The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron, is a non-traditional self help book for anyone who desires more creativity in their life. It isn’t just for writers, painters, and sculptors. It is for anyone who wants to empower their creative side.

The basic tenant of the book is that a person needs to get in touch with themselves in order to be more imaginative. Everyone wants creativity in his or her life. Some of us have just forgotten how to access this inner part. The book helps individuals tap into their inner desires and solutions through writing and other activities.

The writing portion consists of something called “morning pages.” Morning pages are three hand-written pages of whatever comes into your head. Another term would be “brain drain.” These are done first thing in the morning. Morning pages are never shown to anyone, ever. These pages seem silly at first; until you observe the power of them coming into your life.

I am a writer, so of course I expected to see a difference in my writing. This happened as ideas flowed more freely and I became more productive. However, I didn’t expect the morning pages to have an effect on other problems; particularly with managing my time. After writing morning pages for several weeks, it was as if a large log in the stream of my time floated away. I hadn’t even been aware of the log, just that there was a jam somewhere.

Besides morning pages, Julia Cameron uses affirmations, a weekly artist’s date, and other tools to help our artistic souls find their way. She notes at the end of the book that our paths are spiral in nature; like climbing a tall mountain. “As we pursue climbing it, we circle back on the same views, over and over, at slightly different altitudes. ‘I’ve been here before,’ we think, hitting a spell of drought. And, in a sense, we have been. The road is never straight. Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping.” (page 203)

This is a book to confer with over and over again; just like the spiral path. Each time I proceed through its pages I learn more about myself.

Success means different things to different people. If you don’t know what it means to you, you’ll never achieve it. Take a moment right now to dream about success in your life. Close your eyes and think about what a perfect day would be like. What would you be doing? Is it congruent with what you are doing now?

How can you use this vision of your perfect day to reach success? When I first did this exercise my perfect day was mapped out in 10 minute increments before and after work. Work was thought of as “at work.” In other words it didn’t matter to me what happened at work – it was just a job. This was a huge indicator to me that I wanted desperately to work from home. Just by visualizing my day, working at home, I was able to move home to do my work. It didn’t happen all at once; but by focusing on my greatest desire, I found myself unconsciously working towards realizing my dream.

I have found that I have to continually revamp this exercise to help me be productive at home. Working from home means that lots of things call for my attention; laundry, dishes, blog writing, bookkeeping, marketing, etc. This was especially brought home the other day when my daughter called me from school because she was ill. I grouchily picked her up from school (after all she had interrupted my very important work!). I grumped into the house, put on a movie for her, and went back to work. In a little while I felt small arms encircled around my neck and a soft, “I love you, mommy.” Then I remembered why I worked from home – for moments just like this.

Of course I decided that work could wait for the time it took to do a puzzle and both my daughter and I were happy I work from home.

Isn’t Halloween wonderful?  Yes I know it’s a pagan celebration and some people object to that, but it’s wonderful that in this land of the free we can celebrate many diverse holidays. We can think many things and have differences of opinions. Especially with the upcoming election, we have much to be thankful for. Freedom is one thing to be especially grateful for.

Operation Gratitude is a group that sends care packages to our troops overseas. They are a non-profit volunteer organization that expresses gratitude to our troops by sending them things they can’t get where they are deployed. They accept delivery of items during September 8 – December 5 for their Holiday Drive and April 15 – May 15 for their Patriotic Drive.

So show your gratitude to our troops by sending them a little something this holiday season.

1. Don’t rush. Many companies want their marketing materials yesterday. They are feeling the pinch of not having the right item when it is needed. However, it is better to do an excellent job correctly, than just a make-do-for-now effort.
2. Research. Research your subject and the person you are going to interview before you conduct the interview. This shows your subject that you have a genuine interest in them and makes them more comfortable. It also shows respect because you aren’t asking a lot of unnecessary questions. The story is told of a reporter who once asked Vivian Leigh what part she played in the movie Gone with the Wind. She ended the interview at that point. Don’t let that happen to you. Be prepared.
3. Pick a theme for your interview. When writing white papers and case studies, not everyone fits the profile of the ideal reader. You don’t want to interview the young, female receptionist of a small company when your ideal reader is a middle-aged, male executive. Interview the executive instead, even if you have to wait a few weeks because of his busy schedule.
4. Develop questions. Questions should be open-ended and encourage your speaker to open up to you. Don’t ask yes or no questions. Also plan to let people ramble and sometimes go onto another subject than the one you are interviewing them about altogether. They may surprise you with additional material. Especially with case studies, it really adds a human element to the story.
5. Interview your subject in person, if possible. Visiting in person gives you more information than over the telephone. You get access to non-verbal clues such as body language, style of clothing, hair color, etc. Also try to conduct the interview at your interviewee’s place of business. Furnishings such as style of décor and paintings may give you some opening questions to ease into the interview.
6. Establish rapport. Begin with general, get-to-know you type questions that ease into an interview. If something interesting about the person has been revealed through your research, ask them about it. Above all, listen more than you talk. Studs Terkel said, “I realized quite early in this adventure that interviews conventionally conducted were meaningless. The question-and-answer technique may be of value in determining favored detergent, but not in the discovery of men and women. It was simply a case of making conversation and listening.”
7. Focus on the speaker. Instead of waiting to ask your next question, concentrate on what the speaker is saying. When you really listen to the speaker, you get more information. You respond as if you are interested and new questions will occur to you during the discussion.
8. Record the interview. However, always take backup notes. As I once discovered to my chagrin, a tape recorder is not always reliable – especially if the interviewer (me) is technically challenged. Ask permission to record the interview and explain that is to help you get quotes correct.
9. Be respectful. Everyone is busy so stick to the time frame you scheduled. Also, when people talk they often add lots of ums and other “stuff” that they wouldn’t want to see in print. When typing the interview, use quotes verbatim, but without the ums and ahs.
10. Have fun. Interviewing is a good way to connect with others. So enjoy the experience.

Have you even been hungry, but not been able to eat because you can’t find any food that appeals to you? (Most people have experienced this when they were bored or emotionally upset.) Writer’s block is the same way. Most writers feel a compelling need to write. So it is frustrating when writing is required and there is literally nothing to say.

Sometimes when I experience writer’s block, it is because I have gotten my desire to express myself filled in another way. I have discussed a subject with another person, or thought about it, until the processing of the information was complete. The subject becomes no longer compelling. I’m not suggesting that brainstorming or pondering doesn’t help; just be sure to have a pen and paper to record your thoughts.

Writing, for me, is about learning. It is a process of mental interaction. That’s what makes it so intriguing and exciting. If I am just regurgitating something I have already processed, I become bored and my well is empty.

So how does a writer fill the well of her imagination?

• Read: Non-Fiction on a similar subject, or Fiction in a different genre. This activates your mind if that is the problem.
• Do a Mindless Activity: Scrub the floor, fold laundry, take a walk, or watch TV. This distracts your mind’s attention and gives it something easy to comtemplate.
• Meditate: Sometimes we need to quiet our minds completely.
• Laugh: Watch a funny movie and laugh. Sometimes we are just too uptight and laughter helps loosen us up.
• Just Write: Sit down and begin to write, even if the writing is awful. When procrastination is the cause, just beginning gets your thoughts flowing and pretty soon your project is done.

Experiment with what works for you. Different things work in different situations. If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear about them. Sharing helps everyone. (Or you could just come help me fold the laundry!)