ArtsBooksEducationSelf-Improvement

Words to Write by

Welcome to Words to Write by - a podcast where we discuss, chapter by chapter, those wonderful writing craft books purchased with the best of intentions but now gathering dust on the bookshelf. No judgement! We’ve got our own bookshelves. Let’s tackle these books together and become the better writers we know we can be.

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Wednesday · 1 hr 12 min
Scenes That Stick
There's something about a new craft book and all its promise. Renee is so happy that she's worried she won't do anything but gush over the first chapter of Sandra Scofield's The Scene Book. We'll find out in today's episode. We start with what makes a scene powerful, both in general and in specifics — anyone out there into Outlander? Renee's a fan. From there, we move on to how Scofield defines a scene, with comparisons to how past books have approached the concept, and then tackle the four elements Scofield claims every scene contains. But honestly, the most useful part of this chapter is what we learned from the exercise we chose: writing a memory as a scene. Kim reached for her high school bike accident, while Renee reminisced about the time she and her grandfather traded lemons for donuts. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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S4 · E16
August 10 · 48 min
Goodbye, Artist's Way. Hello, Actual Craft
We're saying goodbye to The Artist's Way — and honestly, good riddance. We're recapping our favorite quotes, the insights that actually landed, and the many, many reasons this was the most frustrating craft book we've covered on this show. Would we recommend it? Hard no. Curious about Morning Pages? Google it — someone's written a better explainer than this book ever managed. Then we pivot hard: no more process, just craft. Enter The Scene Book by Sandra Scofield — composition-notebook cover included, so you know it means business. End-of-chapter exercises and everything. We're digging into the introduction and what we're hoping this one delivers that the last one didn't. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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July 22 · 58 min
Week 12: We Finished the Book!
We finally finished The Artist's Way—Julia Cameron's self-help bible for unlocking your creative potential. Spoiler: our potential remains firmly locked. Was it a lack of faith? Of confidence? Of cognitive dissonance? All we know for sure: the Morning Pages did not save us. But even in defeat, the final chapter gave us something to chew on. We talk hobbies as a backdoor into fun and focus. We put "Escape Velocity" — Cameron's theory that success can sabotage your creativity — on trial. And we tackle the eternal question: what do you do with a Wet Blanket Friend when you're about to do something a little unhinged? Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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July 8 · 1 hr
Week 10: The Habits that Block Us
Week 10 of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way finally tackles the elephant in every writer's room: creative block. And Cameron's fix isn't the standard "butt in chair, write daily" gospel (morning pages notwithstanding). No, she goes bigger, blaming workaholism, distraction, fame-chasing, and our need to compare ourselves to everyone else. Classic Cameron: heavy on the diagnosis, light on the cure. Lucky for you, listener, we like useful advice. This episode: boundaries that stick, carving out time and headspace to write, prompts that don't feel like homework, and how to enjoy the process of daily writing. Plus a detour into dopamine, because apparently we can't discuss creativity without getting a little sciency about it. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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June 24 · 1 hr 6 min
Week 11: Flailing at the Finish Line
f you listen to this podcast, you probably dream of becoming a successful writer. But what happens when you actually get there—and find yourself flailing and blocked anyway? Sounds like a best-selling-author problem, the kind that shouldn't have a place in Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist's Way. And yet as we take a closer look at our own writing journeys, we find a certain truth to this. Even modest success can curdle into a total lack of enthusiasm. This week, we talk about what happens when your art stops feeling novel and exciting, and all those beginner get-your-butt-in-the-chair techniques stop working. Cameron's solutions involve spiritual electricity and artistic alters, which read exactly as hokey as they sound. Luckily, our discussion resulted in more practical benefits of exercise and daily rituals. And the best part? We're one chapter away from finishing this book. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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June 10 · 1 hr
Week 9: Fear is the Block
What causes writer's block? According to Julia Cameron, it's not laziness—it's fear. This week's chapter of The Artist's Way goes deep on identifying what keeps writers from writing, even if the solutions are a little thin on the ground. Cameron argues that blocked writers don't need more discipline; they need more enthusiasm and to treat the work like play. And how, exactly, do we do that? She also introduces the concept of Creative U-turns, where otherwise successful artists seem to sabotage their own careers right at the threshold of success. The concepts are genuinely intriguing, enough that we stuck around to find the solutions Cameron didn't. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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May 20 · 46 min
