This is your sign to do The Artist's Way
For those joining our group chat, here's an overview of our next 12 weeks together.
My newsletter this week is dedicated to all of you in the Take Your Time chat— our Artist’s Way* journey is about to begin. With that, here’s the schedule for our next 12 weeks together. Can’t wait to dive in!
If you know me, you know I have a thing for Tuesdays (pretty much everything at Crown Affair launches on a Tuesday ;) so here’s the plan. As for the chat— jump in when it feels right, or just follow along at your own pace if you’re tracking ahead or behind with the book. Share everything, share nothing—whatever works for you. This space is ours, so we’ll learn to use it how we like on this journey!
2/4: AKA Today! ✨ Setting the Stage
Now that you’ve got your book, pen, and paper, it’s time to dive in.
Read the Introduction, The Basic Principles, and The Basic Tools (everything before Week 1 officially begins).
Set up your Morning Pages space, plan your mornings, and set your intentions for this practice.
Start brainstorming your first few Artist’s Dates—what excites you? What have you been wanting to explore?
This is your time to lay the foundation.
2/11: Week 1— Recovering a Sense of Safety 🚀 Substack Live Kickoff!
Join me on Substack Live at 8pm ET / 5pm PT as we kick off Week 1 and set the stage for the next 12 weeks together. I’ll be sharing more about what this journey is all about, plus an overview of what’s ahead. Come with questions, thoughts, and anything you’d like to share!
📖 For the week of 2/11 - 2/18:
Read Week 1 — Recovering A Sense of Safety
Do the tasks
Plan & go on your first Artist’s Date
2/18: Week 1 Check-In & Week 2 Kickoff
Time to reflect on Week 1—how did it go? Be honest with yourself:
✨ How many mornings did you do your Morning Pages? 7/7? 5/7? 2/7?
✨ How did your Artist’s Date feel? Drop a note (or a photo!) in the thread to share.
This is all about growth, not perfection. We’ll check in and keep moving forward.
📖 For the week 2/18 - 2/25:
Read Week 2 — Recovering a Sense of Identity
Do the tasks
Plan & go on your next Artist’s Date
I’ll update this Substack post with an overview of the chapter ahead each week, but to keep things concise for now, here are the key dates at a glance:
2/25: Week 2 Check-In, Week 3 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Power
Read Week 3 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 2/25 - 3/4.
3/4: Week 3 Check-In, Week 4 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Integrity
Read Week 4 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 3/4 - 3/11
3/11: Week 4 Check-In, Week 5 Kickoff — Recovering a Sense of Possibility
Read Week 5 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 3/11 - 3/18
3/18: Week 5 Check-In, Week 6 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Abundance
Read Week 6 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 3/18 - 3/25
3/25: Week 6 Check-In, Week 7 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Connection
Read Week 7 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 3/25 - 4/1
4/1: Week 7 Check-In, Week 8 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Strength
Read Week 8 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 4/1 -4/8
4/8: Week 8 Check-In, Week 9 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Compassion
Read Week 9 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 4/8 - 4/15
4/15: Week 9 Check-In, Week 10 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Self-Protection
Read Week 10 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 4/15 - 4/22
4/22: Week 10 Check-In, Week 11 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Autonomy
Read Week 11 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 4/22 - 4/29
4/29: Week 11 Check-In, Week 12 Kickoff — Recovering A Sense of Faith
Read Week 12 and do the tasks and your Artist’s Date anytime between 4/29 - 5/6
5/6: Week 12 Check-In, Substack Live Close Out
Our final check-in together with a Substack Live (or we’ll decide the best way to TB by then :)
Also, this is my first time hosting a The Artist’s Way group in a primarily digital format and using Substack chat for it—so I’m sure we’ll learn and evolve together as we go! Thank you for your patience and for being on this journey with me. It’s so special to be doing this here, on Substack, with a group of thoughtful, creative humans like you.
Join us here:
*More on TAW:
If you’re subscribed to my substack / here and not sure what The Artist’s Way is— The Artist’s Way is Julia Cameron’s 12-week creative recovery program, a structured but deeply intuitive process designed to help you reconnect with your creativity. Whether you identify as an artist or not, this book has a way of uncovering the places where we’ve silenced ourselves, where we’ve let external expectations dull our instincts, where we’ve forgotten how to play. At its core, The Artist’s Way isn’t just about making art. It’s about remembering who you are before the world told you who to be.
The Two Practices That Change Everything
The book is filled with weekly exercises, reflections, and prompts, but there are two foundational practices that hold it all together:
1. Morning Pages – The Ritual of Clearing
Every morning, before you do anything else, you write three longhand pages in a notebook. It’s not about being profound or even coherent—it’s about clearing the mental clutter, the self-doubt, the noise. Some days, it feels like journaling. Other days, it’s just a stream of half-sentences and grocery lists. But over time, you start to notice the space it creates in your mind. You start to hear yourself more clearly.
When I first did The Artist’s Way, I wrote my pages on loose printer paper to train myself not to be precious about what I was writing. Now, I use a refillable journal that’s traveled everywhere with me for the last year and a half. The act of writing by hand, of physically putting thoughts on a page, is a form of self-trust.
2. Artist Dates – The Practice of Filling Up
An artist date is a solo adventure—one hour a week dedicated to doing something purely for the sake of joy. It can be a visit to a bookstore, a walk through a museum, an afternoon spent flipping through old magazines. The only rule? It has to be just for you.
At first, it may feel indulgent to some.But as the weeks go on, you start to realize how starved you’ve been for play, for inspiration, for moments that have nothing to do with productivity. Creativity isn’t a well you draw from endlessly—it needs to be refilled. Artist dates are how you do that.
Why This Work Matters
We live in a world that rewards output, where creativity is often tied to achievement or monetization. The Artist’s Way reminds us that creativity is an act of living, of being awake to the world. It’s not about being good at something—it’s about reclaiming the part of you that creates just because it feels good.
Doing The Artist’s Way in community is even more powerful. Creativity thrives in connection. That’s why I’m kicking off a new round of The Artist’s Way this February—a space for anyone who wants to go through the journey together, to reflect, to share, to support one another as we unlock something deeper.
If you’ve ever felt creatively blocked, if you’re longing for more lightness and curiosity in your life, if you just want to remember what it feels like to create for you—this is your invitation.
Let’s do this together.
Take care, and take your time, always,
Dianna
I'm so looking forward to doing this together, in community, as a connection to others. Beautifully written introduction, thank you for the inspiration to join in. Signed, an introvert :)
Admittedly I bought the book a few months ago and have yet to start. Perhaps this is the push I needed!