Morning Glory Movie Review

Rachel McAdams stars in this feel good comedy. The movie is out on DVD. I rented it from Netflix recently and rated it with four stars, which is an unusual comedy rating for me, I usually rate them with two or three stars. Harrison Ford plays a hard-nosed out of work television journalist pitted against our heroine and Diane Keaton's character as the well-seasoned early morning co-host. The heroine must somehow figure out how to save the show she produces by boasting ratings while keeping the co-hosts from self-destrucing. Can an overworked career gal find success and love at the same time while getting a few laughs? I think Morning Glory comes close. 

Walking in This World Basic Tools Reminder

Chapter Notes on Basic Tools from Walking in This World by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way


In a recent Artist's Way work shop I took with Julia Cameron in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Julia suggested we study Walking in This World as the second book in her Artisit's Way trilogy.  As part of continuing our creative discovery, Julia again recommends daily Morning Pages, weekly Artist's Date and at least one twenty-minute Walk a week.

The Morning Pages are done within 45 minutes of waking and as quickly as possible. Keep the pen moving for three pages. Anything goes, there is incredible freedom beyond the confines of our waking mind. The good news is your critic hasn't had time to wake up yet. Morning Pages are an excellent way to get in touch with our deeper desires. For now, don't go back and read them and don't show them to anyone. Write them before anyone else wakes up and hide them in the trunk of your car, if need be. The Morning Pages are yours, they belong to you and you alone.

The Artist's Date is a weekly adventure for an hour. You can visit art stores, museums, treat yourself to a massage, you get the idea. An Artist Date is something you do alone with your artist. It's a way to replenish ourselves, nurture our artist. What is one small fun thing you would love to do? Go do it!

Walking is a short adventure where we allow our feet to wander as well as our minds. Listen for the next small step you can take in bringing creativity into your life on a daily basis.

The Basic Tools sound overwhelming when one is first introduced to them. They really are not hard to do, once you make room in your life. These three tools help us take time for ourselves and our creativity. Don't give up just because you find it hard at first or fail to keep going. Every day offers us a chance to start again.

Artist Date

In the Artist's Way, Julia Cameron suggests a weekly Artist Date. I've been doing Artist Dates off and on since 2000. In February this year I took Julia's 12 week Artist's Way course in Santa Fe and started regularly making time for a weekly Artist Date. Julia recommends at least an hour per week doing something fun. She prodded us to "get out of the house and have an adventure." Artist Dates fuel our creativity. Several times now I've taken a whole weekend dedicated to an Artist Date.

A couple of weeks ago I experienced the best one so far. It all started in Jemez Springs at the Highway 4 Coffee Shop when I noticed a flyer for a July painting workshop in Albuquerque. My artistic attempts incorporate a little doodling here and there. Although on previous Artist Dates, I had purchased some water colors and brushes hearing my artist muse whispering something about how fun it would be to paint on one of our Artist Dates. Somehow I could never bring myself to attempt it, even though I set up a small space, organized my paints and brushes, and found some jars to hold water. Fear of making a mess, wasting paint on some frightful picture, and other fears, kept me from even giving it a go.

Debbie Purdy, an artist in Albuquerque, on a whim and a friend's urging had posted her flyer thinking no one passing through Jemez Springs would ever be interested. However, I was, and I called to find out about the workshop. Debbie facilitates painting workshops using Michele Cassau's method of tapping into "the magical force of spontaneous painting." Michele's process, later called PointZero, was developed during a time when she was painting with children. "She is now known internationally for her groundbreaking work of using painting as a tool for self-discovery and for exploring the spiritual dimensions of the creative process." [taken from http://www.michelecassou.com/biography.htm] Debbie studied with Michele and became a PointZero Teacher. If interested, you can check out Debbie's art and workshop schedule at http://www.CreativeWingsStudio.com.

