Earlier this year I found myself saying phrases like:

“Don’t get me wrong, if it sounds like I want _____ , I don’t actually want that.”

“I wouldn’t touch that with a 10 foot pole. I would need a lot of space from it in order to do it.”

On both accounts, I am already eating my words.

Living a life open to creative work is difficult as it is comical.
More often than not, the moment of revelation and ‘next right thing’, is right at the edge of resistance.
It’s that moment you look over the edge of a giant cliff you’ve never scaled down before and despite the beauty of the view below you laugh and say things like:

“Not in a million years!”

“As if!”

“Why would I want to do that?”

And then as you take one last look you start to ask more questions.

“Well… how would I do that anyway?”

“Why would I do it…if I did….why?”

And when the answers start coming easy and clear…that is when you know you just might need to eat your words on all accounts, pick up ‘desire’ and ‘courage’ and do the real heavy work of scaling down the edge of creative insanity.

****
Reader,

I am merely at the point of preparing my gear to scale down this tall mountain of work… but when the starting gun goes…I will be beyond tickled and frigthened to show you just the edge of what it is I said I would NEVER do…that suddenly I am going to do.

Until then,

Onwards,

Episode V - Reflections of a place one may go to find themselves.

Creative Field Notes is a series that studies the way creativity weaves itself throughout and communicates with all aspects of the natural rhythms of life.

Episode IV - How one centres oneself when the practice of creativity is unclear.

Creative Field Notes is a series that studies the way creativity weaves itself throughout and communicates with all aspects of the natural rhythms of life.

Amy Grace, a writer and creative producer in Nova Scotia, is fascinated by the creative process. She speaks to Jeff Douglas about how some people are learning to be creative without letting "hustle culture" make them lose sight of the important things in their lives.

Listen here

In no specific order:

Anne Lamott

Anne has this raw, real and compassionate way of putting words down for the reader to rest in. She has written books for writers and has also written books on all sorts of aspects of life.

12 Truths I learned from Life and Writing - Ted Talk

Books

Maya Angelou

Maya, although passed has words that echos beyond her lifetime. I read her book “I Know Why the Cagebird Sings” at a young age. Somewhere between the ages of 14-16 and I remember clearly how it changed my perspectives of the stories of others. After that I remembered to listen deeply whenever she appeared on the Oprah show or else where in the world.

Super Soul Sunday - Interview

I Know Why the Cagebird Sings - Book

Morgan Harper Nicols

Morgan’s words caught my attention years ago. Somewhere online, most likely on Pinterest I was saving her words as reminders during the darker times.

Art, Creativity & the Viral Poem - Interview

All Along You Were Blooming - Book

Mari Madrid

Mari and her husband dance. They dance differently than others. They create pieces that wreck me from the inside out in the best of ways.

She (freestyle) - Dance

Ethan Hawke

Ethan has been on his own personal creative journey for years and the maturity, growth and depth of creative insight that he speaks is something I greatly admire, want to hold onto and remember. He is also very clear in his reasons for focuses on what inspires him, rather than the ‘next shiny thing’ and all the struggles of personal thoughts that come with that.

Give Yourself Permission to Be Creative - Ted Talk

Don’t Fear the Struggle - Interview

Kalyn Nicholson

A Canadian Vlogger who has worked hard to create her own brand, community and content online while also finding ways to pivot and become more real, authentic and challenge herself to stay true to where she is at in the moment. I appreciate the shifts she allows herself to take and the documenting fun she still finds along the way.

Vlogs - Youtube

Amy Sherman Pallidino

Amy (along with her writing partner & husband Daniel) has delivered two shows that are beloved to me. Gilmore Girls & The Marvellous Mrs.Maisel. Amy is a vibrant style focused writer who has her own voice and style that creates multi-dimensional characters, worlds that are fun and finds ways to honour herself in the industry.