Week 7: Perfectionism: An Expensive Illusion
A funny thing happened while we were reading the latest chapter of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. She actually had some good advice. That line about how making art is less about "thinking it up than getting it down" that’s simple, but completely true. And her description of perfectionism as "an expensive illusion of safety" hit even harder. Unpacking that idea led us somewhere unexpected: why we cling to perfectionism even when we know it's killing our productivity, where jealousy fits in, and how jealousy might be at the root of the whole problem. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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May 14 · 1 hr 4 min
Week 8: When Art Hurts
Making art can hurt — even when you're fully bought into The Artist's Way. This week Cameron tackles criticism and toxic teachers, and we suspect she's drawing from some personal experience. Her descriptions of creative wounds ring painfully true; her solutions, less so. We dig into her motives, push back on her advice, and have some fun with her mad-libs exercise. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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April 28 · 51 min
Week 6: The Pampering Paradox
The starving artist isn't a cliché for nothing — we've long assumed that art requires sacrifice, usually financial. But according to Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, a little pampering is actually good for the artist's soul. And while we won't disagree that small luxuries like fresh raspberries, high-grade butter, and the occasional thrift store impulse buy can warm the heart and bring some much-needed hope to your creative life, we do take issue with Cameron's breezy assumption that a benevolent Creator will simply buffer artists through life's financial ups and downs. Yes, there is definitely some ranting in today's episode — including why this advice hits a little differently in a post-internet world. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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S4 · E7
March 18 · 52 min
Week 5: The Virtue Trap
What gives? We hate this book but love talking about it. Week 5 of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way returns to her insistence that belief in a Great Creator unlocks opportunities and success—which we're still not buying. But it does spark a conversation about self-belief: that unshakeable certainty successful artists have that their work matters and will be recognized. That conviction helps them treat setbacks as part of the process, not proof they're not good enough. Cameron also introduces the Virtue Trap, where we sabotage our own creative needs by being "too responsible"—though she offers zero advice for escaping it. We wrap up with her exercises and Cameron's very 1990s view of the world. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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February 24 · 46 min
Week 4: The Morning Pages Report
Do morning pages work? Specifically, do they work for us. We begin this podcast by discussing our success following the advice by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist Way to write three pages of stream of conscious thoughts every morning. Let’s say our results are mixed. We then go onto discuss who this book is for, Cameron theory of synchronicity, and what she’s talking about when she advises us to take a break from reading. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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Dec 17, 2025 · 59 min
Week 3: The Pushback
Should you use anger to fuel your writing? Do you experience shame while creating art? Have you been keeping up with your artist pages? Week 3 of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way poses these questions with clear answers in mind—but we're not convinced. In this episode, we dig into what happens when a wildly successful writing craft book conflicts with your actual creative process, and what's still valuable even when you fundamentally disagree. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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Nov 20, 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
Week 2: External Blockers (and Internal Doubts)
We're on Week 2 of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, shifting from internal creative obstacles to external ones—namely our friends and family. We dig into Cameron's concepts of "poisonous playmates" and "crazymakers": how to identify them (spoiler: they're not always people) and strategies for protecting your creative space from their intrusions. Then we tackle Cameron's uncomfortable idea—that blocked creators might actually want these distractions to avoid doing the work. But our strongest reaction to this chapter is Cameron's reliance on God and a capital-C Creator throughout her method. Can an atheist follow the Artist's Way? Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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Nov 7, 2025 · 1 hr 24 min
Week 1: Let's Talk About Shadow Artists
We're officially starting our Artist's Way journey—Julia Cameron's program for unlocking creativity—and we're already running into problems. Specifically, we take issue with some of Cameron's ideas about what it means to be an artist. We challenge her concept of the "Shadow Artist" and argue for a middle ground between making art and handling practical life responsibilities like earning money for yourself and your family. Cameron does offer valuable insights, particularly around the internalized negativity that drains creative joy—Renee especially appreciates her term "Artist Abuse." But some items on Cameron's Core Negative Beliefs list are questionable (and that's putting it mildly.) We wrap up by attempting a few chapter-end exercises, which reveal some early obstacles in our own creative histories. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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Oct 16, 2025 · 42 min
