Julie Cameron's Tips to Overcome Writer's Block

The most effective writers, write freely. What does that mean? It means to write from an individual authentic voice without concern about what others will say or think, until the editing process. Also, effective writers write consistently. To open the channel to the writer's authentic voice as well as break through writer's block, Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way, came up with a wonderful technique called the Morning Pages.

Who Benefits From Writing Tips?

Chances are most people need to write an occasional letter, memo, or report at the very least, regardless of what business they may be in. Within social circles, whether in high society or simply a large family, it’s likely that one is hit with having to compose thank you cards, notes, invitations, letters and emails. Western culture is frought with the need to communicate. Even texting is becoming a habitual routine. Writing becomes an even greater task for those with aspirations of a memoir, articles, manuals, or books. Yet, putting something in writing can be cause for trepidation.

Why Writer's Block?

If it’s in writing, people take it to be true – more so that if they're just verbally informed. Notice that when a child tells a parent of an incident or gives information about a company or product, then that parent sees an article about that same thing in the paper, suddenly the child has more credibility. Perhaps that’s one reason that writing can be intimidating. People realize that if they write it down, they can no longer deny it or say it’s not what they stated. And, what if they later change their mind? Too late. It becomes immortalized.

What Are The Morning Pages?

A writing exercise: every morning, before doing anything else, pull out paper and pen and simply write. About what? Anything and everything that enters your thoughts. All the congestion of the mind that turns on with waking up and thoughts that enter as you prepare to face your day, any dreams that stick and you can’t shake, even the blankness of your mind if that’s what presents itself. Put pen to paper and don't lift it until you fill up three pages. Even ramblings such as "blah, blah, blah" if the mind is blank are to be written so the pen keeps moving. Looking out a window can begin the morning's diatribe with "a fly crawls along the edge of the sill." Content isn't what's important here. Movement and consistency ultimately provide the value.

Cameron suggests that this be practiced every morning as an ongoing practice. However, even a few months achieve results. First, it creates the habit of writing. Second, the exercise disengages the writer from worrying about whether they’re composing correctly, whether or not what's being written is worthy, what someone will think of it if they read it, etc. These are pages not meant to be read by anyone, not even their creator if they choose to destroy them after they’re done, because their purpose is merely to free the mind and liberate the writer from self-imposed blocks on the inner voice.

How long before one sees results? This, of course, is individual. For some, just a few days yields outcomes, while for others it could be weeks and months. In any case, Morning Pages is an exercise that yields results in unexpected ways.

Results vary. Some report that they suddenly compose letters much more quickly and creatively. Others discover that they begin to write regularly, when in the past they thought they never had the time. Many people uncover a style and a voice that is uniquely their own that they can then use more consciously. Even professional writers experiencing writer’s block can use this technique to breakthrough and recover their flow. Try the Morning Pages and discover what they can yield.

The Artists Way by Julia Cameron

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