The Creative Life Podcast: Episode Twenty-Five

I’m welcoming my first guest for the second season today – Nicole Avery. Nicole is the creator of Planning With Kids, one of the biggest and best parenting blogs in the country. As a mother of five, she brings a wealth of experience to her content and advice and what I’ve always liked about her blog is her willingness and drive to self-improve and to find balance in our hectic lives. Other places you can find her are on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Books, Topics Discussed and Recommended Reading

We discuss why Nicole first starting blogging and the publication story behind her book Planning With Kids.

What words of encouragement she gives to someone thinking about starting a blog today.

Her year devoted to creativity in 2016 and what that taught her.

How to approach different children who are different sorts of readers – i.e. keen readers and reluctant readers – and her tips and advice for each.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Mapmaker Series by A.L. Tait

The Treehouse series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton

The Maze Runner series by James Dashner

WeirDo series by Anh Do and Jules Faber

The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien

The CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

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P.S Don’t forget My Creative Process is open for registrations!

Looking back over this month’s reading, I think there’s a common theme among all of the titles: that through resilience and self-examination humans can endure hardship. Whether these experiences come through the death of a loved one, the solo trek across a desert or unpacking the mysteries within our brains we can learn so much about our nature.

I think it’s fair to say that Tracks by Robyn Davidson has an important place in Australian text history. Forty years after her mammoth crossing of half of the continent with a few camels and a dog, and attracting such media attention in the process, says a lot about what women were perceived to be capable of and defying archaic, even sexist, expectations. This is why I’m glad she went into so much detail in the first third of the book as she documents her preparation to go on the journey. It makes the reader appreciate just how arduous – emotionally and physically – it was going to be. Inspiring.

If you’ve ever watched Joe Biden in an interview, you’ll probably be familiar with his easy, natural, expansive ways of telling a story and the case is the same in Promise Me, Dad. It’s not very often I read a text and can absolutely hear the author’s voice in my ear. It was almost uncanny. This is a lovely, touching book about the final months of his son Beau’s life, as Biden was also winding up his time as vice president and deciding whether or not to run for president in the 2016 elections. I had to imagine the kind of grace someone would need to have to handle that stress, let alone fielding phone calls from embattled and endangered world leaders needing help. He goes into a little detail about the US political system, but not in a way that totally loses someone quite unfamiliar with it (like I am). I finished missing him and President Obama even more than I already do.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion is a memoir but feels like much more than that. It has a mercurial quality, shifting back and forth in time effortlessly, in a way that isn’t jolting and the reader can keep up with – that’s hard to do, but Didion is a master of the craft. The book accounts of her first year of being a widow, while also caring for her very ill, hospitalised daughter, Quintana. (The tragedy only got worse, for Quintana died shortly before its publication.)

I’m only part of the way through The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks. This was his final book before his death and although many of the essays have been published previously, I am coming to them all with fresh, eager eyes. What a treat – and what a talent we’ve lost.

Bad Girls of Fashion by Jennifer Croll and illustrated by Ada Buchholc. is my final pick for this month. I borrowed it from the library in case Keira was interested (she wasn’t) and whether or not it might inspire an article idea (it did). I got a great introduction to some topics I – regrettably – need even more education on, like riot grrrl culture and the pussy riots. The inclusion of new icons like Rihanna and Tavi Gevinson was also a nice touch. I did spot a factual error – Cher won her best actress Oscar in 1988, not 1990 as the text stated. I know some people will argue it isn’t a big deal, but those kinds of details matter to me. The illustrations are great – bright and bold.

What are you reading this month?

The Creative Life Podcast: Episode Twenty-Four

Most of you know I’m a big believer in creativity challenges – this episode of the podcast focuses on the kinds that are fun. If you’re playing a game, it feels like less work. (Hopefully!)

Books, Topics Discussed and Recommended Reading

Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and Creativity by Karen Andrews
Consequences / Exquisite Corpse
Gloom
Story Dice
Magnetic Poetry

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I recorded this quick little video for YouTube the other day and thought I’d put it up here too. If you’re unaware of the hubbub over at YouTube at the moment, they changed the partner program eligibility for those channels wanting to monetise (i.e earn money). It used to be 10,000-lifetime views for a channel; as of the 20th February it changes to the steep criteria of 4,000 watch hours over the past 12 months AND a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. What does this mean? Not only will I lose future money (unless I hit that new target!) but the money I’ve managed to earn over the past almost-11 years. Does this bother me? Not much – but I can see why it would be devastating to those who are feeling like they need to start over.

I hope this pep talk helps. And it features a sleeping Kylo Ren!

P.S Don’t forget My Creative Process is open for registrations!

The Creative Life Podcast: Episode Twenty-Three

Many famous authors are also famous diarists – and others have either outgrown or dislike the practice. I fall into the ‘pro’ note-taking camp and will give the reasons why a writer might consider adopting the habit, why I actually gave it up and now why I’m doing it again.