I asked Debbie if her workshop was appropriate for someone with no training or artistic ability, and she invited me to participate suggesting I read "Life, Paint, and Passion" by Michelle Cassou and Stewart Cubley. As a side note: Natalie Goldberg, author of "Writing Down the Bones", studied with the authors in San Francisco. You can check out Natalie's paintings at her website at http://www.nataliegoldberg.com/.

Painting for two full days worried me. What if I got hopelessly bored just like in art classes in school? Bravely I showed up and participated. I discovered this painting process was beyond the picture I was painting, and beyond my thoughts. The weekend flew by, I felt totally free, completely in touch with the universal creative flow. Yes, that's me in Debbie's August Newsletter totally absorbed in painting the red woman, [names withheld to protect the innocent]. I'm signed up for Debbie's October workshop and ready to dance again with my creative spark. 

If I hadn't realized before, I was certainly reminded that the Artist Date gives us permission to experiment. For your next Artist Date, try something you've never taken the time to do, or never given yourself permission to try. Life is an adventure.

Notes from Julia Cameron's "Walking in This World" Chapter 1

The first chapter in Julia Cameron’s book “Walking in This World” is about “Discovering a Sense of Origin”. “You begin where you are, with who you are, at this time, at this place.” We set out  that is the key. “Creativity is inspiration coupled with initiative.” Beginning starts with our desire followed by one small action and then another. “Energy attracts energy.” 

Julia listed three tasks in chapter 1, the Task for beginning where you are is to number from 1-20 and list 20 ‘creative actions’ you could start with today. Each day we begin again and here is a list to inspire you.

In the next essay Julia wrote about commitment. We get so caught up in being professional that our serious pursuits distract us from actively engaging our creative dreams. “When we make the art we love, it makes time and energy available to us for our professional pursuits. Why? Because we feel more vital, and that vitality is assertive energy that makes room for its own desires.”

I have certainly found this to be true in my own working life. Even though I have practiced The Artist’s Way Tools on and off for over nine years, I had come to resent my job and did not have the energy or motivation to pursue my creative dreams. My twelve weeks with Julia awoke me to all the possibilities and gave me the push to try new things, instead of finding excuses not to even try. These days I’m mostly excited to start my work day, and thankful for a job that provides funding for my creative projects.

What is your creative dream or dreams? Start out small, play the piano, draw, or paint for five minutes a day and then increase the time, add new actions, and before you know it you are making progress. The task for Commitment is “Express Yourself” list from 1-10 and write 10 positive adjectives to describe yourself. Then take these 10 words and use them to write a personal ad about yourself. “Create a positive and provocative picture of your uniqueness. The point of this tool is not self-transformation but self-acceptance.”

So I listed enthusiastic, fun loving, helpful, humorous, active, creative, imaginative, adventurous, introspective, and industrious. Truthfully I sometimes feel like all I've got going for me is my enthusiasm. Here's the sentence "As we swirl through the cosmos, come participate in delightful dance with an adventurous, fun loving, imaginative writer."   

In her essay titled Snow, Julia gently encourages us to find items, activities, events, and places that feed our love for our particular art form. The last task in this chapter was the hardest for me, “Do Nothing”. This is not meditation, which I love doing. Somehow in my make up, if I am a wake I must be industriously busy. I was so bad at this the first time through, I had to try it again another day, and did a little better. The process reminded me of a fifteen minute intense condensed form of our media deprivation week. 

“This task asks that you do nothing - and that you do it thoroughly for fifteen minutes. Here is how to set your “nothing” up. First of all, cue up a piece of music that is both calming and expansive. Secondly, lie down. Stretch out on your back, fold your arms comfortably, and let your imagination speak to you. Close your eyes and follow your train of thought wherever it leads you-into your past, into your future, into some part of your present that you have not been able, do to busyness, to fully enough inhabit. Listen to the music and to your thoughts gently unspooling and repeat to yourself gently this simple phrase, “I am enough...I am enough...” Stop striving to be more and appreciate what it is you already are.”

