Many of the teacher-writers in the Time to Write Workshop begin their writing sessions with Anytime Pages.
Never heard of them?
Anytime Pages are the Teach Write adaptation of Julia Cameron's Morning Pages, which she explores in her book, The Artist's Way (affiliate link).
Cameron's Morning Pages go something like this:
* Wake up
* Handwrite three pages of stream-of-consciousness thinking before doing anything else
* No rules
* No stopping
* No judging
* No rereading
* No overthinking
You can watch a short video of Cameron explaining Morning Pages herself right here.
Anytime Pages
The Teach Write Anytime Pages are very similar to Morning Pages, except they can be written at any time of the day.
Mornings are extremely tough for many as they rush to get out the door. The benefits of this kind of journaling shouldn't be missed simply because of the time of day.
Our Anytime Pages go something like this:
* Open your notebook and grab your favorite pen
* Pour your words, ideas, thoughts, worries, celebrations, the voice of your 'inner critic', and/or plans onto the page
* Stop when you're done
* No judging
* No rereading
* No overthinking
Like Cameron's Morning Pages, Anytime Pages should be written by hand. Doing so creates a connection between the mind and the page in a way that typing on a computer can't.
Why Write Anytime Pages?
We especially encourage writers to begin a writing session with a few Anytime Pages.
Like Morning Pages, Anytime Pages unblock your creativity. They get all the 'stuff' that's at the forefront of your mind out so your ideas have an easier time making it to the page.
Anytime Pages are also a good time to give yourself a writing pep talk if you need it. Often, the voice of our inner critic roars when we start writing. Addressing this before you even begin writing can help quiet it down.
Anytime Pages, when written at the start of a writing session, build fluency and momentum for more writing. The Time to Write writers find that they write much more during a writing session when they begin with Anytime Pages.
Anytime Pages writers will often discover new ideas as they are writing out their thoughts. These ideas may not have come to them another way.
Morning Page writers around the world rave about the benefits of Cameron's Morning Pages. The writers in the Teach Write Community rave about Anytime Pages.
The next time you sit down to write, why not begin with an Anytime Page or two and see what happens?