Colin Walker

I've frequently toyed with the idea of writing Morning Pages, a tool devised by author and artist (among other things) Julia Cameron. You've probably heard of them, may even do them yourself: "three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning."

My primary excuse for not doing them has always been that I already have to get up too early for work and don't get enough sleep as it is. Yet, since starting my daily log, I've been repeatedly mulling it over, considering book-ending each day with a writing practice. Morning pages are the obvious counterpart/counterpoint to that log.

I'm on a late shift at work this week so can better afford the extra time in the morning so now is as good a time as any to finally give this a shot.

I've used stream of consciousness writing before, usually as a means of breaking writer's block, so am well aware of how it can unlock the mind, get thoughts and ideas flowing. I've just never done so before anything else in the day, as a deliberate, conscious process or as part of a routine.

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  1. devilgate says: #
    It always mildly annoys me to see her credited with the idea. No doubt many people have come up with it independently, but Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer is from something like 1917, and that's where I first heard of it. She didn't call them “Morning Pages,” though, so I guess Julia Cameron gets credit for coining the term.
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  2. Colin Walker says: #
    Interesting! I never realised that, thanks for the history lesson. I suppose it's something that happens all the time: take an idea, wrap it up nicely and give it a fancy name then take the credit.
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  3. devilgate says: #
    Yes. Though as I say, I expect lots of people have come up with versions of the idea independently.
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