Is morning writing your thing? Most writers I know do their best work first thing in the morning, myself included.
First thing in the morning, the mind is rested, the subconscious brain has been working on ideas all night. The day is new, possibilities are endless.
If you’re not a morning writer, and that’s your tried and true method, then please don’t change just because I like to write in the morning.
But, if you’re still developing your process, or looking for a creative shake up, perhaps try this first thing in the morning writing method and see how it works for you…
This Is Not About Morning Pages (Sorry, Julia)
There’s a morning writing practice that thousands of writers swear by.
Morning Pages.
Formal Morning Pages are an exercise put into the world by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. Basically, for twenty minutes first thing in the morning, freewrite three pages of unfiltered stream of consciousness by hand.
The practice is intended to clear the clutter out of the mind before the day starts so you can get on with your most creative, most important work.
Morning Pages have helped thousands of writers reconnect with their creative souls and establish a writing habit.
Despite Julia Cameron swearing by Morning Pages as a non-negotiable aspect of an artist’s life, you don’t have to go there if it’s not your thing.
But I still love to freewrite in the morning.
Morning Writing, Not Morning Pages
The difference between what I do, and what Julia Cameron prescribes, is that I put my morning words into something I can create with and potentially publish, not my journal.
To differentiate it from the fame of Morning Pages, I call it “morning writing.”
The article you’re reading right now is a product of my first thing in the morning writing. Every novel I’ve written is a product of first thing in the morning writing.
Here’s how it works….
As close as possible to waking up, after a few minutes spent thinking, brewing coffee, stretching, going to the bathroom, I open the computer and I write.
If I’m working on fiction, I think for a few minutes about where the story is at. If it’s non-fiction, I think about what I want to write about. And then I just type.
As fast as possible, non-stop. Trying not to think.
I get about twenty minutes before I need to take a quick break. Just a minute or two to pause.
Sometimes this is a linear process. I write from beginning to end of something, or start from where I left off the day before.
Sometimes it’s more like a stream of consciousness where I’ll write the scenes or components of an article in whatever order they come into my head.
This method of write first think later writing, capturing thoughts when you’re still in a half dream state, before the day has come along to fill your brain with chatter and stress, promotes immediate and honest expression.
Just letting go and letting the words flow is also a type of play, where you can allow yourself to just make and not let any thoughts of form or rules take away from the pictures you’re laying down in words. I’ve done some of my best work like this.
If formal Morning Pages are your thing, and they benefit you, then keep it up. If, like me, you struggle with the practice of early morning journaling, and would prefer to write something more intentional but still free flowing, then consider this morning writing method.
