Hola gorgeous Goddesses!
Judging by the popularity of the last book post, I think I’m not the only bookaphile out there!
Everytime I visit a dear friend’s house, my favourite activity is spying out their bookcase.
So let’s play virtual bookcase tour!
Yaaaay!
Today’s topic! Creativity & writing books!!! Perfect for artists & writers & dreamers!!!
Here’s my uber favourites for creativity & writing books:
1. The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron
This is the consummate go-to book on creativity. It’s a three month course on reclaiming the artist inside you again. Even if you don’t get through the three months – I’ve tried three times and always peter out around six weeks – you will still get bucketloads from dis book. LOADS OF BUCKETS. Gorgeous creating buckets!
2. The Right to Write – Julia Cameron
This book blew my head off. In a nice kinda way. This book is a ginormous permission slip to become a writer. Smart. Funny. Good. If you need support for your writer’s journey, this is the book to go to.
3. Letters to a Young Artist – Julia Cameron
Holy dinger, THREE Julia Cameron books in a row… what the? That’s because JC is THE goddess on creating stuff. Plus she’s ding dang prolific. I read this book every time I need my ass kicked back into creating.
It’s like a loving P.S. Get over yourself and get back to creating!
4. Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper – SARK
I heart SARK. She is in my personal pantheon of goddesses. She’s also a living rainbow of creativity, so when she brought out a book solely on writing, I was a bit enamoured. (Read: bit = ridiculously)
Plus! Weee-oooo! There’s a three page interview of me & Charlie the Happy Healer Dog in it too!
5. Living Out Loud – Keri Smith
Keri has gone on to create a ding dang load of creative manuals including How to be an Explorer of the World, Wreck This Journal, This is Not a Book & The Guerilla Art Kit but Living Out Loud remains my favourite.
Do check out her gorgeous new website too! Muchos inspiring!
6. Make your Creative Dreams Real – SARK
This one is practical and soul-restoring all at once. Perfect if you’ve got a dream wafting around in whimsy land that needs to find some roots in the physical world.
7. The Creative Habit – Twyla Tharp
Twyla is a dancer and a dedicated creator goddess. The Creative Habit is all about making creativity a – oh my goddess – a habit. Twyla isn’t into waiting for inspiration to strike, or muses to visit. She’s about creating day in, day out. Tis a good book, me say.
8. 73 Lessons Every Goddess Must Know – Goddess Leonie Dawson
Heyooooo! What kinda self-believer would I be if I didn’t totally adore my own book?
I piled into this book everything I know about being a Creative Goddess… how to be a prolific creator, how to believe deeply in yourself & how to make wild, miraculous miracles of art.
It hit #4 on Amazon’s religion + spirituality category which is amaaaazing + has turned out to be way popular. It’s got a 5 star ranking on Amazon & some truly delicious reviews!
Plus, it’s turquoise. Everything is better with turquoise. Hee!!!!
Again, I’ve only listed 8 because the rest are *your* tips, darlingheart.
What are your faves? Leonie needs to know so she can place a large order from Book Depository now. Just because it’s her new favourite thing. Not because she’s a bookaphile or anything……..
Want more?
You might like to check out:
- Top 10 Self Help Books
- Top 10 Spiritual Movies
- Top 10 Spiritual Novels
- Top 10 Spiritual Music Albums
yours in creating amazingness,
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I love The Confident Creative by Cat Bennett, even if you don’t draw, it has great advice for being in the moment and bringing mindfulness to your creative practice.
I also love Learning by Heart by Corita Kent and Jan Steward. It’s full of looking exercises and offers a different way to look at the world.
I love The Wild Mind and Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg as well as Writing Begins with the Breath by Laraine Herring. They are divine!
In terms of craft, I love anything by Barry Lane (though he’s geared toward teachers and kids, I apply his stuff all the time because it’s about REAL writing, not school writing), especially After The End. Ralph Fletcher’s What a Writer Needs is also all sorts of fantabulousness!
I would definitely add Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg to your list, along with Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Natalie’s book is my favourite writing book (and she’s written several others that are good too!).
Ha, I hadn’t seen Ellen’s post when I posted mine! I just thought of another great book: Linda Barry’s What It Is, which is a scrapbook / graphic novel / activity book — and is so inspiring!
I love love love Anne Lamott’s “Bird by Bird” – mainly for showing how human she is. And I’m also a fan of Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing Down the Bones”… ditto Keri Smith, my kids love “Wreck this Journal”!
And “the Vein of Gold” by Julia Cameron is also a go-to for kickstarting exercises. Julia Cameron again!!
If you hadn’t already listed Keri Smith’s “Living Out Loud”, I definitely would have. It is such an awesome book, a multiple re-read book, ever so often referred to again and again … in fact, it is sitting open on my desk right now ;o) So inspiring, motivating, spiritual, creative and lots of funnnnn … gorgeous ideas to get creative in the blink of an eye. Thumbs Up!
Happy Rainbow Smiles to all,
Nicky
Love this list! Found a couple new ones to add to my library too — I LOVE that!
