Why a Night Owl Gets up Early When She Doesn’t Have To

I don’t often get to indulge my love of early morning pages.  My new retirement dream is to write them every day!

I have always been intrigued by the process first described by Dorothea Brande and made popular by Julia Cameron.  Dr. H Anne Klauser spoke of how the practice of writing early morning pages dramatically increased her output.  I’ve read several other authors and writing teachers who endorse the practice as well.

There’s something about early morning pages that brings out metaphor, poetic language, and a new way of seeing things, both big and small.

I admit I might write eight pages of sleep deprived ravings on some mornings.  Others, I might find one or two really nice gems.  The best days (usually after several days straight), almost half of what I write is full of descriptive language.

What’s so fun about this practice are the times you read your words again to find an almost alien voice…something really great that shoots your eyebrows up into your hairline.  Bemused, you wonder if you really wrote that, or someone snuck in when you weren’t looking.

I must confess, I love my sleep too much to get up at 3 a.m. on weekday mornings.  I do set my alarm early on the weekends as often as I can.  Sometimes, the results are…seriously… half asleep ramblings  or absolutely nothing.  The opportunity to write something good keeps me getting up.  And those little gems?  They keep me coming back!

So, my question to you is:  Have you practiced early morning pages?  What were your results and what do you think of the technique?

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