Books, Topics Discussed and Recommended Reading

Why take notes? What is the benefit? Which writers keep diaries – or choose not to.
Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and Creativity by Karen Andrews
Surprise! by Karen Andrews
Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden
Tracks by Robyn Davidson
‘On Keeping a Notebook‘ by Joan Didion
‘On Writing a Diary‘ by Ellena Ferrante, The Guardian
‘Famous Writers on Keeping a Diary‘ by Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
‘On the Journals of Famous Authors‘ by Dustin Illingworth, LitHub
‘Black Women Writers and the Secret Space of Diaries‘ by Morgan Jerkins, the New Yorker
‘Woke up this Morning‘ by Louis Menand, the New Yorker
‘10 Famous Authors on the Importance of Keeping a Journal‘ by Emily Temple, Flavorwire
@BurtonDiaries on Twitter

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“Karen Andrews’ reputation as a writer, editor and publisher precedes her” Books+Publishing

I’ve already done a ‘soft’ opening through my newsletter and on social media, so I think it’s high time to officially launch enrollments this coming April’s My Creative Process. Woo hoo, celebration!

Need a recap?

My Creative Process is the online course I developed which goes over a four week period. Lessons are released daily on a weekly topic. I try to appeal to as many learning styles as possible, so lessons incorporate written instruction, diagrams/charts and video.

Full of notes, exercises and tips, students will be encouraged to participate and engage with their creativity. Students also get the opportunity to have a piece of their work (up to 3000 words) assessed. This free 250-word feedback, along with the confidence and gained knowledge from the course itself, will assist the student in future creative endeavours. This is worth the cost of the course alone.

What’s new?

In the spirit of transparency, I’ll say it here first: yes, the course price has increased slightly. I did signpost that impending change back when I was advertising the November 2017 course. As I explained then, this is due to other writing and work commitments (teaching, mentoring, etc.). Don’t worry – it’s not a large increase. And as always there’s the early registration 20% discount – use the code EARLYBIRD. Ends March 18th!

You can learn more about My Creative Process on the dedicated page here on my website or go straight over to the enrollment page.

Or hit this button!

One last thing to whet your appetite – here are the creative prompts for the month. Find anything inspiring?

Don’t forget EARLYBIRD code ends March 18th!

The Creative Life Podcast: Episode Twenty-Two

The podcast is back! I promised, so I delivered. I recorded this episode with such a mixture of feelings: excitment (yay – I’m doing a thing!) to trepidation (wait – I forget how to do this, will I stuff it up?) to nervousness (what if I suck?).

I almost feel like I’m back at the beginning – and in the way I am. This is a good opportunity for me to repeat to myself, ‘This is a process, no one is perfect; try your best, you’ll only get better’.

Book and Topics Discussed

Trust the Process: 101 Tips on Writing and Creativity by Karen Andrews
Why it’s been over a year since the last episode
Remembering what it takes to put a podcast together (time and resources!)

“Balance is not better time management, but better boundary management. Balance means making…
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Tell me what you think – did you miss it? Are there any subjects/topics you’d like me to cover. Let me know!

I’ve begun 2018 with a reapplied focus to read more and to better document those texts as I go to avoid the scenario of getting to the end of the month only to look back and think “Hmmm… what was that about again?” (I won’t say how often it’s happened…) How I record these thoughts will probably be in some sort of diary, but we’ll see.

I picked up Salad Days by Ronnie Scott because I really like the Penguin Specials series – short texts, the perfect digestible (get it?) if you’re delving into a new topic or form. I’ve talked about several in the past – here and here – and this was my first nonfiction title. Scott’s essay examines food – specifically the rise of fine dining, as it incorporates cooking methods like molecular gastronomy, and what this says about us culturally.

This month’s random off-the-shelf gamble takes the shape of Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred, a book of poetry by James Goss and illustrated by former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies. Honestly, the illustrations are the best part – charming, deft and playful. While the poetry is uneven, and the better examples include ‘The Hard Stair’, ‘To Anonymous’ and ‘A Good Man’ (“Good men they take the long way round / It goes with all that higher ground”), I doubt the question of quality would even occur to younger fans who, I think, are the target audience. The fun energy would appeal more. I especially liked how most of the poems were written in response to particular episodes – this could be an interesting teaching tool, where students could write about an episode of their favourite show.

The next book up is An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire. We’ve watched a lot – and I mean a LOT – of crime television over the summer as Keira is making her way through all twelve seasons of Bones. I don’t read a lot of crime fiction, but in light of our recent viewing activity, this novel choice might not seem such an isolated incident (I’m full of puns today, sorry. I’ll stop now). I was very impressed – I’ve travelled through the area it was set in, and others like it, countless times in my life. It felt familiar to the point of claustrophobic. If you can handle the subject matter, I recommend it.

Last up is The Sweet Poison Quit Plan by David Gillespie. I’d love to see statistics as to how much health and diet book sales/library borrowings go up in the new year by people wanting to start things off on a better foot. I’ll put my hand up in this instance – guilty! If you’re familiar with the work of Sarah Wilson and her ‘I Quit Sugar’ movement, and others like it, much of this information covers similar territory. Still, it’s good to get reminders. After I finished I remembered thinking I wish the recipes section at the end had been a little more thorough and then when I was doing research online – voilà! I came across The Sweet Poison Quit Plan Cookbook. If you’re the kind of person who prefers quick actionables, maybe you could start there and work your way back.

