Interviewing a Writer Hero
My conversation with Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way.
THE ARTIST AND HER WAY
I interviewed Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, for The Creative Independent.
For the uninitiated: The Artist’s Way is a 12-week recovery program for anyone seeking a more creative life. I’ve done the program, it changed my life, and now I unabashedly spread the gospel of Julia Cameron. If you want to learn more about the program, read my take.
I had the opportunity to talk with Julia Cameron about her new book, The Artist’s Way Toolkit. I asked her all of my burning questions about her experience writing 58 (!) books.
Here are some highlights from our conversation.
Me: I think part of what makes The Artist’s Way so attractive to people is the very clear and seemingly simple actions you prescribe: the morning pages and artist dates. How did you arrive at the system of daily actions that have become The Artist’s Way?
Julia Cameron: I would say through practice. I found myself just leading from one book to the next and from one tool to the next. I think they were exciting to me.
Me: What excited you about this framework initially?
Julia Cameron: The fact that I could keep going.
Me: You have so much to say about protecting ourselves from the dangers of codependency by utilizing morning pages, artist dates, solo walks, and writing for guidance. Can you say more about that?
Julia Cameron: I think that the tools lead the way to autonomy. When you write morning pages, you’re saying particularly, “This is what I like. This is what I don’t like.” And it’s particular to the person who is writing. I think when you write out of that state, you are opening yourself up to a spiritual source. That, too, is an exercise in autonomy.
Now, a moment of appreciation for the fact that the creator of Morning Pages wrote about me in her own Morning Pages.
Me: Have you written for guidance today at all?
Julia Cameron: Yes, I did.
Me: Would you be willing to tell me a little bit about what you asked for?
Julia Cameron: I said, “Dear God, please guide me. Give me faith and optimism. Give me everything I need to make me alert and make me lively. Give me grace and eloquence, give me humor, and let me like Hurley.”
Me: [laughs] I really hope that God is giving you that last one.
Julia called me a few hours after our conversation just to check and make sure I got everything I needed: something no interview subject of mine has ever done before. After telling her how much I’d loved our conversation, I asked her what she was doing with the rest of her evening. She said, “Writing.”
“What will you be writing?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet,” she said. But I could hear a smile in her voice.
There is no recommended reading in the newsletter this week because: I have not been reading.
More specifically, I have intentionally not been reading.
No books.
No newsletters.
No articles.
No news.
I forgot to mention that, in addition to talking with Julia Cameron, I am working through The Artist’s Way once again. I’d forgotten that, in Week 4 of 12, Julia assigns something she calls “reading deprivation.” A week of no reading. The idea is to avoid numbing ourselves out and instead foster a sense of play.
I can vividly recall when I arrived at this part of the book the first time I read it. I said “HELL NO” out loud and slammed the book shut. What was Julia thinking, keeping me from my reading life? Didn’t she know that writing requires reading? I’ve mentioned here before that I’m big into taking what works and leaving the rest. Reader, I left the rest.
This time around, I had a strong response. And the response this time was “oh thank god.” I am so tired of reading, and I never want to be tired of reading. Julia, thank you for the much-needed break.
Such an awesome accomplishment! Julia...so damn wise and concise!
You might get a kick out of something I wrote about 25 years ago about artists dates -- also, I ran and got a fulltime tech writer job as soon as this was published :)
https://monkeyfire.com/mpol/dir_zine/dir_1998/828/t_gamut.html