Make it Safe to Create
I just taught in-person for the first time in 2 years (yay!) and I made calming the body a centerpiece of each writing day. Mid-week, one writer said, “I had been stuck for months on my book, going in circles, and I had no idea I was in fight and flight. I always knew when […]
Continue readingFostering a Creative Community | Part 4
I’m doing a series on creative burnout. Read Part 1, Part Two and Part 3 if you wish. We do not create in a vacuum. We stand on the shoulders of those that have come before us. We draw on inspiration and influences from a multitude of sources. We rely on other creators to cheer […]
Continue readingWhat’s Fresh for you Now? | Part 3
I’m doing a series on creative burnout. Part 1 is here and Part Two is here. Once upon a time, I spent four years working on a memoir that never jelled, and then, right on the heels of letting that project go, I quickly wrote a non-fiction book proposal that my agent turned down – […]
Continue readingThe Very Simple Thing to do When you Feel Creatively Crispy | Part 2
I’m doing a series of creative burnout. Part 1 is here. There is one very simple thing that I know helps me tremendously when I am feeling creatively dry and friable. It’s simple but not easy because our brains do not want to do it, so as I tell you about this very simple thing, […]
Continue readingCreative Burnout: what is it and how to turn it around | Part 1
(This is a multi-part series on creative burnout. This is part 1) Creative burnout is “the feeling that you’ve drained all of your creativity, and that there is nothing left. If you’re dreading to start work, feel tired and stressed all the time, and suspect you’ll never be able to create something good ever again, […]
Continue readingForget the great reset, we are in the great why bother
We’ve all read about how the pandemic has created the Great Reset for millions — people changing jobs, leaving industries, searching for better work conditions, better pay, more meaningful work. It’s exciting. But I’m also sensing another trend, and that’s a deep collective sense of why bother. Personally, I think we can find plenty of […]
Continue readingWriting Advice For When You Need Words But Don’t Have Them
Sometimes you have to write and you aren’t a writer or you are, but you don’t want to do this particular piece of writing. Perhaps you need to create content to market your business, or for a work assignment, or you need an artist statement, or even because you’ve been asked to write a eulogy. […]
Continue readingDeepen Into The Longing
What do you desire right now? A really good piece of toast? Better health? The scene you are writing in your novel to hold together beautifully? The world to remember civility? Everyone to rally together to avert the worsening climate crisis? Pause. What do you notice about this experience of wanting? What quality does it […]
Continue readingWhy bother to create when the world is burning?
I heard from three creators recently who are struggling with why bother? A reporter who wants to write personal essays but wonders why anybody would care when the world is dying. A non-fiction writer who has reported on the climate crisis and now wants to write fiction but also wonders if it’s a stupid waste […]
Continue readingIt’s tough out there
It’s tough out there. Between the IPCC report on climate change, the devastating spread of the Delta variant, the wildfires, and extreme weather worldwide (it looks like a nuclear winter outside my window right now), I’ll be honest: my mood is fragile. I can only imagine how parents with kids feel. And nurses, doctors and […]
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