Morning Pages by Gillian Poucher

 

As Advent marks the start of the Christian year, I love re-visiting those treasured gospel stories of anticipation and challenge, remembering Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, and John the Baptist. I think again about my own new beginnings, including in writing.  

Sometimes, however firm our resolve, we find ourselves stuck. This could be when we’re first thinking about starting to write, or much later.  Sometimes finishing a long-term project can leave us feeling lost, not sure what to do next. Or life events can take over and writing is relegated to the backburner.

Writing was a childhood ambition for me. I took the plunge in my early forties, partly prompted by a letter in a writing magazine. The writer had met someone at a party and introduced themselves as a writer. The new acquaintance said they planned to write in retirement. The writer challenged readers to start now, not to wait.

That letter gave me the jolt to begin. Wondering where to start, I read ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. Cameron describes how creatives become stuck for all kinds of reasons, including lack of confidence, self-limiting beliefs, fear of failure, discouragement in childhood etc.

Cameron’s remedy is Morning Pages. Morning Pages are three pages written long hand first thing on waking. There are no rules, except avoiding editing, and keeping the pen moving across the paper – physical handwriting is helpful. It doesn’t matter that what we write is trivial, trite or doesn’t make sense. It’s just for us, no-one else.

Morning Pages is freeing. It switches off the critical editor’s voice. I don’t manage it every morning, but I know that if I get stuck, if writer’s block kicks in, if I’ve been distracted by life events, Morning Pages is a tool I can turn back to and start over.

I allocate ten minutes to Morning Pages early in my Creative Writing workshops. The exercise helps to clear the superficial top layers of our conscious minds so that we can access the unconscious and subconscious, sources of our creativity. As ideas for writing emerge, we might move towards that golden state of flow.

Workshop participants often find that ten minute free flow writing helpful, even revelatory, before moving on to more focused writing later in the workshop.

Wherever you are in your writing, if you’re feeling stuck or wanting to make a start on using your God-given talent at the start of the new Christian year, why not try Morning Pages?   

Gillian Poucher runs creative writing workshops in the Lincolnshire Wolds and is the author of three novels. ‘After The Funeral’, ‘A Question of Loyalty’ and ‘Vision of Light’ are all available from her website: https://gillianpoucherauthor.co.uk ‘Vision of Light’ is also available from Instant Apostle, Amazon and bookshops.