Ableton Forum

the artists way by julia cameron

"This is a book that addresses a delicate and complex subject. For those who will use it, it is a valuable tool to get in touch with their own creativity."

I've just opened it today but I can already see that it's going to be a great help. So far it's talking about teaching you techniques to silence your inner critic/censor which is greatly responsible for holding back your creativity. not just telling you to stop listening it but teaching techniques and starting a process that silences it. sounds good to me.

I got mine for $1 on half.com

if you buy it now we can go on the journey together

trivia : Julia Cameron = James Cameron's ex-wife.

pretty much everyone I know has a copy of this book. Some of them treat it like a religion, others go "meh, it's OK I suppose"
It makes a bit more sense when you realise she was primarily a writer (of text / screenplays) hence the reliance on things like "morning pages" , writing down all your internal babble.

For us, that sort of thing might equate better to a "morning set". Splurge out some nonsensical and pointless Apache Breaks and trite 303 lines, then just delete it.

Angstrom wrote: For us, that sort of thing might equate better to a "morning set". Splurge out some nonsensical and pointless Apache Breaks and trite 303 lines, then just delete it.

who's james cameron?

I considered the morning 'set'

the problem is that from what I understand the morning pages is supposed to help you do something where your inner critic has no say, writing down whatever pops in your head trains your brain to not need the inner critic in order to "do". I think if I were to sit down in my studio my inner critic would already be going crazy. my left brain has been a real bitch over the years.

in my case this is so true that I don't even think I'll do my morning pages in the studio. I think just being in there turns on my critic/left brain

All my sets are morning sets! How's THAT for creative flow?

looked up james cameron, I'm a fan of almost all those movies

overtone, if you're creativity is flowing then thats cool but I'm of the mind that everyone could use a little help.

personally I've been struggling for years. I think my biggest problem is my own internal critic and this book looks like it might help tie that bastard up and torture him.

Angstrom wrote: It makes a bit more sense when you realise she was primarily a writer (of text / screenplays) hence the reliance on things like "morning pages" , writing down all your internal babble.

This reminds me of a writing technique called the divine corps, or the beautiful corps,, or some similar term that i can't remember right now. Its basically a game of chance that you play by your self using a set of predefined rules. The best example i have heard using music was an example where by the author set a rule of Four. So,, he strung his guitar with four strings, played it at 4pm every day for four weeks and recorded four bars of music. He started with four layers and was only ever allowed to listen to the previous four layers. At the end of the four week period he took all of the layers and arranged them in grouped divisions of four to form a tune.
The result was very cool.

edit.

Its called the Exquisite Corpse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse

John:

Oh I'm just trying to be funny! All of my sets are 'morning sets' in the sense that they are all basically throwaways. So, I'm right there with you man, perhaps moreso. I mess around on the guitar and kinda sorta on the computer but to be perfectly honest I've been a lazy bastard and mostly playing video games lately.. Dead Space, Fallout 3.. so yeah, I know all about lack of inspiration. For better or worse music is not my job so I don't have that pressure to motivate me. Then again, I don't really have a job, but that's kind of another situation..

Anyway to offer some kind of constructive tip, I've always found that it's inspiring for me to work with other people... jam with live instruments, swap projects etc.. I enjoy playing music on my own but collaboration can push you in a different way with the outside input, exchange of ideas.. Artist's Way is alright I guess but I get a lot more out of stuff like this forum and just life in general.

One thing a dude said to me at a college party back in the day when I asked him, 'Are you an artist?' (most of the students at that school were/are 'artists')

He said, 'Everyone is an artist and living is art.'

I thought that was pretty cool!

I did the artists way about 4 years ago. Highly recommended.

Great Book!!

I did morning pages for about 3 years - great technique.

erm... she's Martin Scorsese's ex, not James Cameron.

OvertoneZero wrote:J
He said, 'Everyone is an artist and living is art.'

I thought that was pretty cool!

was he totally high when he said it? it sounds like something a fried hippy would say in my head it's kinda funny. he's totally right though I'm not baggin on it it just sounds funny in my head when I picture a hippy with squinty eyes puffing on a joint saying "everyones an artist man, and living is like.. art" and then his buddy goes "dude you just blew my mind!"

it is true though, I believe it. at some point in my life I realized that conventional art was just sorta microcosms of things we do in our daily life. making sound, building a chair in a factory, the way we talk and the way we dress are all creative activities. some people make it 'art' by making music, building 'artistic' chairs and becoming fashion designers but the original act was still art it was just unrecognized. the way I twist my cig in my hand constantly while I'm talking is a part of who I am and in a way an expression of myself. art.

well I finished the first chapter. and oddly enough I'm thinking positively right now which is weird for me. it had me look back on my life and find out where my block came from and it was kinda an eye opener. I didn't realize I had such demons in my past but I can pinpoint situations throughout my life that have smothered my creativity.

it's fascinating really. I'm looking forward to moving on and I'm a little scared of some of the demons I might confront but it'll be good.

this is an official thank you to everyone who originally recommended the book to me in my "recommend some reading to overcome fear" thread. artists way was mentioned 5 times in that thread right away and I promptly went and bought it.

Count me in the "Meh" category, didn't do anything for me. Hope it helps others though.

of course it won't be for everyone.

I suppose if you aren't dealing with intense writers block then it won't interest you obviously, and if you aren't ready to work on that writers block then it also won't be of interest. and then theres the people who have writers block and want to work on it but it won't be for them.

personally I've been dealing with a terrible creativity problem for the last 10 years, I get things done sometimes but most the time I deal with a lot of fear and guilt and anxiety over not getting anything done. I recognized this in myself and finally decided I need to find some literature that can help. so I approached it in a state of "I really hope you can help me" and currently believe it might have the answers I seek.

I did the Artist's way a long time ago in college. I should dig it out and revisit it - thanks for the reminder.

Highly recommended!

I first used this book in (I think) in 94-95. Timing is important for this book. Its not for some but great for others. I picked it up at a time that coincided with some significant events. I did those pages for 5 years or so. Still got the spiral wound books lying around somewhere. Take note though, decide early on if you want your wife to peak in them every now and then If you really hook into those pages and dig deep you will find yourself writing about all sorts of things....

Writing pages morphed for me from a chore to creative brainstorming. Took about two years for this to happen. All though I did end up using them to write lyrics, I also ended up sketching design details for projects I had on the go, or of ideas I would like to bring to reality at a later date. I did my three pages, but i often spoke with pictures.

In terms of the inner critic, definitely try and get through the 10 weeks and save any real judgment about the ritual of pages for as long as you can. After 3 months they got hard to do.

I don't do them now. I guess I kinda grew out and away from them. It was easy finding 40-60 mins every morning when I had no kids and no pets and younger parents and and and.

I have her next book as well, Vein of Gold, but I have not as yet used it.

All the best.