You’re invited: a creative reset this fall
A DIY semester in creativity, weekly resets, and a little inspiration on the side
You’re invited.
This September, I’m starting The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron—a 12-week journey into building creative habits.
I’ll be writing through it here on Sundays, and I want you to join me.
We begin with a buffer week on September 1 to give everyone time to get the book and read/skim the introduction.
And let me say this upfront: this is not about perfection. I haven’t done The Artist’s Way before either, and I’m intimidated too. That’s why I added the buffer week, and why I see this as a community journey. We’re allowed to fumble. The only rule is to keep showing up. Growing as a human—and as a creative—means once in a while doing something outside of our comfort zone.
Think of it as a DIY semester: we’ll start in September and be done and dusted by winter break. By the last week of November, you can close the book and call it a term well spent. Maybe we should all plan our own version of “end-of-term festivities.” Caps and gowns are optional, confetti highly encouraged.
How it will work
Sundays = reset. Each Sunday I’ll share the upcoming week’s theme from The Artist’s Way.
Check-ins. You can leave a sentence in the comments about how it went, or if you’d rather keep it private, just hit “reply” to the email and let me know. Both count.
The point isn’t perfection—it’s showing up, and knowing someone else knows you showed up.
When I asked people about The Artist’s Way, the ones who actually finished all said the same thing: they had someone keeping them honest. Consider me that someone.
Curious what the 12 weeks cover? Scroll to the end so see the full week-by-week breakdown.
Craving Boredom
A blur. All attempts to write or take photos went out the window. Life narrowed to a list on the fridge—and with it, my creative practice disappeared. Get mail forwarding. Give away the kitchen items we no longer want. Deep clean the oven. We are old pros at this—at leaving, at letting go of places. (If there were badges for moving, I’d have earned the sash by now.)
Before the move, our kitchen letter board above the sink carried a line from Annie Dillard: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” I stared at it while washing dishes, until I knew it by heart. Now it’s packed away with the rest of our art, still tucked in the closet waiting to be hung. The board is gone, but the words won’t shut up. After hundreds of dishwashing sessions mouthing them silently, they echo louder now: my days are messy and unsettled. And without routine, my creative life has gone quiet too.
We are now one month into our new home, the office finally cleared of bins as we find places for books and gear. There is still an excitement in the process—everything is new.
But in the weeks since we moved, life has flipped. We’re catching up with friends and walking in a city past fenced dog parks and local shops instead of our familiar forest trails. My energy is beginning to fray, and I find myself craving routine—something steady, something ordinary enough to anchor this new life. (Thrilling, I know. Pass me the calendar and a stack of Post-its.)
Routine does not sound exciting. But it does something better: it creates room. Room to return to writing and photography, which I have not done the entire month.
Fall is around the corner, and rather than fighting against the tide of the season, I’m choosing to lean with it. Routine is rarely thrilling, but it is the ground from which a life is built.
Personal Work
Week Breakdown:
Week 0 (September 1): The Basic Principles + Tools aka go pick up the book and skim the beginning.
Week 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety → Setting the foundation, committing to showing up.
Week 2: Recovering a Sense of Identity → Strengthening the voice that’s yours alone.
Week 3: Recovering a Sense of Power → Clearing blocks and claiming space for your work.
Week 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity → Aligning how you live with what you create.
Week 5: Recovering a Sense of Possibility → Expanding what you think is available to you.
Week 6: Recovering a Sense of Abundance → Letting go of scarcity thinking in creativity.
Week 7: Recovering a Sense of Connection → Noticing how art is linked to life around you.
Week 8: Recovering a Sense of Strength → Building stamina and resilience in your practice.
Week 9: Recovering a Sense of Compassion → Letting go of perfectionism and self-criticism.
Week 10: Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection → Safeguarding your time, energy, and art.
Week 11: Recovering a Sense of Autonomy → Trusting your instincts and working your way.
Week 12: Recovering a Sense of Faith → Trusting the creative process to carry you forward.
Week 13: Celebrate.
Recommended Inspiration
Hey, you made it to the end! Confession time: it’s 9pm on Thursday night and instead of reading in bed like a civilized person, I’m hunched over my laptop frantically editing this email. The truth is, I’ve been stalling. Not because I don’t want to do The Artist’s Way (I decided months ago I did), but because hitting “send” makes it real.
We just moved, Corey’s about to start school, and for the first time in five years I’ll be working at home… alone. I know this 12-week challenge will help me get through the initial shock of a new city and a quieter house. It feels like scaffolding for whatever comes next. But committing to a thing always feels, well… like committing.
So here it is. I’m in. I hope you’ll be in too.