Don’t Be Afraid to Be Fired! - Interview

Comedy is Headed to a Very Dangerous Place - RoundTable

Brene Brown

Brene is by far one of the most impactful writers and researchers of our time. This woman takes all the aspects of what it means to be a human and helps breaks it down to show us how we can develop a healthier relationship with ourselves and with others.

The Power of Vulnerability - Brene Brown

Shame is Lethal - Interview

Jonna Jinton

This Scandinavian woman caught my eye a couple of years ago and I am just in awe of her creativity, spirit and ability to press on and find ways to honour herself and her work.

Vidoes - Youtube

The Life of an Artist - Vlog

Creativity is a lot like a path in the wilderness.

It leads into a dark and winding brush full of unknown twists and turns.

It weaves through thick weeds, roots of trees that bump up almost on purpose beneath your foot tread, ready to trip you up and throw you flat on your face into the dense leaves.

It winds through thickets of doubts and fears.

It unravels like never ending questions, thoughts and ideas.

It reveals a trail of intrigue, curiosity and mystery.

It turns like quick u-turns and slow meandering loop de loops.

And sometimes,

It leaves you breathless, enraptured and full of endless wonder.

If there was one thing I would want to remind you of, and remind myself of at the same time…

There is no telling where creativity leads…and that is the whole point.

You follow the path not because it’s supposed to be marvellous, but because the option not to seems more daunting than the former.

Embrace the journey.

Follow the leads.

Where are your spaces where creativity exists?

A kitchen?
An office?
A patio?
A studio?

In our new home we are blessed by the previous influence of an artist. She left a space that breathes creativity.
And slowly but surely we found ways to adapt it for our daughter where she can putter, draw, write, paint… it’s massive.

Thankfully creativity doesn’t require big or small spaces.
It will be happy to join you at play in whatever size space you choose to meet.

It fills every crevice.

Over the course of this year I have been taking more seriously the spaces of creativity in our home.

My office / writing space was clearly defined early on in our move in last year.

Now I focus on our music / reading room.
Her creative room.
Our kitchen.
His office.

Spaces where our minds will wonder, ponder and sink into something entirely different.
Where our hands can move, play, explore and create.

Where is your creative space?
How do you cultivate it?

Somehow, somewhere, at some point we are apt to find ourselves believing that in order to do what we feel intrinsically called to do (especially those called into creative industries) we must sell our whole selves to an industry in order to be taken seriously.

To be a writer, one must be churning out manuscripts, scripts, poems and plays like machines.
To be an actor one must be in every topical show, series, performance that the current society is raving about on twitter.
To be a visual artist, one must have a booming social media account full of Lucious images that gain a million likes within seconds of posting.

Somehow we have found that this means ‘success’ and that this is what we need to do in order to be validated in our work, our life and our ultimate existence on this earth.

It’s all a lie.

All of it.

If you write, you are a writer.

If you act, you are an actor.

If you make visual art, you are a visual artist.

How much or how little is irrelevant.

How many people know your name is a selfish and silly game the creative industries and society have taught us to believe equals our self worth.

What matters?

How much of yourself is in the work you do?
How are you showing up for your work, not just in the moments you do it, but also the moments you don’t?
How do you cultivate and create space for those that consume, collaborate and support the work?
How do you honour your own rhythm and pacing?
How are you living not just within the work, but outside the work?

Everything informs everything.

Martin Short is known to have this idea that he is only the sum of his total whole self. If he has nine sections of his life, and one aspect of his life isn’t doing the hottest at any given moment then the rest of those parts, no matter how seemingly important or unimportant are all part of the balance to remind oneself, being successful at one part of life, but terrible at the other parts does not mean success. But to find ways to honour varying aspects of oneself, is to approach life and work as a whole person.

Creatives like to think they are the best or the worst depending on the day.

I’d like to see more of us believe that we are just like each other.

Human beings answering a calling as best they can while working to be there for their friends, family, side projects, personal growth and everything inbetween.

We are more than our awards, subscribers, honourable mentions, our nominations and our successes, or lack thereof.

