Photo by Therese Vercellone
I learned about morning pages several years ago when I discovered Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. I loved the idea of writing three pages of longhand stream-of consciousness. I even read Cameron's The Miracle of Morning Pages a handful of times with the intention of starting the habit. Writing three pages longhand felt intimidating. Can I write three pages a day? What if I get stuck and have nothing to put down? (It's okay to write I don't know what to write, and if you let your mind wander, you will have more to write.) I wrote pages a few times last summer, but it wasn't until mid-June when I finally made morning pages a daily part of my life, and after a thirty-day streak, I can't see myself starting my day any other way. Here's why:
They're like morning stretches for my brain. I wake up with too many thoughts in my head. I love to get up, go to my desk, and open my notebook to a clean page. There. Three pages to mentally stretch out. I throw my first thoughts onto the page and go from there, unpacking whatever comes to mind. This slows down my rapid thinking and gives me the clarity I need in order to get set up for the day.
They help me stay productive. Ever since I released my debut novel, I got sucked into social media so I could market my book. Too many times, I'd grab my phone when I woke up, and I'd end up doomscrolling after I was done with my posts. Now I wake up ready to flesh out my morning pages. Starting my day with writing keeps me writing. I've been keeping up with journaling and using up the hoard of art journaling supplies and stickers I've accumulated. Sometimes I write the to-do items that have been nagging me for a while and writing them down creates the commitment to get them done. Finishing something first thing in the morning gets me going. Dumping my morning thoughts onto the page also means carrying less weight and stress around throughout the day. Thanks to morning pages, I'm more present and have cut back on my screen time.
Morning pages can be cleansing. I've been writing for thirty years, so I know journaling can bring up unpleasant thoughts. When these come up, sometimes I will make a note of the intrusive thought that passed through my head. Other times I process it. It's uncomfortable. It hurts. But I do it to rip it out of myself. It's on the page. I can close my notebook, leave it there, and sigh in relief. (NOTE: This point taps into mental health. Everyone has different coping skills. Confronting intrusive thoughts on paper might not work for everyone.)
They provide clarity. My morning pages can get repetitive sometimes. I've spent a lot of time writing about my frustrations with trying to find my people in the publishing community. The Quiet Edge of Memory doesn't fit neatly into a box, and I'm okay with that. While it's tough finding my place, I've found so much comfort in writing affirmations in my morning pages about who I am as a writer, and how confident I feel in my own skin, pushing against the mainstream and writing what I want and need to write.
I've unearthed literary gems. I love writing freely and openly first thing in the morning. When I get caught up in the flow, I put down some pretty awesome stuff. A few times, I've written lines to what I'd love to turn into poems for my forthcoming chapbook. One morning, I thought of a book title that I'm tucking away for future use. Morning pages don't have to be neat, flowery, or make any sense, but when they do, I catch those words, then highlight those sections when I'm done so they're easy to find when I need them for a project.
Morning pages made me a morning person. I used to be a night owl, but after having kids, I've had no problems falling asleep, which has made it easier to rise earlier. Now I make sure to wake up before my husband and kids and write. Sometimes I stop writing, I pause, and I take in how quiet it is. I can hear my own thoughts, sort them out, and write them down. I can finish something with no interruptions. Morning pages are a glorious dose of me time. They're such a normal part of my life, I was able to roll out of bed at 4:30 a.m. last month to write them when we were out of town and had to be on the road at 7:30. I mean, I wanted to keep my 30-day streak going too. ;)
I'll end this post with an excerpt from my pages today: Morning pages are the place that holds rants, grief, joy, on-the-fly to-do lists, memories, a constant change of subject, sloppy writing, sloppy grammar, impromptu poetry, deep reflections ... and me.
Morning pages hold me. Thank you for that.
If you have considered doing morning pages, I strongly encourage you to give them a shot. They might change you, awaken something inside you, and reveal some rewarding--and sometimes hard--truths about how you live and create. What you do with that information is up to you. I've read that some people destroy them, but I'll hold on to mine. They're a reminder of all the days I've chosen to start my mornings taking care of my mind and my creative self while doing what I love most.
