I'm following Julia Cameron's 12 week programme to find myself as a writer! So now, in the quest to unblock myself and find all the creativity which is carefully hidden underneath everything else (I'm told it's there, I just have to believe) I'm setting the alarm clock for a seriously ungodly hour when even Ed is still asleep, and I'm writing. I'm writing anything which comes into my head - they're called the morning pages, and all I have to do is write until three of the pages in my (un-necessarily large) notebook are filled. I'm trying to do this every morning, come what may, and it's very tiring. But I'm going to bed earlier in preparation for it - which has to be a good thing - and so far I'm managing.
I'm also trying to inject more silence into my life.
Silence?
Well, I've realised that I'm very attached to words. All day long, I'm talking, reading, writing, listening to the radio and watching TV. However exhausted I am at the end of the day, I take a cup of tea to bed, and I read. And I wonder if all these words are interfering with me finding my own? They are filling a need in me which I would need to fill myself if they weren't there. Maybe I could write if I'd spent part of the day in silence and with silence? Noise is distracting me from myself, I think. And it's taken me a long time to realise that. I have considered a complete TV ban for six months - and I'm still considering it, although I'm finding the idea of managing without Coronation Street rather a challenge.
So with all three kids in school, and my teaching very sporadic indeed due to a childcare crisis, I've decided that this is the time to take action. Wish me luck?
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3 comments:
I definitely wish you luck! Impressed that you can forego precious sleep in order to write!
Hi Kate, this reminds me of an interview I heard recently on CBC radio (here in Canada) with Graham Linehan. His theory is that boredom kick-starts creativity. It is so important to have that quiet time (if you're lucky enough to get it) so your mind can wander and roll along and entertain itself when there is nothing external to do the entertaining for you.
Good luck with those morning pages. I have attempted those myself off and on over the years. At the moment I am doing a hybrid sort of thing, not daily, but more frequently than never!
Good luck! For me, writing, reading, television, radio...it all contributes to a happy life for me, but I need silence too, at least once a day and deep breathing :)
Keep us posted on your progress! Twelve weeks of getting up at 5:30 would probably kill me, but I'd do it if I thought it was necessary.
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