We are people.
Living.
Breathing.
Thinking.
Reflecting.
Working.
people.

at Lightfoot and Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Over the past few years, I have been working on a writing project and although I am by no means ready to share it publicly I can say that the heart of it is woven into everything I am and do.

It’s about what one does with a calling.

And how a calling generally doesn’t just come up out of nowhere.

It is asked for to some degree, and then in some way, shape or form, it is provided in a small way.

Something to create. Something to cultivate.

How do we tend to what we are given?

How do we create space for what something needs to be.

Like raising a child.

Or growing a garden.

It takes work.

It takes time and space.

Space to step back, take in all that it is becoming and trim and refine the edges.

To hem in where needed and to let go wild when possible.

This is the creative journey,

It is also the soul journey.

I am interested in that.

What it means to become.

There are many ‘becomes’.

We are not just one layer, but many layers.

We make choices of how we become.

I’d like to think that the years of cultivating and creating has been working to develop and ‘become’ a better version of me.

A version that will produce not just once, but over a lifetime.

A version of me that has roots deep down and brings out the best in others.

A version of me that can weather the storms and shine bright in the sun.

It takes work.

It takes vulnerability.

& this is why I share these thoughts.

I share because I know I am finding the heart of something in all of this private writing and sharing with a select few talented writers.

Over the past few months, Kaitlyn Adair and I have been preparing and in the beginning of stages of leading to create a podcast for WIFT-AT. It is an honour to work with innovative, intelligent and thoughtful women in the film and television industry, and this project has me both overjoyed and nervous.

It’s a sacred opportunity.

To cultivate a series that will not only highlight the work of others but also find new inroads, spaces and voices in the industry we didn’t know existed. Coming close to completing our team of various hosts that will span four provinces, we are looking towards putting the pedal to the metal from pre-production to production.

As all creative projects begin,

we don’t know where this road will ultimately take us all, or how it will take full shape. Still, we are confident that it is starting to reveal itself as an exciting and tremendous opportunity to dig deep, embrace vulnerability and hear from new and old voices.

A huge thanks to those at WIFT-AT who keep digging deep and creating a foundation for new ideas, projects and working to clear space at the table for those we have yet to meet and hear from.

my desk this summer it seems….

I am starting to see a pattern.

In life there are seasons of action, seasons of growth and seasons of waiting.

There are also seasons of constant inturruptions.

I would say that for me, 2020 thus far has been all of that and more.

Most recently, a season of waiting and constant interruptions.

A laptop needing up to two weeks of service, a trip to the E.R., recovering from Kidney stones, scheduling major life changes and appointments (all good changes), and least of all, a cat who most certainly wants to sleep on ones work chair at all hours of the day while one tries to make a borrowed laptop fill the void. (if you do creative work, you know that software, subscription services are all part of ones daily routine. Trying to make do without those programs is a bit of a slog. )

It can feel infuriating when you realize time is being wasted while you wait for things to resolve. A kidney stone to pass, pain to recede, paperwork to go through, a laptop to be fixed and yes, even a house tiger to admit defeat in who gets the chair as she ‘slomps’ away with a chirp of dissapointment.

It can also be an opportunity.

To enjoy life, to think more, and connect with both colleagues and friends alike in a new way.

Things I have enjoyed in the waiting:

Reading. Having the library open again has given me new reading enjoyment and movtivation.

Routine Skype calls | A colleague / good friend of mine started a bi weekly Monday chat routine and it has been huge in helping us suss out our creative energy, thoughts and plans for our projects.

Reordering my thoughts | Forced time away, even if scattered has a way of expanding the mind outside the box. Re-imagining what is, to what could be.

So while I am impatiently waiting for my own laptop, for our life changes to occur and in a time when so much seems to be ‘up in the air’, I will be working on my ability to enjoy the process of the waiting and find growth here. Be it in a hospital bed, at the beach, or simply… admitting defeat and letting the house tiger sleep peacefully while I drag the old borrowed laptop to the floor by the rotating fan.