Whatever your creative dream start towards it, "kiss it hello," discover its essence, all the ways you find joy in discovering and moving through the process of creation. Everyday take a small step, a few moments, just for your art, give yourself that gift. "If we knew our writing, [performance], or art project would meet with huge professional and financial success we would pick up pen, brush, or [audition] with great enthusiasm." Act as if, from this day forward as if the pursuance of your dreams will bring you great success.

Notes from Julia Cameron's "Walking in This World"

My copy of Julia Cameron's Walking in This World arrived about a week ago, so far I've read the Introduction and Basic Tools. In the Introduction Julia seduces us into participating in a 'creative practice' sure to fuel our inspiration and art just as it did during the 18 weeks we worked throughThe Artist's Way last Spring. In Walking in This World Julia teaches us to put our dreams and the negative stuff too, our fears, resistance, rebellion, anger, pride, self-criticism, self-sabotage, whatever is blocking us, and then take the time to listen for guidance. Remember, what is hidden blocks us.

The Basic Tools remind us about the value found in our Morning Pages, Artist Dates, and Walks, and we are asked again to use these tools while studying Walking in This World. Although these tools are time consuming, I've discovered that my investment in time earns creative dividends that I have found in no other creative practice. When I am using the Basic Tools I am also a working artist, without them my enthusiasm dissipates, and once again what is most important to me slides to a back burner in my life.

Julia beautifully describes Walks as a source of our artistic inspiration. She quotes St. Augustine's remark, "Solvitur ambulando"-"it is solved by walking." And what is to be solved? Ah, those cluttered messy thoughts we have spilled into our Morning Pages. What to do, what to do? The answers will come in our meandering wandering Walks, and our Artist Dates, those small adventures, forays into unknown territories. I have noticed that by asking and writing down questions before sleep, powerful answers also come through in my Morning Pages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Affirmation: I am a working artist.

Tip: Turn your negative thoughts into positive affirmations. Use the last 15 lines of your Morning Pages to write three affirmations, five times each. Remember those great Creative Affirmations found in The Artist's Way, pages 36 - 37, and page 146, (these are the short ones in Week 8), that can be added to your own short affirmations, for example, [I am a working artist, and "I am a talented person."]

Quote: "The best thoughts most often come in the morning after waking, while still in bed or while walking." - Leo Tolstoy 

Second Day VBIAM Reminder

"Daily Exercise:
Free Writing - pick up a pen and paper, or type on a computer, about any story idea you want. Don't stop to think, just write for 10 minutes. Do not write nonsensical stuff such as 'I have nothing to say' instead this free writing exercise should consist of a story. You will be amazed at what happens when you have no agenda, no ideas about perfection"

Wrote for 10 minutes on Lilly's background, her life frozen in time, her boss and mentor, and a little on her cheating x-husband. He is definitely a subplot. Lilly and her boss Morgan's interactions move the story forward and give information to tell the story.

BIAM Day 2

Drafted my 10 scene Cards

I used Chris Vogler's "The Writer's Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers", Third Edition. He condensed Joseph Campbell's outline of the hero's journey in "Hero with a Thousand Faces" down to twelve stages. I translated the stages down further into the novel's 10 major scene cards. His method was used over others because I've studied his book and heard him speak on the subject. It's familiar and a good place to start for me.

Below are Vogler's 12 Stages of the Hero's Journey with my comments of how I combined them to make my 10 major scenes:
Act I
The Ordinary World
[Combined the Call and the Refusal to one scene]
Call to Adventure                                            
Refusal of the Call                                           
Meeting with the Mentor
Crossing the First Threshold

Act II (a)
Tests, Allies, and Enemies
Approach to the Innermost Cave

Act 11 (b)
The Ordeal
Reward

Act III
The Road Back-(often includes a car chase)
[Second combination - the last two]
The Resurrection                                                                                         
Return with the Elixir

It's a start. The major scene cards give me an idea of where the story is going. So many movies use this outline, I often know what act it is by what is taking place. Some people resist this ancient outline, but it works in the telling of great stories and a story's twists and turns provide room for many limitless creative ideas and endings.