JC and me

I've been reading a lot of Julia Cameron lately (I mentioned God is No Laughing Matter yesterday). I do this when I feel very seriously skewed and lost and need someone with common sense and humor to set me to rights again.

I discovered her accidentally. I picked up her book, The Artist's Way, thinking it was by Julia Margaret Cameron, my favorite photographer, who did those lovely ethereal allegorical photos and inspired my choice of tattoo and also inspired one of Nick Bantock's drawings and just happens to be Virginia Woolf's great aunt.

Soon after I started reading the book, I realized it was not by my photo girl Julia, but was actually by another Julia who happened to once be married to Martin Scorsese, wrote for Rolling Stone for awhile, and was one of the first people to hear George Lucas' idea for a little sci fi trilogy that he didn't think anyone else would like.

In her world, there ain't no coincidences or accidents. She's all about the synchronicity, which of course means that it was no accident that I picked up her book - and probably no accident that I run into Camerons all the time; my mom is even a Cameron. I feel odd saying this, but that book was partly responsible for a major change of direction for me toward writing as a vocation, and I go back to her books again and again whenever I feel creatively discouraged. Like now. My creative writing habit has been weak and tired and uninspired for awhile now, though I have every intention of starting a new novel in May, which means prep work in April, which is soon.

So it's back to JC and her God and writing ideas, and I will get myself back on track with those damn morning pages sooner or later - my biggest writer's struggle lately.