From Publishers Weekly
Best known as the coauthor of The Artist's Way, creativity guru Cameron now offers a series of personal essays and exercises about working through creative droughts. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging artist's blocks as a part of the creative process, but also "soldiering through" by continuing to show up "at the typewriter or the easel." In each essay, she invokes her own struggles to make time for creative work and avoid the traps set by the "inner censor." In "Getting at It," she writes that "[w]aiting for art to be easy, we make it hard. We take our emotional temperature and find ourselves below normal, lacking in resolve.... The truth is that getting at it makes it easier. Every day we write creates a habit of writing in us." In the exercise that follows, Cameron suggests that readers list five ways in which they have inched forward in a given day. Some pieces of advice are likely to resonate more with readers than others-and the author's straightforward message can seem one-note at times. But for novice artists looking for encouragement in an uninspired period, this volume could do the trick. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Since The Artist's Way (1992), Cameron has become a one-woman industry of aids to creativity, not unlike Martha Stewart guiding us to gracious living. Both adhere to the "do this each and every day" approach, both eagerly dispense prescriptions, and both are, to their respective constituencies, immensely popular. In her last book, Walking in This World (2002), Cameron provided techniques and exercises to help readers connect with the artiste naif within. Building on her precept that "there is room for art in any life we have," Cameron even brings the dark night of the soul--that philosophical/spiritual/religious/artistic crisis of faith that truth seekers and artists from St. John of the Cross to F. Scott Fitzgerald have grappled with for centuries--under her scrutiny. When potential artists face emptiness within, discouragement can all too readily verge on despair, keeping us from finding the strength and courage to create. Cameron's empowering exercises may lead to greater self-knowledge and, perhaps, if practiced regularly and with devotion, even to soul-deep consciousness. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
In this landmark book on the creative process, the bestselling author of The Artist's Way reveals the intricate soul work artists must undertake in order to find inspiration.

In The Sound of Paper, Julia Cameron delves deep into the heart of the personal struggles that all artists face. What can we do when we face our keyboard or canvas with nothing but a cold emptiness? How can we begin to carve out our creation when our vision and drive are clouded by life's uncertainties? In other words, how can we begin the difficult work of being an artist?

Drawing upon her many years of personal experience as both an artist and a teacher, Julia Cameron guides readers to a place where they can find the strength and courage to create. Demonstrating how this involves a process of constant renewal, of starting from the beginning, she writes, "When we are building a life from scratch, we must dig a little. We must be like that hen scratching the soil: 'What goodness is hidden here, just below the surface?' we must ask."

With exercises designed to develop the power to infuse one's art with a deeply informed knowledge of the soul, this book is an essential artist's companion from one of the foremost authorities on the creative process. Julia Cameron's most illuminating book to date, The Sound of Paper provides readers with a spiritual path for creating the best work of their lives.


About the Author
Award-winning writer Julia Cameron is the author of nineteen books, fiction and nonfiction, including The Artist's Way, Walking in This World, The Vein of Gold, and The Right to Write, her bestselling works on the creative process.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Drawing on her many years of personal experience as both an artist and a teacher, in this book Julia Cameron uncovers the difficult soul work that artists must do to find inspiration. Demonstrating how this involves a process of constant renewal, of starting from the beginning, she writes, "When we are building a life from scratch, we must dig a little. We must be like that hen scratching the soil: 'What goodness is hidden here, just below the surface? ' we must ask."" With personal essays accompanied by exercises designed to develop the power to infuse one's art with a deeply informed knowledge of the soul, this book is an artist's companion. The Sound of Paper provides readers with a spiritual path for creating the best work of their lives.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Best known as the coauthor of The Artist's Way, creativity guru Cameron now offers a series of personal essays and exercises about working through creative droughts. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging artist's blocks as a part of the creative process, but also "soldiering through" by continuing to show up "at the typewriter or the easel." In each essay, she invokes her own struggles to make time for creative work and avoid the traps set by the "inner censor." In "Getting at It," she writes that "[w]aiting for art to be easy, we make it hard. We take our emotional temperature and find ourselves below normal, lacking in resolve.... The truth is that getting at it makes it easier. Every day we write creates a habit of writing in us." In the exercise that follows, Cameron suggests that readers list five ways in which they have inched forward in a given day. Some pieces of advice are likely to resonate more with readers than others-and the author's straightforward message can seem one-note at times. But for novice artists looking for encouragement in an uninspired period, this volume could do the trick. (Jan.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal