"What if there were no such thing as a writer?" Julia Cameron asks in her book, The Right to Write. "What if everyone simply wrote? What if there were no 'being a real writer' to aspire to?" This is Cameron's vision for the world, and over the years it has empowered millions of people to pick up the pen and write.
Julia Cameron's Democratic Approach to Writing
While Cameron's most famous book,
The Artist's Way, used the twelve-step method to help people overcome their creative blocks, "The Right to Write," geared specifically toward writers, is not so much a program as a series of meditations focused on dispelling myths about the writing process.
It had been some time since I had read The Artist's Way, and I had forgotten how democratic and positive Cameron's attitude toward art is. For anyone who even occasionally succumbs to the idea that writing should be torturous, or that the writer must struggle or sacrifice for art, this book is a refreshing reminder that the writing life can be a satisfying one. In Cameron's universe, people who like writing are the luckiest people in the world.
Dispels Myths and Provides Writing Exercises
Though much of what Cameron writes may be redundant to people who have read her earlier books, Cameron is excellent at dispelling myths about the writing process. For instance, with regard to perfectionism, which she describes as "the primary writer's block," she writes of learning to allow her first drafts to be bad: "Freed to be rough, my writing actually became smoother. Freed from the demand that it be instantly brilliant, perfect, and clever, my writing became not only smoother but also easier and more clear...If only we could give ourselves permission to write 'badly,' many of us would write very well indeed."
For writers who are having trouble getting started, each chapter concludes with a "tool," or exercise. Some tools are more inspired than others, but overall, it's an effective format, inviting you to put her advice to work immediately. My favorite writing exercise in the book asks writers to imagine a Storyteller and then write down stories they'd like to hear.
How Best to Use Julia Cameron's Book
Reading the book from cover to cover, I did find
The Right to Write somewhat unfocused, whether because it was hurriedly edited or because it was not designed to be read this way. I would advise reading the first few chapters and then scanning the table of contents for other chapters that might speak to you. Alternately, the book would be a great way to kick off Cameron's recommended 15 minutes of writing a day: writers could read one meditation and use the accompanying tool to get started.
Ultimately, Cameron's own great love for writing, which comes through on every page, is the book's most valuable offering. All writers sometimes need reminders that their stories are important; that the desire to write is justification enough to get started.
