Deborah Cooke: Author

Wow. I had a great week last week with THE ARTIST’S WAY. I found the sweet spot again, that balance point between writing and living that lets me write easily each day. The morning pages are a big big part of that. I love how they clear out the cobwebs and leave room for story ideas. It was a great week for me – this week’s challenge is to keep the rhythm.

One of the reasons I keep coming back to TAW is that it acts as a creative tune-up. I have never actually had writer’s block, but there are times when I work less efficiently than others. I work weekends and evenings to meet deadlines, and it seems to be heavier going. This kind of work pattern isn’t sustainable over the long term, but TAW helps me find the balance again. The analogy isn’t a bad one – it’s like noticing that your car isn’t running quite as quietly, accelerating as easily, or that it’s burning too much fuel. Some tweaks, maybe the investment in a new fan belt (for writers, some multicoloured highlighters or sparkly new office supplies might do the trick) and everything runs like a dream all over again. I think I’m always going to be fighting the temptation of the internet – I just think it’s too much fun – but right now, my indulgence is at a reasonably low level.

So, how about you? Did you do your morning pages? Go on your artist date? Notice anything starting to come together for you.