We like to think that something that was made has been crafted out of genius, ease and good ol’ fashioned hard work. Often times, we view our favourite works of art, be them paintings, films, plays, broadway musicals, songs etc as something mystic, gifted and heaven sent. We view their existence in our space as something we have acquired because we are owed to have it and it should come easily into our presence. We view those who created these things as someone who works hard at their craft and sacrificed all their time and energy to make it. We also in the same token, view them as someone who chose creativity over hard work.

All of these things are true.

None of these things are true.

The truth is,

the flow of creativity comes both easy and hard. It can feel as if it’s all come out of you at once and it can also feel as if it is like trying to squeeze water out of a rock. Utterly possible and impossible at the same time.

In every creative project that I find myself in, I also find myself at war with everything else.
It’s almost laughable at how time and time again this happens.

Right now, it’s as simple as needing nine separate writing sessions to re-write a draft.
All I am wanting is nine days to do it. I could even make it work in five days if I had to.
Yet those five to nine days, of days without a child in my care, allude me and a few scant hours here and there are not the way to put forth your best work. (any true writer / creative knows, you simply can’t perform your best work the moment a countdown begins. You need, as all athletes need to do before they do anything, a warm up.)

So here I am, showing up at my desk early on a Monday morning and doing my best to fit at least one of the nine sessions in while my husband takes vacation hours to get the ‘little’ to and from pre school and hope upon hope that when he returns I will have succeeded, at least, with one of the nine sessions and that I don’t waste the precious time that we are sacrificing to honour the creative call.

Truth be told,

if I didn’t care, if I didn’t have any real desire to create good work, I wouldn’t be here. I would just say “to hell with it” and leave the ideas as ideas on the cutting room floor of my mind.

The real work is in battling the real life that tries to come against starting anything. Doing anything from noting.
The timing is never right.

So it’s do or don’t do.

And I guess I am too stubborn and intrigued to not do.

So I do.

Every so often I can get, as I put it: ‘in my own head’. It can happen to all of us.

You see the work you have to do, dive in, and yet, it can become all too consuming.
Especially those in the creative industries, it can feel as if creativity is something you show up to, like a personal creative factory job: put in the time and at some point, you will have built ‘the thing’.

Which FYI: is not how authentic creativity occurs.

Staying fresh, open and mindful in creativity takes more than just ‘showing up’.

It also means having variety and inspiration at your fingertips.

One way I stay fresh is to keep my other creative outlets present in my life.

Currently this looks like:

Baking

Planning to either remake a favourite or learn a new seasonal recipe fills me up with indulgent joy. Being someone who also values health, I try to limit my baking to bi weekly treats and on the off week’s bake up something more healthier (energy balls, lactation cookies for the latest new mama in the community..)

Piano / Vocals

I am admittedly even after seven years of piano lessons weak in musical theory, but I am inspired to keep up on what I already know and learn more along the way. This season, the theme for ‘Succession’ is challenging me to step up any laziness and refocus on more excellent piano playing. Vocals I came into as an adult and do my best to naturally practice daily.

Organizing

For me, organizing although chore-like, can also be therapeutic. If I am being honest, it is most accurately linked with my tendencies for anxiety. If I have dropped everything to organize something new, most likely, I am using it as a coping mechanism while I work through the latest anxiety trigger. Which as a whole, does the job and allows me to see things a bit clearer after all is said and done.

Creating atmospheres

I adore the concept of creating ambience and atmosphere. Mood lighting, music, the way a room looks and feels, a blanket draped over a chair… it’s all something I enjoy working on.

Cardio

Cardio bursts, be them in a class, at home with a YouTube video etc, these bursts help me to work through anxiety, boredom, lack of inspiration etc. Cardio is a quick cure all to anything.

