Bare Minimum Artist's Way

I stumbled across this idea, after reading and listening to

Internet People

. I recently picked up the Artist’s Way, a book by Julia Cameron about unlocking creative potential, and almost immediately became overwhelmed by the amount of work involved. Internet People are currently running a series on their podcast, where they’re attempting a bare minimum Artist’s Way. Each week they’re discussing a chapter in the book, with the intention to do as much or as little as speaks to them. It’s amazing how two strangers on the internet giving me permission to do the course at my own pace, in my own way, has suddenly rekindled my enthusiasm for the project. I want to learn more about my creativity, and use the exercises as a way of learning more about my writing style, but I was struggling with all-or-nothing thoughts that if I couldn’t do the book the way Julia laid out, then I shouldn’t do it at all. I’m now of the opinion that doing it at 50% capacity is still 50% more than I would be doing otherwise.

I’m really looking forward to experimenting with my writing, using the prompts each week as a starting point. I’ll be sharing my thoughts here on the blog and podcast so I’m hoping you’ll enjoy this journey with me!

Some links from this episode:

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron - published in 1992, this book aims to help people harness their creativity through the medium of techniques and exercises designed to assist in gaining artistic self-confidence

• Kris Atomic - narrowboat content

• Internet People - the originators of the idea of the bare minimum Artist’s Way. A podcast and blog for smart, creative people who are chronically online

• World of Books - second hand online book shop