Artist's Way Bookclub

Somewhere between an artist's support group, creativity as its own woo woo theology, and a democratized mini-mentorship... for anyone (and everyone) looking to make and keep strides in their respective creative fields.

Because yeah... it happens.
You get the vision down. You cultivate (at least most of) the skills necessary. You block out the time. And... And... And... Nothing.

Some invisible thing is keeping you from just sitting down and doing the work. Writer's Block. Artist's Block. Whatever you want to call it.

Or maybe things are running so smooth that you're growing a little complacent and you want to make sure you put some guardrails up to ensure you keep your current moment.

Cool! So... right! Who is this for?:
This process is for everyone regardless of creative discipline or experience. The goal is to build/maintain momentum, at your creative art of choice. This is the primary metric for everything.

And what the heck are we doing?:
The group will meet weekly, keep ourselves honest, and periodically work our way through the process that is The Artist's Way: 30th Anniversary Edition (ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780143129257)

And then the all the logistics:
Attendance is not mandatory for every single session, but participation is expected... and kinda the whole point. So you'll need to find a way to keep up, if you miss. Again emphasizing your own momentum and growth, not just doing exercises out of an inert book.

For general rules, we'll follow the author's own suggestions here (modified slightly to suit our needs):
https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/creative-clusters/

First timers are always welcome and can join anytime. Your goal is to keep your own pace, ideally just outside of your current comfort zone, not to make yourself miserable through heavy grasping overplans.

And backsliding is both totally allowed, and totally human. We're here to support each other, again in the most compassionate way possible. And to get your feet back under you when it happens.

Other than that... I've got a couple bookmarks that this research turned up that might be interesting. Someone else's take on the process:

https://extraordinaryroutines.com/musings/the-artists-way-complete-guide
https://extraordinaryroutines.com/musings/not-knowing-what-you-want
https://extraordinaryroutines.com/musings/routine-survey

And that's about it.
Oh and if you're still on the fence and you've read this far... maybe checkout this mostly-unrelated interview with Billy Porter. it's what sold me on this idea in the first place:

https://wondery.com/shows/the-great-creators-with-guy-raz/episode/11395-billy-porter-the-star-of-pose-and-kinky-boots-on-overcoming-adversity-slaying-the-red-carpet/

If you want to go fast go alone.
If you want to go far... go together.