Lately I’ve rediscovered the value of morning pages, a tool that Julia Cameron describes in The Artist’s Way. The idea is to write three pages in a journal upon waking, spilling whatever comes to mind in stream-of-consciousness writing without analyzing, censoring, or questioning whatever finds its way to the page. You just keep writing without pause.
What usually happens for me is that the disarray of daily life comes out, with its untended details and unresolved issues. Beneath those are the more substantial concerns, which show up too. The emotional leavings of recent events filter through, self-doubt makes regular appearances, and there are the perennial issues that appear again and again in different contexts. Everything gets put on the page and released as the pen keeps moving.
As a result, my mind becomes clearer. Without the low-level noise of background thoughts it’s easier to concentrate. In sweeping out the clutter of concerns, creative space opens up. Morning pages don’t count as getting my writing work done, but they help clear the way for accomplishing what I want to do. They don’t even have to be done in the morning to be effective.
Morning pages are one way to empty ourselves in order to make room for creative work. What ways have you found to open the space within for your writing?