Lately I’ve been thinking more and more about my writing and how to improve it and it’s something that I’m sure a lot of other bloggers have pondered once in a while too. Right?

There are so many ways that you can make small steps to improve your writing and grow as a person. One of the ways that I’ve found is by using Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way Toolkit. The toolkit is full of ways to awaken or re-awaken your creativity and commit to doing something daily.

Here’s an excerpt from the help section that I think really explains the exercises better than I could ever paraphrase.

The Artist’s Way is an experiential path. We awaken our creativity through using it, not through theory. Through the simple building blocks that are the exercises in this section of the Toolkit, you will learn to heal old wounds and move toward new horizons. You will examine and discard damaging mythology and painful personal experiences in the arts. An exercise at a time—one for each week of the year—you will learn how to construct a new and more positive life built on greater optimism and resiliency. You will not learn to be fearless, but you will learn to create despite your fears.

I’ll admit that I haven’t been very good at completing the daily exercises or the morning writing. Why? Well, morning writing is hard when you’re trying to get out the door in a reasonable amount of time in order to get to work and even more so when you have a toddler who has to be right there with you all the time you’re getting ready.

I love the idea of morning writing though. Three full pages of longhand writing (Yes, there are reasons for doing it this way) that is totally off the top of your head, stream of consciousness type writing. It is definitely a challenge but it’s a great way to clear your head and work through whatever is on your mind…. maybe you work through issues, use it to de-stress, maybe it’s a way of brainstorming some of the strangest ideas you’ve ever had or possibly it’s just a list of everything that you need to accomplish that day.

Julia Cameron is an award-winning poet, playwright, and filmmaker, and has written thirty books and you can connect with her on Facebook or on Twitter.

Join me in the continuing conversation at BlogHer about The Artist’s Way Toolkit

I was compensated for this BlogHer Book Club review but all opinions expressed are my own.

Recently, I read Where She Went by Gayle Forman and I have to say that I read it all in one day. I can’t remember the last time I did that! But once in a while there is a story that grabs you and pulls you in so fully that you simply cannot put the book down. You just read and read until you finally find yourself at the end of the book… and well past your bedtime. Where She Went is one of those books.

The story is the much anticipated sequel to If I Stay, Adam and Mia’s love story. But this time the story is told from Adam’s point of view. The story follows his journey in a series of flashbacks with Mia and without, his struggle with his band, and who they are. Most importantly the anger that Adam is dealing with over Mia’s quick dismissal of him while she was away at college.

It was by chance that the two of them met up again and finally had the conversations that they never had.

One of my favorite lines for book is this:

“You know. I thought about that a lot these last couple of years,” she said in a chocked voice. “About who was there for you. Who held your hand while you grieved for all that you’d lost?”

This is a story of love lost and found. One that will have you smiling one moment and in tears another. One that you simply won’t be able to put down once you start it.

If you would like to join the conversation over at BlogHer we’d love to have you!

You can follow the author, Gayle Forman on Twitter, on Facebook, or on her blog.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.