Previous creative outlets I have done or miss:

Learning a new instrument (Cello) - was a window into musical theory that I know I want to go back to. Mind blowing.
Dance classes (swing, blues & tango) - physical activity & creativity as a pairing is always a win.
Hot Yoga - the quiet before and after a class. The way your body hums after. It allows for new thoughts you never knew you had.

Pursuing and being in creative work is a double edged sword.

On one side, it’s amazing and highly rewarding. Ideas can come and flow and connect with others and the on the other side, it’s fraught with pressure, uncertainty, and a pacing that is quick and slow without warning.

It can feel as if you are treading water and trying to make the next thing happen without any clarity on why or how or when.

& we start getting caught up in the word ‘hustle’ as if it is something to be proud of to have too many irons in the fire and the more you can show for yourself despite how ragged and tired you are beneath the surface the more you are celebrated.

The hustle I want to be defined by,

is the hustle I have that creates a healthy home for my family, a healthy life for my body and an inspiring and well rounded work life.

What if being productive meant bringing your whole self to each part of your life with out exhaustion or comparison? What if our CV wasn’t the point of proof, but how we walked our fulll and whole lives?

Over this year I have been working on finding a new way of being in my personal and professional life that produces more quality with less stress. The theme I have found is that ‘more’ so often doesn’t produce ‘more’ in return.

‘More’ is often the distraction from the ‘less’ that you need to focus on.

It’s hard to remember to do.

But onward I go…

We grab our inspiration in various places, here is a sampling of where mine has come from:

Sarah Polley

I think it’s safe to say there is nothing that I have taken in by Sarah Polley that hasn’t moved me. Most notably, Stories We Tell and Take This Waltz. Both of these pieces, one documentary and one fiction, has left me in awe about the complexities of life. I found peace and solidarity with the concept behind ‘Take This Waltz’ as it shows the process of a woman coming to terms with her choices in life, finding out her why’s, her how’s and how maybe life is not as simple as we thought it was. Stories We Tell gave me a deep dive as a human and storyteller how perspective and personality is everything. We are marked by our families, our DNA and our circumstances, no matter how we may fight it all.

Diana Gabaldon

This year I have been quite literally taken by Diana’s Outlander Series. I have only read four out of the eight already published in the series. (apparently there is to be 10 books in total.) What grabbed me with Diana’s writing, is her ability to weave together a time travel concept into history, romance, adventure, and so many more genres. She writes her characters deeper than three dimensional and has a way of making everything mundane in a persons life an integral part of the story. You believe in the characters as much as you believe in yourself, because that is how much she is able to give you in her writing.

Maya Angelou

Although I read ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ when I was a teenager, I fell in love with Maya’s words as I listened to her in various interviews. Interviews such as these: ‘Power of Words’, ‘Be a Rainbow in Someone Else’s Cloud’ , Best Advice Given, captivate me & still does. Her words are timeless, empowering and insightful and I turn to them when I need reminders to come back to myself, my values and my worthiness as a human. I will always hold her brevity, sincerity and intolerance for inhumanity close to my heart.

Elizabeth Gilbert

What I love about Elizabeth Gilbert is that not one of her works is remotely the same. Every book she has ever written is a complete departure from the last. It’s as if she shows up for the project and let’s it speak and if anything, the only thing that I can put my finger on about her, is that her own personal physical voice has a distinct soul to it that speaks of raw unashamed re-learned childlike abandon. My favourite of her works: ‘Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear’, ‘City of Girls’ and various of her clippings of words captured on the internet.

This short list didn’t even touch on ‘Anne Lamott, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Shonda Rhimes, The Brontë Sisters, Liv Constantine’…. it’s an endless list.

What writers or people inspire your work?

At Claire Frasers Studio where we collaborate on the Brilliansea Projects.

A creative entrepreneur’s reality is that they are often creating things from nothing that are not always easy to communicate to their audience or even, to themselves.

When starting anything here are 5 things to do.

