Many years ago, I read a book that reawakened my young dreams of becoming a writer. That book was Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. One of Goldberg’s most effective tools is to “keep your hand moving” when you are in the throes of the creative process. In other words, do not edit as you write. In fact, don’t even think. To people like me who live in our heads too much, this was transformative advice. A few years later, I read another book that transformed my life. It was The Artist's Way , by Julia Cameron. One of Cameron’s most effective tools is “morning pages” in which you start off each morning with a “brain dump” that consists of transferring whatever stuff is moving around your head onto 3 pages of paper, in longhand. I married Goldberg’s and Cameron’s advice, and for about twenty years I have been doing morning pages by keeping my hand moving. I use cheap notebooks and an expensive fountain pen. (Tools are important. Writing is a physical process.) By ...