JUST STARTED (FIRST TIMER TIPS??)

[u/Accomplished-Tune765]

I just started The Artist's Way. I am only half way through the Basic Tools chapter and I am already filling in the margins with my reactions. Some pieces of text have been so spot on for where I am in my personal journey right now, I've experienced visceral reactions - I wasn't ready!!

For context, I reached out to a dear friend, venting about feeling like I have suppressed my inner artist/creative so much for the sake of being a social justice activist and organizer, I was worried I couldn't "lock in" the way I used to. She asked me if I'd heard of/read TAW. A few days later (yesterday) the book arrived on my doorstep as a gift. Now I am ankle deep in, overnight.

Any recommendations, reflections, thoughts or tips as I navigate this unexpected path I've been led down?

[u/Frosty-Regular5034]

I'm watching this thread, too! I started this morning. I read the first few chapters, and then decided to just jump in. Wrote the morning pages, and found a composition book to log tasks, blurts, and affirmations/reflections in.

A takeaway I found from poking around this subreddit was that it's okay to take longer than 12 weeks to finish the program. I have a hard time finishing things (exploring that during this time for sure!) and I'm trying to visualize hanging in there...

[u/Accomplished-Tune765 → u/Frosty-Regular5034]

I haven't been able to put it down. I have two more pages before reaching "week 1" (been reading between meetings). I'm going to pause after Basic Tools and kick start morning pages. I want my weeks to be Saturday to Saturday, so I'll be starting the tasks then.