Have an Anchor Point

In any concept an anchor point to the project is what you can keep coming back to & it becomes something that others who are your consumers understand to be uniquely you. Be it a symbol, a mascot, a specific action you do within your ‘making’, make sure it’s there and you know why you do it.

Use What You Have

It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to have the right set up, the right products etc. Comparison is the thief of joy. All good things come in time, so use what you have and make do. Podcasts, vlogs, film makers, artists of any medium learn to use what they have and build on that over time.

Stay Consistent

Consistency is key. You will never improve or gain traction if you are spotty in consistency. Maintain a consistency that works for you. Once a week or once a day is better than here and there.

Do it For You (& one other person)

Never do anything to impress others. Do the thing to bring satisfaction to yourself and to at least one other person. That one other person doesn’t need a name, it could just be the ‘you’ out there you wish it would have been available for.

Aim To Improve Each Time You Do It

Every time you produce or create or bring forth whatever it is you do, aim to improve it. Ever piece of work you make has a new perspective from something you learned along the way.

When starting anything these five things are not only essential but they are also life rafts when you are unsure of where to go next or how things are going. It’s not always clear where the ‘motivation’ comes from to start things and continue them and circling back around to these foundational things can help remind, refresh and bring revelation to your doing.

Spring was jam packed with personal endeavours.

Birthday parties, our first home renovation and many regular/additional ‘spring cleaning’ items on the list. I was able to give that heavy and long list of personal items a lot of my attention, while also leaving my creative self longing for more luxurious time at my desk.

This spring I have been learning the art of ‘curating time’.

I would say I had already learned this, since anyone who has a baby knows that the time between the ages of 0-3 years of age are years that one looses their hold on ‘having control of their own time’. That being said, I am on a new journey of what it means to take on more, handle bigger projects both personally and professionally and enter into them acknowledging the potential of overwhelm while also creating boundaries for my own mind and spirit to maintain and curate peace in all that I do.

I have learned

when tackling big projects I need to stick to the matter at hand, stop myself and even at times, my partners in crime from wondering too far ahead so as not to feel the weight of what has yet to be done.

I have learned that unplugging for 24 hours once a week is exactly what I need to monitor my anxiety as well as give my every fast paced mind a forced break.

I have learned that I do extremely well when my expectations for myself and from others are clear and I have prepared a bit in advance to meet them.

Overall, this Spring has been full personally, and professionally I have gained a lot of strategies to handle the projects and work that lies ahead.

What my work space looked like for almost 3.5 weeks & still has a lot of kitchen items chilling with me as I post this.

Heidi and I met over eleven years ago when I started dating her cousin. I was always aware that Heidi had an ability to allow her interests and creativity space in her life. She was consistently pursuing the various facets of creativity and I have been moved by her excellence in those areas. Heidi never does something without precision and elegance. Here are her striking words in this months Spotlight Interview:

How would you describe yourself?

I pride myself on being a hardworking, honest, and dependable person

What role does creativity play in your life?

Creativity is a huge part of who I am as a person, from learning piano at a young age, to my teen years passionate about pastry arts, to my now adulthood pursuing photography as my main hobby aside from my 9-5 work life. Each passion has opened up a new area of creativity for me through rhythm and feel, precision and patience, timing and trying to catch just the right angle.

What are you currently working on?

Honestly, right now I’m taking a much-needed break. I’ve been busier than I could have ever imagined and it’s been a rollercoaster of a year; starting off with tragic loss and ending with one of my biggest and most exciting life events to date – marrying the love of my life. My husband and I will be taking our postponed honeymoon end of this month to the sunny West Coast and when I come back rested, I’m hoping to jump right into some photography projects.

What was the last book/movie/podcast etc. that left an impression on you?

I read a book a few years back called Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. It was truly eye opening for me, as someone who’s grown up being the big introvert that I am, this book gave me a new perspective. I needed to start saying YES – YES to going out on a Friday night, YES to being comfortable in my own skin, and YES to speaking the truth and accepting my voice. 

What advice would you give to other creatively driven people?

