You’ve been there. The feeling that you’re a total failure, unequipped to do the job. You know it, but no one else does… yet. Those around you are on the brink of figuring out that you in fact totally suck. Forget the training and preparation that brought you to this moment, and the experience that… Continue reading Battling imposter syndrome
Category: Creativity
Old habits die hard
For the past couple of months, I’ve been doing that thing where I procrastinate on writing. That thing you might do with any creative project or larger effort. Something I did for, uh… almost five years. To be fair, life has been a little hectic this summer. Since June, I: Looked for and bought a… Continue reading Old habits die hard
The power of the creativity journal
When I refocused this blog a few months ago, I maintained an ambitious goal of posting approximately once per week. Clearly I do not regularly meet that goal. In my defense, I have a lot going on at this juncture. That’s not an excuse but an admission to myself that there are several other things… Continue reading The power of the creativity journal
You’ve probably got a lot going on–and that’s OK
I drafted this post on the plane while heading home after a trip to visit family, during which I worked my 9-to-5, deliberated on and put in an offer on a house (!?!?!), did some other employment-related tidying up (interpret that as you will)… and spent time with a variety of family. Thing were a… Continue reading You’ve probably got a lot going on–and that’s OK
Re-read everything
… that you read in school. Please. My mom (who’s reading this, hello!) always said that philosophy is lost on 20-somethings. I’ll specify by arguing that short fiction is lost on 20-somethings. Not all, and not always me, but looking back on all the fantastic essays, short stories, and novels I was assigned to read… Continue reading Re-read everything
Be Selfish with Your Work Space
You need a dedicated place to do your creative work. Dedicated. This workspace can be a corner, an entire room, and entire floor (and if this is the case, what a lucky duck you are). We’ve all see this advice before, right? And it makes sense. You need a place with minimal interruptions and something… Continue reading Be Selfish with Your Work Space
How do you learn to trust yourself?
The inspiration for this post comes from Dear Sugar podcast episode “How do I find the courage to be my own guide?” and, perhaps more indirectly, from Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. This topic is relevant to so many areas of… Continue reading How do you learn to trust yourself?
All the things I’ve wanted to be
Digging around in old files, I came across an assignment from an undergraduate nonfiction writing class. A lot of the stuff I produced in creative writing classes from age 20-through-24 (basically, all the creative writing classes I ever took) was, uh, not that great, but that's OK - lots of first drafts. This assignment stuck… Continue reading All the things I’ve wanted to be
Want to be an artist? Then do it.
Once upon a time I wanted to be a writer. A writer, in my early-20-something brain, was someone who had a masters of fine arts in creative writing and taught creative writing classes and had a certain lifestyle and I guess wrote some stuff that was all published. To prep myself for the writing part… Continue reading Want to be an artist? Then do it.
Just write.
Let me say that I have a lot going on right now. I’m moving across country. AGAIN. (To be specific: from the Washington DC area to Boise, Idaho, because of my significant other's job.) There’s a lot of stuff to sort out related to my own 9-to-5 situation, to say the least. There’s also the… Continue reading Just write.