The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron, is far more new-agey and spiritually focused than anything I would normally gravitate toward, but part of my current self-exploration is to read and do things that in the past I would not normally have done. At this point, I have read through the entire book once and have just completed the first week of the twelve-week course. I have yet to see if it works for me. However, I can already tell that the two main principles - writing the daily morning pages and going on a weekly artist's date - could be very helpful.

I'll check back in after eleven more weeks to see how this worked for me. ( )

I confess, I didn't do this as a twelve-week course. I tried a couple times, but realized that I was never going to be able to set aside three months for a self-guided class, so I went ahead and read it straight through. I suspect I waited too long, as I am not creatively blocked anymore. The ideas in the book are very good - the morning pages in particular are a useful habit to have. I wish there was a little less God talk, but the cover did warn me that this was a "spiritual journey" so I can't really complain. The thing is, so many of the things attributed to God don't have to be - for instance, unblocking your creativity doesn't necessarily mean that God's giving you more opportunities, just that you're more open to spotting and pursuing said chances. But anyway, if you want to be more creative and just can't seem to get yourself to do it, try this out. It certainly can't hurt. ( )

I love this book...you can work at your own pace, with a group of strangers or with your friends...it's just an awesome outlet/generator for creativity. Just thinking about this book again makes me want to revisit it... ( )

A life changing book. Julia Cameron is a genius! ( )

inspiration and encouragement and a great kick-in-the-pants to work for every kind of artist. i just wish Cameron had gone ahead and referred to her divine source as God, rather than repeatedly calling it Good Orderly Direction. I suppose she did not want to offend non-believers, but her later books clearly call her source, God. ( )