Pursue what you’re passionate about – whether its performing on stage through concerts or theatre or being that person who’s always behind the camera. Whether your creativity is somewhat reserved or overly expressive, no matter what your passion is, whatever is an outlet for you and brings you pride and joy – just go after it.

I met Lisa over ten years ago and although she currently lives on the opposite coast from me, this woman has a way of leaving an imprint in the space she holds, & there is a very clear and beautiful imprint of her spirit here on the East Coast.  Lisa speaks of faith and creativity as a soul unit and I am inspired by her ability to share and express honestly in these answers.

1. How would you describe yourself?

I took some intentional time years back to think about how to answer this very question…through the process I came up with this phrase: I love to go deep and give expression to new insights. I am someone who values relationships and enjoys building community. I am a mother and am learning how that impacts what I’ve come to know about myself. Faith in Jesus is central to my life and empowers me to live with hope and love.

2. What role does creativity play in your life?

Creativity takes so many forms but the main outlet for most of my life has been through music. It has been a very honest and intimate place of reflection as I allow my real-life emotions and situations space to flow out and take form in new ways. This is often a process that has brought about healing, hope, encouragement, perspective, faith…it’s like the exhale after a deep breath in. It is relieving and necessary. Creativity is something I need space for…if I don’t have it, I know it. Creativity is where I stop to reflect, feel and think. Even if it comes in little ways, like journaling, decorating a cake, drawing… I feel refreshed seeing and experiencing something that comes from a posture of pausing from the automatics of day to day.

3.  What are you currently working on?

I am one year into motherhood and it has been an incredible joy for me to invest my life in this way. It has also come with many life changes, specifically in energy and time. The ways I had learned to create and process seem less available to me in this season and take more effort to choose when there is space. Creativity is like a muscle…it is natural to use because its intricately part of your body and you can’t ignore it, but if it’s not used often it takes more effort when it is in use. I used to be someone who spent a lot of time in personal reflection and sitting with an instrument. Now I spend time strumming a guitar with little hands holding down frets and strumming along with me. The most recent song I’ve written is about Selah (my daughter) and she seems to know it’s her song by the way she connects with it.

4. What was the last book/movie/podcast etc. that left an impression on you?

This blog is about honesty, right? So the VERY LAST thing I’ve been inspired by was actually a movie I found on Netflix (a night home alone with the babe asleep) called Begin Again. It revolves around a singer songwriter and captured the beauty of creativity in a way that engaged me. I find especially in seasons where I’m not writing but I wish I was, that I am moved by those that are.

5. What advice would you give to other creatively driven people?

My advice from where I currently stand after a season of relatively little time spent on intentional creativity would be to reengage. Don’t wait for time to appear or a season to just open up. Go after it. I need to be mindful of the changes that have happened and the current realities of life so that I maintain an openness to the new season and all it offers instead of just seeing the obstacles. So much is different from what my creative process used to ‘call’ for, but adapting is healthy, especially in this case, because for me to live well is to create.

Something clicked just over a month ago.  

I can and should have multiple different projects on the go in various stages of development at all times. 

This has been true for me at different times in my work, but never intentional.

It hit me while sitting and listening to women in the storytelling industry.

It is normal and in fact, part of the creative industry to be multitasking with various projects.

You see, that is not in my nature.  I am a multi-tasker in my day sure, but not in how I live my overall life.  If I want to do anything, I am guns blazing from start to finish.  I want to start at the beginning and get to the end, as fast as I possibly can.  

That is not how it works in the theatre, film and television industry.  

It takes Months.  Seasons.  YEARS even.

This realization is blowing my mind and still a challenge to comprehend.

At this point, all I can truly say, is that I am learning how to be more comfortable and capable with balancing this reality.  Having four projects this season seems daunting and overwhelming and yet, it also seems absolutely possible and motivating. 

As my awareness and understanding of how this works develops for me I will definitely be documenting and sharing my process and learning.  

Until then,

With various projects I go....