Morning Pages ask us to have courage. When we do, they give us positive reinforcement. On an “off” day, we can still tell ourselves, “At least I did my pages.” Most days, we can count some small forward motion. Pages lead us to large changes by very small steps.

You may wish to pose many questions in your Morning Pages. A favorite of mine is, “What should I do next?” It was this question that was answered, “You will be writing radiant songs.” Not likely, I thought, but I had learned to trust the wisdom of the pages. Sure enough, two weeks later, I had a head filled with melody. I was indeed writing radiant

You may wish to pose many questions in your Morning Pages. A favorite of mine is, “What should I do next?”

Longhand pages give us detail and the truth of how we feel emotionally. Accuracy is what we are after, not velocity. Longhand pages tell us precisely how we feel. These feelings may be uncomfortable, but they are ours. We name them, claim them. No longer ignored or obscured, they can be faced squarely. Once faced, they can no longer sabotage us. We

Think of your blank page as a meadow. Your Censor guards the gateway in. It will let mundane thoughts—like cows—into the meadow. It gives the right-of-way to thoughts it has seen many times before. But just try to slip a zebra or a unicorn, a truly original thought, past the Censor, and it will howl with outrage. Learn to say to yourself, “My

Think of Morning Pages as a soundtrack that would ordinarily accompany your day. All that petty, whiny, self-pitying stuff lies between you and your creativity. Worrying about your work deadline, your lover’s coolness, your dry cleaning—this eddies all day through your subconscious. Instead, write it out. Get it on the page. Be rid of it.

Day by day, pages tutor us. We learn to act in our own best interests. We stop being victims of circumstance. A choice at a time, we begin to craft a life that reflects our authentic values. Rather than sitting on the sidelines critiquing the game, we start to participate.

“I’ll just keep going” is a central lesson taught by Morning Pages. The pages may seem dull to you, even pointless, but they are not. Remember that they are not intended to be “art.” They pave the way for art.

For example, “I have twenty minutes. Should I grab some time at the piano?”