Not sure if anyone’s added it — but I reread parts of The War of Art by Steven Pressfield daily — keeps me focused
also, Finding Water — also by the great Julia Cameron
I’ve got a huge ton of books for creativity through writing – all the ones here and then some! – but you’ve got some good ones for me for the newest piece of my puzzle, too!
Thanks, sweets! <3
Oh. and I really dig Creative is a Verb by Patti Digh (@PattiDigh on Twitter) it is lovely and amazing.
Such wonderful books mentioned! Another is “Living Artfully” by Sandra Magsumen.
I keep thinking of other writing books that I enjoyed: Writing Without Teachers by Peter Elbow is another one of my favourites. I love what he has to say about separating writing from editing.
Second the Artist’s Way and also recommend “If You Want to Write” by Barbara Ueland. It’s hilarious, fresh, and engaging (and it was written in 1938!) — by a little old lady who taught writing to “regular folk” who she was convinced had stories to tell.
Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury — well written & inspiring! He really takes you inside his process of creation. Enthusiastic & joyful.
I´ve just shared this with my Facebook group. We are going through The artist´s way and meeting each Sunday at my blog. Here´s the twist: we are adapting the book to our busy (mostly moms) schedule and doing it two weeks per chapter. It´s working a treat!
I bought #4 because you were in it. <3
Thanks for sharing this great list. I second the “Bird by Bird” vote. Anne Lamott is refreshing and makes writing seem simple.
Thanks for this post, I’ll be checking these out. Btw, I LOVE your writing style. My fav creativity books are “The Artist’s Muse” by Betsy Dillar Stroud, and “Finding your Visual Voice” by Dakota Mitchell. The latter being my most beat up and marked up art book- so that’s a good sign. Plus since you love Julia Cameron, perhaps you’ve tried her “How to Avoid Making Art”? The illustrations make for a great coloring book.
Writing Down the Bones as a few have mentioned but I would add
If you want to write by Brend Ueland. It is a classic and was written a long time ago but it is fabulous. Its at the top of my list for writing books. Oh I see someone already mentioned it.
Here are some more Page after Page and Chapter after Chapter by Heather Sellers, Poem Crazy Susan Wooldridge, The Write-Brain Workbook 365 Exercises to Liberate your writing by Bonnie Neubauer. There are so many more so check out my list on goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4827892-kate-robertson?shelf=writing
Kate
The book that changed my life is “Marry Your Muse: Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity” by Jan Phillips. Her Artist’s Creed will make you cry as you recognize truths like “I believe I am worth the time it takes to create whatever I feel called to create” and “I believe that what truly matters in the making of art is not what the final piece looks like or sounds like, not what it is worth or not worth, but what newness gets added to the universe in the process of the piece itself becoming”. This book empowers you to life your life as a work of art.
Bookaphiles unite! =)
Love your list and I’m thrilled to have stumbled onto your blog!!
Keep rockin’!
Julie Cameron’s vibe is certainly out there at the moment. I bought her book Walking in this World just last week having just “discovered” her…. OK so I am obviously behinfd the times.
Loving it so far. I am off to check out all the other books on the list and those recommended by you lovely Goddess’.
The Zen of Seeing. Just repeating the title makes me say, ‘ahhhhhh…’
Artist’s Way really helped me.
Also Natalie Goldberg is a must-read and re-read: here is a new article she wrote and published today on FB on writing: http://www.facebook.com/NatalieGoldbergWriter?sk=app_205521576149308
Hi Leonie, that’s a great list & I haven’t read all of them, so that’s something to look forward to. I definitely agree with ‘Writing Down The Bones’ & I also recommend ‘The War of Art’ by Steven Pressfield. I’m reading it at the moment & I think it’s changing my life.
Fantastic list, Leonie! A book that has inspired me and felt like a much needed permission slip is Poemcrazy by Susan G. Wooldridge. I don’t think you have to be a writer or poet for it to light a spark of creative energy! The stories about her lessons with kids made me cry, they’re so touching.
It has been mentioned twice already, but I feel the need to add my vote for Pressfield’s “The War of Art.” Like Cameron’s TAW, this book has a potent, powerful message that will change you and your art! If you haven’t read it, be sure to pick up a copy! Note too that the audio version is ab fab.
Having kept my creative soul locked away behind the bars of critism, low creative self esteem, fears and over-analysis, I recently embark on cleaning out my bookcase, and there it was, “The Artist’s Way!” I opened the cover where I religiously sign my name and date on which I bought the book, and discovered the date to be 03/97, a fine 15 years ago and so a true collectors’ item! Took 15 years for the book to finally resignate with me (yes, some of us are slow learners – smile), but what a powerful awakening as soon I was back to changing my doodles of frustrations to artworks of inspiration! Now, my once compulsive disorder pertaining to buying shoes was traded in to purchasing paint, canvasses, sketch pads, crayons and everything that went beyond my structured “black and white” colour code and soon rainbows of colours where emerging all around me! I can highly recommend the book, but be sure to make space in the corner of you office for your “Artist’s tools” as I can assured you it will awaken the Picasso in you….
A very interesting book is Free Play / Improvisation in Life and Art by Stephen Nachmanovitch. He references making music most often, but this is a book about creativity and what he explores in it can be inspirational for all creative acts.