The character arc of Julia Cameron

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 4 March 1948 in Libertyville, Illinois. Between then and now sit Georgetown and Fordham, journalism for The Washington Post and Rolling Stone, films with Martin Scorsese in 1976 and 1977, sobriety and the first teaching in 1978, The Artist's Way in 1992, and more than forty further titles through 2024. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Julia Cameron?

Fourteen years of teaching before the book.

She started at Georgetown University and finished her degree at Fordham. She wrote journalism for The Washington Post and Rolling Stone, and in 1976 and 1977 collaborated on films with Martin Scorsese. That is a good start to a career and it is not what she is known for.

In 1978 she stopped drinking and began teaching creative unblocking, which is the only year on this line that does two things at once. The teaching came first and lasted a long time: she taught at the Smithsonian, at Esalen, at the Omega Institute, at Northwestern University and at the New York Open Center, fourteen years before the book that made the method general.

The Artist's Way, published in 1992, is built on two instructions that anybody can follow. Write three pages longhand first thing every morning, whatever is in your head. Take yourself somewhere once a week, alone, to fill the well. Millions of people have worked through it, and a great many of them credit it with getting them started. She has published more than forty further titles since, across non-fiction, fiction, plays, musicals and poetry, and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The moments

Julia Cameron's timeline.

The 1970s

Jun 1971

Georgetown, then Fordham

Milestone. A degree finished at the second university she started at.

Jun 1974

The Post and Rolling Stone

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Two of the best addresses in American journalism, by her mid twenties.

Jun 1976

Films with Scorsese

Milestone, and it changed everything. Two years of film work, at the centre of American cinema.

Jun 1978

Sober, and teaching

Milestone, and it changed everything. One year, two beginnings. Everything on this line afterwards runs from it.

The 1980s

Sep 1985

Fourteen years of teaching

Milestone, and it changed everything. Fourteen years in rooms with people, before any of it was written down.

The 1990s

1 Jun 1991

Keep teaching, or write it down

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: write the course down, taken, or keep it in the room. The book reached millions of people who would never have got into one of those rooms.

4 Mar 1992

The Artist's Way

Milestone, and it changed everything. Three pages every morning, and one outing a week, alone. That is the whole method.

The 2000s

Jun 2000

The books keep coming

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Forty more titles, in five different forms.

The 2020s

Jun 2024

Still publishing

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Still publishing in her seventies, from Santa Fe.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is three pages, handwritten, first thing, done by an enormous number of people who had decided years earlier that they were not creative.

What she wrote

Books by Julia Cameron

1992
The Artist's Way
A spiritual path to higher creativity. Three pages written by hand each morning, and one outing a week, alone.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

Hers turned one year into fourteen of teaching and then a book that has outlasted everything else. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Step through

Draw my own line Explore Character Arc

Julia Cameron: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Julia Cameron's character arc?

Journalism at The Washington Post and Rolling Stone, two years of film work with Martin Scorsese, sobriety in 1978 and the first teaching in the same year, then fourteen years in classrooms before the book that made the method general.

What is The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron?

Her book of 1992, built on two instructions: write three pages longhand first thing every morning, and take yourself somewhere alone once a week. Millions of people have worked through it.

What are Julia Cameron's morning pages?

Three pages written by hand, first thing, containing whatever is in your head, with no standard to meet and nobody to read them. They are the central practice of The Artist's Way and the reason most people remember the book.

Did Julia Cameron work with Martin Scorsese?

Yes, she collaborated on films with him in 1976 and 1977, having worked as a journalist for The Washington Post and Rolling Stone before that. The teaching career began the year after the film work.

When did Julia Cameron start teaching?

In 1978, the same year she stopped drinking. She taught creative unblocking for fourteen years, at the Smithsonian, Esalen, the Omega Institute, Northwestern University and the New York Open Center, before the book appeared.

How many books has Julia Cameron written?

More than forty beyond The Artist's Way, across non-fiction, fiction, plays, musicals and poetry, published through 2024. She is described as a teacher, author, artist, poet, playwright, filmmaker, composer and journalist.

Where does Julia Cameron live?

In Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was born on 4 March 1948 in Libertyville, Illinois, began her degree at Georgetown University and finished it at Fordham University in New York.

Where does this timeline of Julia Cameron's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Julia Cameron isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

More character arcs

Lives that rhyme with her.

Every Character, A to Z

Sources

Julia Cameron, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Publisher records for The Artist's Way and subsequent titles through 2024.