The Right to Write

An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life

Part of Artist's Way

What if everything we have been taught about learning to write was wrong? In The Right to Write, Julia Cameron's most revolutionary book, the author of the bestselling self-help guide The Artist's Way, asserts that conventional writing wisdom would have you believe in a false doctrine that stifles creativity. With the techniques and anecdotes in The Right to Write, readers learn to make writing a natural, intensely personal part of life. Cameron's instruction and examples include the details of the writing processes she uses to create her own bestselling books. She makes writing a playful and realistic as well as a reflective event. Anyone jumping into the writing life for the first time and those already living it will discover the art of writing is never the same after reading The Right to Write.
Introduction

BEGIN: Invitation–Initiation
LET YOURSELF WRITE: Invitation–Initiation
LET YOURSELF LISTEN: Invitation–Initiation
THE TIME LIE: Invitation–Initiation
TRACK: Invitation–Initiation
BAD WRITING: Invitation–Initiation
THIS WRITING LIFE: Invitation–Initiation
MOOD: Invitation–Initiation
DRAMA: Invitation–Initiation
THE WALL OF INFAMY: Invitation–Initiation
VALUING OUR EXPERIENCE: Invitation–Initiation
SPECIFICITY: Invitation–Initiation
BODY OF EXPERIENCE: Invitation–Initiation
THE WELL: Invitation–Initiation
SKETCHING: Invitation–Initiation
LONELINESS: Invitation–Initiation
WITNESS: Invitation–Initiation
WHY DON'T WE DO IT IN THE ROAD?: Invitation–Initiation
CONNECTION: Invitation–Initiation
BEING AN OPEN CHANNEL: Invitation–Initiation
INTEGRATING: Invitation–Initiation
CREDIBILITY: Invitation–Initiation
PLACE: Invitation–Initiation
HAPPINESS: Invitation–Initiation
MAKING IT: Invitation–Initiation
HONESTY: Invitation–Initiation
VULNERABILITY: Invitation–Initiation
DAILINESS: Invitation–Initiation
VOICE: Invitation–Initiation
FORM VERSUS FORMULA: Invitation–Initiation
FOOTWORK: Invitation–Initiation
PRACTICE: Invitation–Initiation
CONTAINMENT: Invitation–Initiation
SOUND: Invitation–Initiation
I WOULD LOVE TO WRITE, BUT... : Invitation–Initiation
DRIVING: Invitation–Initiation
ROOTS: Invitation–Initiation
ESP: Invitation–Initiation
CHEAP TRICKS: Invitation–Initiation
STAKES: Invitation–Initiation
PROCRASTINATION: Invitation–Initiation
INTO THE WATER: Invitation–Initiation
THE RIGHT TO WRITE: Invitation–Initiation

Suggested Readings

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than three decades. She is the author of more than thirty books, including such bestselling works on the creative process as The Artist’s WayWalking in This World, and Finding Water. Also a novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television, including an episode of Miami Vice, which featured Miles Davis, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen, which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi DriverNew York, New York, and The Last Waltz. She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film God's Will, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and the Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making films, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. She is also an award-winning playwright, whose work has appeared on such well-known stages as the McCarter Theater at Princeton University and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. View titles by Julia Cameron

About

What if everything we have been taught about learning to write was wrong? In The Right to Write, Julia Cameron's most revolutionary book, the author of the bestselling self-help guide The Artist's Way, asserts that conventional writing wisdom would have you believe in a false doctrine that stifles creativity. With the techniques and anecdotes in The Right to Write, readers learn to make writing a natural, intensely personal part of life. Cameron's instruction and examples include the details of the writing processes she uses to create her own bestselling books. She makes writing a playful and realistic as well as a reflective event. Anyone jumping into the writing life for the first time and those already living it will discover the art of writing is never the same after reading The Right to Write.

Table of Contents

Introduction

BEGIN: Invitation–Initiation
LET YOURSELF WRITE: Invitation–Initiation
LET YOURSELF LISTEN: Invitation–Initiation
THE TIME LIE: Invitation–Initiation
TRACK: Invitation–Initiation
BAD WRITING: Invitation–Initiation
THIS WRITING LIFE: Invitation–Initiation
MOOD: Invitation–Initiation
DRAMA: Invitation–Initiation
THE WALL OF INFAMY: Invitation–Initiation
VALUING OUR EXPERIENCE: Invitation–Initiation
SPECIFICITY: Invitation–Initiation
BODY OF EXPERIENCE: Invitation–Initiation
THE WELL: Invitation–Initiation
SKETCHING: Invitation–Initiation
LONELINESS: Invitation–Initiation
WITNESS: Invitation–Initiation
WHY DON'T WE DO IT IN THE ROAD?: Invitation–Initiation
CONNECTION: Invitation–Initiation
BEING AN OPEN CHANNEL: Invitation–Initiation
INTEGRATING: Invitation–Initiation
CREDIBILITY: Invitation–Initiation
PLACE: Invitation–Initiation
HAPPINESS: Invitation–Initiation
MAKING IT: Invitation–Initiation
HONESTY: Invitation–Initiation
VULNERABILITY: Invitation–Initiation
DAILINESS: Invitation–Initiation
VOICE: Invitation–Initiation
FORM VERSUS FORMULA: Invitation–Initiation
FOOTWORK: Invitation–Initiation
PRACTICE: Invitation–Initiation
CONTAINMENT: Invitation–Initiation
SOUND: Invitation–Initiation
I WOULD LOVE TO WRITE, BUT... : Invitation–Initiation
DRIVING: Invitation–Initiation
ROOTS: Invitation–Initiation
ESP: Invitation–Initiation
CHEAP TRICKS: Invitation–Initiation
STAKES: Invitation–Initiation
PROCRASTINATION: Invitation–Initiation
INTO THE WATER: Invitation–Initiation
THE RIGHT TO WRITE: Invitation–Initiation

Suggested Readings

Author

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than three decades. She is the author of more than thirty books, including such bestselling works on the creative process as The Artist’s WayWalking in This World, and Finding Water. Also a novelist, playwright, songwriter, and poet, she has multiple credits in theater, film, and television, including an episode of Miami Vice, which featured Miles Davis, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen, which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi DriverNew York, New York, and The Last Waltz. She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film God's Will, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and the Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making films, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. She is also an award-winning playwright, whose work has appeared on such well-known stages as the McCarter Theater at Princeton University and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. View titles by Julia Cameron

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