Morning Pages

It's interesting that despite all the new things I try to do to get out of a creative rut or spice up my writing life, I always return to my trusty standby. The one that never lets me down, the one that is always there to take me back no longer how long I've neglected them: morning pages.

Many of you may be familiar with morning pages as they are one of the staples in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. According to her website, "Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages-- they are not high art. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind-- and they are for your eyes only." However, I think they are so much more than that.

As each morning begins, I slowly slink out of my bed and head to the living room where I get comfortable on my couch and just start to write. Many times the first thing on the page is "I'm so tired" or "Why on Earth am I up writing when I could be getting an extra 15 minutes of sleep?" Yet, as my hand moves across the page and more words pour out, I begin to awake and just allow myself to write whatever it is I feel. What's more amazing is I typically have an "aha" moment as I round the middle of page two and it gives me some food for thought to take with me as I journey through the day.

It's amazing what this morning ritual does for me. Do any of you write morning pages or have similar writing rituals that give you a kick start?