The Artist's Way

I tell this story not to drop names, but to make the point
that even the most illustrious among our ranks as artists
were not always illustrious and won’t ever be beyond the
fears and doubts that are part of creative territory. These
fears and doubts will always, for all of us, be something to
move through with a little help from our friends.
We all start out the same way—rich in dreams and
nothing more. If we are lucky, we find friends to believe in
our dreams with us. When we do, that creative cluster
becomes a magnet to attract our good.
I have been teaching The Artist’s Way for a long time.
I’ve discovered that while I don’t believe in a quick fix,
rapid and sustained creative gains can be made—especially
if people are willing to band together in clusters. When I
travel to teach, it is with the goal of leaving creative clusters
behind me in each locale so that people can work together
to nurture and support each other over the long haul.
In Chicago there is a cluster that has been together for
years. The group began with questions like, “Will I be able
to write again?” and “I’d like to try to improve, but I’m
scared,” and “I really want to produce,” and “I’d like to
write a play.”
Years later, the cluster is the same, but the questions are
very different. “Who’s throwing Ginny’s Emmy nomination
party?” and “Should Pam do her third play with the same
theater company?”
As creative people, we are meant to encourage one
another. That was my goal in writing The Artist’s Way and it