About Revision: One Vital Part of My Process.
As you’ve probably gathered, I’m deep in revisions territory and as I’ve said before, I like revising. For me, it’s the part where I take what is basically raw material and refine and shape. If the Muses are kind, one may even end making one’s manuscript sing with a music reminscent of the celestial spheres … It’s always good to aspire, right? Right!
One very important part of this process for me is what I call “morning pages.” The term “morning pages” originates (I believe) from a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist’s Way. I personally found this to be a great book, one every artist “should” have. Years ago I read through the whole book from cover to cover and did most if not all the exercises. But “morning pages” is one of the creative exercises that really stuck.
Basically, what “morning pages” means is that the very first thing you do every day is wake up and write three pages long hand. I do 3 x A4 pages, but I guess A5 or foolscape would be equally okay.
A very important part of the exercise is that you try very hard not to think or lift your pen from the page until you’re done. You just write. Sometimes what you write is pretty much rubbish—and that’s okay. The important point is that you write. I’ve done the 3 pages of pretty much blah-blah-blah—but I’ve also written poems, developed characters, created worlds and ended books as part of those 3 little pages. It’s a discipline, sure, but everything about writing is a discipline (so what else is new?)
Right now, as I’m working through the Gathering manuscript and dealing with issues of plot and character development, continuity and consistency—including threads that go back to The Heir of Night and forward into the next two books in the series—the morning pages are my invaluable ally. Quite literally, they are where my subconscious tells me what its resolved while I’ve been sleeping (That’s why it’s really important to do the pages as soon as you wake up.) . I find the process a great start to another day of revision and seriously, if you haven’t heard about morning pages or tried them already, give them a go. They may not end up being for you, but you never know—they just might be, too.
Helen
Found the chapter you are referring to on line on Julia Cameron’s web site…Nice pointer, thanks..
Kind regards
Robin
Robin, I have always found them very useful and not just when revising.
Never really associated freewriting with the revision process, but your take on it makes a great deal of sense. Must try it out … when I have enough written to actually go back and edit!
Jeffrey, I find it useful at almost every stage of the writing process, but with revision the pages are almost doubly important (for me, anyway) because of the need to stay hooked into the creative/inspirational side of the writing, to keep that ‘global’ as opposed to line-by-line perspective on what’s going on. But I would credit a great deal of my ability to keep going and finish my first book to the morning pages as well. I know they don’t suit everybody, but they “work” for me and I hope may do for some others, too. Keep writing.:)
I did morning pages fpr years – I haven’t lately – but never found I had many creative ideas in them. My ideas generally pop into my head much later in the day, often when I am doing something like driving, gardening or otherwise relaxing.
I found an interesting blog post that may relate to this:
http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/2011/04/18/7-tips-for-busting-through-fear-and-being-more-creative/
I should have said, since that’s quite a long post I linked to, the relevant point is number 6 on her list – reasons for working at night!
It never seemed to matter how soon I did the morning pages after I got up, or even if I kept the book by the bed and wrote them without getting up, mine were always full of lists of what I had to do that day.
Sometimes mine start as “to-do” lists or shopping list, but I find if I keep “not-thinking” and “just-writing” more creative reflections begin to flow … But I do know another poet who always does her morning pages at about midnight. (Which always makes me think of that old song, you know “I wear my sunglasses at night.”) But morning pages/not morning pages, morning or night, I guess it all comes down to what works for the individual, and sometimes we have to experiment until we find what that is.
I remember doing a similar exercise with you at your workshop. It’s a really good idea, too. A great way to start a writing day.
I always think the “do not pass go, do not collect $200, do not lift your pen from the page” approach is a great way to quick start creativity and if I stick with it something almost always comes out of it …
It’s a lovely idea. At the moment the school run gets my morning energy, but my brain never seems to wake up until after 9 am, anyway. By then, I sit down and do as many pages as I can, without taking my hands off the keyboard… 😉
I ‘get’ the school run—and the keyboard, but I do find, for myself, that’s there is something about the ‘wake up & do morning pages’ routine, and about long hand: as the pen flows so too do the ideas. And then I’m so much ‘clearer’ in my thinking when I get to the keyboard. Hmm, well, most days anyway [grins] …
I don’t write longhand. I’ve only used that for notices during lectures since I’m 12 and got my first typewriter and I can only get creative with a keyboard.
But morning pages as such may not be a bad idea to try, at least on days where I don’t have urgent projects that need to be done first – can’t tell customers they’ll have to wait until I’ve done my morning pages. 😉
When I was in salaried, full time employment and quite often working 60-70 hour weeks I still used to do the morning pages—I became very familiar with rosy-fingered dawn in those days, he he, but I admit freely that I can’t do those sorts of hours anymore, especially when I’m working creatively. I used to take a notebook with me all the time as well, and scribble over my coffee and lunch breaks–seizing the moment, I guess, although often I had difficulty reading abck what I’d written. Truly atrocious handwriting, ay! 🙂
Lol, I’m an owl. If I meet the rosy fingered dawn it’s because I’m still up, not already up. 😀
That is funny … I can’t do that either though: the one and only time I did an all-nighter out of direst necessity, I nearly drove into the harbour on my way to work the next day. Not, I thought, a sustainable work practice! I think that’s exactly the same thing as writing tips and processes though—we’re all different and so different things are going to work for us. I think sharing what does work for you is still good, simply because it will also help some other folk out there, although not all.
Thanks for reminding me about morning pages. I got out of the habit a few years ago, but reading your post reminded me of how useful I used to find them, not necessarily for the gems that I wrote (can’t actually think of any gems that turned up from morning pages!) but more for the rhythm and the routine and the ‘offload’ of the not-very-important stuff before I could get into the groove of my day.
MJ: I find them useful for that, too, and there are times when I focus on other things, i.e. don’t do morning pages, but I always come back to them, usually sooner rather than later.