If you're here, you've probably started (or re-started) your work on The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Welcome! And get ready for a life changing experience!
This book is a great resource for artists, writers, or creative people in general. I loved my time with The Artist's Way and still continue writing in my morning pages journal to this day.
Which brings us to why you're probably here. You've got questions and I've got answers. If you're needing clarification about, "What are the morning pages?" or "How do you do the morning pages?" then continue reading.
📝 Learn more about The Artist’s Way and discover my personal tips which can help you on your creative journey for the next 12 weeks!
Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Get answers here to frequently asked questions!
FAQ:
What are the morning pages?
The morning pages are a daily exercise for creativity, outlined in the workbook The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The goal is to get your creative juices flowing every day, as well as purge your mind of the clutter. You want to get all of the random thoughts out of your head first thing in the morning. By doing this, you're clearing your creative path for the rest of the day and healing your inner artist.
How do you do the morning pages?
The morning pages are simple. Find a notebook and pen, it doesn't matter what size or quality, and write 3 pages every morning. You want to do it soon after you’ve woken up. I personally do my morning pages right after I’ve woken up and brewed my coffee, then I sip my drink while I write.
What do you write about?
You can write about anything. Julia Cameron recommends it be a continued stream of consciousness, meaning just don’t think about it too hard. Write about anything on your mind lately, projects you’ve been working on, an idea you had in the shower, etc.
Are morning pages front and back?
Yes and no. They can be whatever length you need them to be. Writing 3 pages can be time consuming, so find a system that works best for you and your mornings. I personally only write 3 sides in my notebook, so a front, back, and front. This may look different for you and your process, or may even differ depending on the size of the notebook you’re using. There’s no “right” way to do it. What’s important is that you do the morning pages consistently, so just find a length that works for you.
What if I forget to do the morning pages?
No worries, it’ll definitely happen in the next 12 weeks. Either do them when you remember, maybe at lunch time, or start again tomorrow morning. You won’t be graded at the end of The Artist’s Way so please don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
My Top 5 Tips for the Morning Pages
1. Use a notebook that brings you joy
I find the morning pages more enjoyable if I have a cute journal to write in. You don’t even have to buy something fancy and new. If you’re using a regular, college ruled notebook that was a dollar from Walmart, just spruce up the cover with some stickers or paint. I personally like to use the Denik classic layflat notebooks and decorate them with silly stickers. They have a soft touch cover that feels like velvet, bringing joy to my mornings. I picked up both the notebooks and the stickers on my Artist Dates at my local bookstore, but you could easily find them online.
2. Don't get caught up on what's "right"
I cannot stress this enough: there is no “right” way to do the morning pages. You don’t need to use a specific sized notebook or write a specific number of words. The way you’ll know if you’re doing it “right” is if you’ve simply gotten your creative juices flowing first thing in the morning. If you wrote a stream of consciousness, no matter how many pages or how long it took you, then you did the morning pages “right.”
3. If you forget, do it later
Though it’s obvious by the name, you’re supposed to do the morning pages in the morning. But Julia Cameron herself preaches throughout the book that done is better than perfect. So if you forgot the morning pages, when you remember then whip out your notebook and write 3 pages. I find that doing them daily, regardless of the time, is better than nothing. That being said, no worries if you forgot them completely one day. Don’t give up! Just start again tomorrow.
4. Play some Brown Noise to focus
Since I’m not a morning person, I struggled with focusing while writing my morning pages. If you’re like me and can’t keep yourself focused for more than a few sentences, then try Brown Noise. I found that playing a Brown Noise playlist in the background really helped me. I use a general Spotify playlist, but there’s playlists on YouTube too. Or you could use a noise machine if you have one.
5. If you have nothing to write about, start describing something.
During the 12 weeks of the course, you’re likely to wake up one morning and have nothing to write about for your morning pages. You’ll be a bit sleepy and your brain will be totally blank. You may even feel like you’ve already written all the thoughts from your head the previous days and there’s no thoughts left. On mornings like this, I like to get my pen warmed up by picking anything in the room and describing it. It could literally be anything; from the chair you’re sitting on, the dream you had last night, your achy back, the taste of your coffee - truly anything. After a few minutes of this, I find that my creativity gets flowing and I really did have more thoughts left in my brain to write about. Try this the next time you hit a wall with the morning pages.
Morning Pages are a Powerful Tool
Congrats on your creative journey with The Artist’s Way! I hope you grow to love the morning pages as much as I did. I just know your creativity and inner artist will be healed in no time if you keep up your hard work with this course.
💬 Have you tried the morning pages yet? Drop a comment below and let me know how it’s going!
🎨 And if you’re ready for more ways to nurture your inner artist, check out the post below on Artist Date Ideas!
Need some Artist Date inspo? Click here for 30 inspiring ideas to help you stay motivated with The Artist’s Way!