The Morning Pages Experiment
Three pages. Every morning. No exceptions. No mercy. We're going to unblock our inner artist using Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. For three months, we'll write stream-of-consciousness drivel before our brains fully wake up - a bizarre ritual Cameron swears by and millions of writers have adopted. But will these 'Morning Pages' really unlock our creativity? In this episode, we dig into the practice and the equally peculiar 'Artist Date' before diving headfirst into one of the most influential (and controversial) creativity programs ever written. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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Sep 25, 2025 · 58 min
Starting The Artist's Way (Send Help)
Over the past few months, we've taken a deep dive into AI writing tools. Now we're coming up for air and trying to reconnect with our human creative souls. What better book for this than Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way? Published over thirty years ago, Cameron's much beloved Creative Recovery Program is the reason why so many writers drag themselves out of bed for Morning Pages. This is a twelve week course, so buckle up - we're in it for the long haul. And it's not just a book for wannabe authors - this self-help tome promises to unleash the creativity of "potters, photographers, poets, screenwriters, dancers, novelists, actors, and directors." What's not to love? Well, there's a catch: Cameron's book is veryspiritual, packed with calls to a higher power. We dive into Cameron's Great Creator, whether this book works if you're not particularly religious, and what we're hoping to get out of this whole endeavor - besides possibly talking to the universe. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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S3 · E26
Sep 10, 2025 · 32 min
Robot Reporters Need Not Apply: A Journalist's Stand
We've been looking at how AI chatbots have been upending fiction writing, but how about in news media? Today we talk with former Wired writer and freelance science journalist Ramin Skibba about the issues that chatbots, as well as business models based on new technologies, are having on journalism - both the news that he writes and the news that we read. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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S3 · E35
Jul 23, 2025 · 56 min
Teaching Kids to Write in the Age of ChatGPT
What if chatbots result in the next generation never learning to write? It's a doomsday scenario that we keep coming back to in our series on AI writing tools. If AI can craft essays and compose emails instantly, why would kids bother mastering grammar, sentence structure, or the art of putting thoughts into words? And here's the terrifying follow-up—if they never learn to write, will they lose the ability to truly read and think critically too? If you've been spiraling down that educational apocalypse rabbit hole, this episode might cheer you up. We're talking with Sonia and Karthik, the team behind SuperDecoders, who are taking a different approach to AI in education. Instead of replacing human creativity, their AI-powered writing tool acts like a personal writing coach for kids—the kind of personalized attention that could help kids develop their writing skills rather than bypass them entirely. Our discussion with them left us genuinely optimistic about the future. Sometimes the best way to navigate new technology isn't to ban it, but to find smarter ways to use it. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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S3 · E34
Jun 18, 2025 · 51 min
AI and Your Manuscript: Editor Kristen Tate's Honest Take
In our quest to cover the mind-blowing benefits AND the nightmare scenarios that AI chatbots are unleashing on the writing world, we called in friend-of-the-podcast and editor Kristen Tate to find out if she's using AI in her work. The answer? It depends entirely on her clients' wishes—and a few hard lines she refuses to cross. But this isn't just about ethics (though we go there). Kristen gets into the nitty-gritty technical stuff: what chatbots absolutely nail, what they're garbage at, and her brilliant hack for wrangling conference notes that'll make you wonder why you didn't think of it first. Plus, she's got some hard truths for authors who are way too eager to let AI do their editing dirty work. If you're an indie writer or just need some tips to polish your work, this is the episode for you. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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S3 · E33
Jun 4, 2025 · 1 hr 21 min
What's Really Happening When AI Writes? An Interview with Bill Moore
We've been putting AI chatbots through creative writing challenges, but what are these systems actually doing when they write? In this episode, we bring in AI expert Bill Moore. Bill works with AI on the coding side, so we had him apply his technical know-how to literary prompts - including crafting the opening of a bestselling fantasy novel. Along the way, we dive into the thorny ethics of building and using AI systems. Perfect for non-tech folks who want to understand what's happening under the hood. Remember, we have a Writers Process meetup every Wednesday. Check us out.
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