This morning we had a weekly pregnancy checkup visit. We are about ten days from the due date. My wife and I are hoping she comes soon, but it seems like she’s happy where she is right now. I guess we are on her schedule and we must wait! Patiently…
So in the meantime, I want to share a writing tool that I’ve adopted recently. It’s actually much more than a writing tool; it has been a life changing practice for me. It’s called “morning pages.”
I first heard about morning pages on the podcast, The Moment with Brian Koppelman. Brian is a writer and showrunner of one of my favorite television shows, Billions. I’ve listened to nearly every episode of The Moment. And more telling to its impact is that there are several episodes I’ve listened to probably five times each or more. A favorite guest of mine is of course, Seth Godin. Brian and Seth’s conversations are brilliant. They talk a lot about creative work, and the experience of finding one’s voice.
One of the practices that Brian attributes his ability to do creative work is morning pages. This idea comes from the author Julia Cameron and is described in her book, The Artist’s Way. I heard Brian mention this ritual to multiple guests before I decided to really find out firsthand whether there was anything to it. I thought at the time, “well it’s great that works for him, but it doesn’t seem like something I would do.” I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Morning pages, described simply, is the act of writing three long-hand pages in a stream of consciousness manner, ideally first thing in the morning. The goal is to keep one’s hand moving across the page and letting the words fill up the lines. It seems so basic that it couldn’t be very valuable, right? Again, very wrong!
My experience with morning pages has been transformative. I am energized when writing these pages. Ideas and feelings seemingly just show up and are inked from the pen. Sometimes I find myself asking the pages for inspiration or advice, other times it comes without prompt. Writing these pages every day has also helped reinforce a discipline that I desperately needed. The writing on these pages aren’t necessarily something that I have or maybe ever will go back to, but the process is invaluable.
If you have creative work you want to do, or just want to try to write more, I’d highly recommend reading more about morning pages and giving it a try for yourself.
So long for now.
-Felix