What are you reading this month? 

There’s the pain, of course. But migraines are much more than the or a pain. Everyone is different, but mine brings an unbelievable sensitivity to smell. And stomach-churning nausea. I’ve had two so far in 2018. So honestly, as I write this, a major goal or dream I have for the rest of the year would be to be able to go a day without painkillers. That’s hard to do with fibromyalgia – let alone migraines – and I already know that probably won’t happen. When my osteopath was working on my neck earlier today, she heard about my busy 2017 and the state of mind I was in at the end (ergo: bad) and suggested these stresses are now physically presenting themselves.

I’ve been resting a lot and reading (when my head allows) and now having turned 39 I’ve been thinking about the 4-0 tick over at the end of the year. I looked at my Living List and realised, no, I don’t want to go skydiving or go on a racetrack hot lap anymore. So I took them off. My family teased me for this alteration, saying that I was scared. No! I said. I have a right to change my mind. This is true.

But there are many ways of facing fear and sometimes, like with migraines, you have no choice but to endure it.

Apart from the update, I’m really not sure about my deeper point for this post. Perhaps there isn’t one. All I really have is gratitude: for my head, which has allowed me to write 500 words without too much of a complaint; for my amazing osteo; and that wonderful clarity which comes with receding pain. The shape of yourself rematerialises. You can dream again.

You should.

If you have a bucket list, do let me know about what it is you want to achieve!

Additional photo credits: Audrey, Syrok

It’s customary for these sorts of posts to come out in December, before the holidays and our emails (and brains) are switched to ‘out of office’ mode. This is understandable – giving yourself a pat on the back at the end of a year is a great way to round it off before looking towards the next one. And if you’re thinking you don’t have much to show for 2017 apart from simply making it through it, trust me, that matters too.

In all honesty, this is why my recap is coming now. I’ll go into greater detail below. In other years, I’ve split this post up into themes over a couple weeks but I think it’ll be better (and easier) to integrate them. If nothing else, it might show a fuller picture.

Work

This is what I wrote about what I wanted to achieve in 2017:

‘APPLICATION’.

This will apply across the board: work, life, family. There’s going to be a high schooler in the house, and another child isn’t far off. Even my moderately ambitious to-do list will require some focus. I suspect I’m going to have to get much better at asking for help.

Ironically, I think I’m also getting better at letting go of the things that aren’t personally satisfying, like attending certain events or reading that latest hot novel. I need to be careful that doesn’t turn into ennui or disengagement (and, frankly, after 2016 that was appealing), but overall I think perspective will be key. As it always is.

(Excerpted from: 2016 Year in Review: Work)

How I laughed when I read the phrase ‘moderately ambitious to-do list’. Two books in a year is more than moderately ambitious! I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that. Still – I did it! Writing and production wise, it was the hardest and most intense year ever as I worked four days a week at the Centre for Youth Literature (CYL) up until the end of June. While there this blog’s content was practically scuttled and I could only focus on smaller pieces for My Creative Process and for the Alan Marshall Short Story Award. (Although On The Many Shapes Bodies Will Take came out in March to a wonderful review, it had already been edited and was at the printers by the end of January.)

Prophetically, I also wrote ‘I suspect I’m going to have to get much better at asking for help.’ Yes, yes, yes. I wrote about asking for help in Trust the Process and I followed my own advice. I stress I’m still not great at it, but I ended the year much freer in being upfront with friends when I am in a bad place and ask for their patience when I cancelled lunch dates. The work eclipsed the personal quite a few times, and I got through with some deep breaths and repeating ‘this too shall pass’.

How did the books perform? I’m asked this a lot, usually by non-writers. Not that it’s a rude question (when asked nicely!), but it can be a complicated answer. Yes, best-sellers lists are an important measurable, but only a fraction of authors end up on them. The rest of us are more reliant on the cyclical nature of the book industry; of ordering, stocking and returning. Then seeing how the titles goes. I get these reports from my distributors, but I’ve always relied on the sales that I get both from this site and face-to-face encounters (events, teaching etc.). It’s very gratifying to get an email that says something like: “I saw your YouTube video/read your post/a friend recommended you and I got your book!” These quiet connections are wonderful – maybe that’s the introvert in me talking!

I also started a Patreon – but haven’t done more than let it sit there. Let’s file that under: TBD.

So – what’s next? To be honest, I’m undecided.

A month ago, I would’ve sworn to you that I was going to take a break from nonfiction in 2018. I was done; I was sick of my ‘I’ voice. Instead, fiction (my novels in particular) would come to the fore. That is still true, but the goal is fuzzy. I delivered what I did in 2017 because the deliverables were very clear: two books. (As yet) 2018 has no ‘objective’. That doesn’t jive with the half of me that needs a plan, but the other half thinks it’s liberating!

Let’s pick a nice umbrella word for the year: CREATION.

New work, exploring, making, thinking.

Personal and Travel

First, a reminder about 2017’s goals/plans:

Personally speaking, that will manifest mostly in trying to tick off Living List goals and I’m going to be circling back with more intent to those 1001 books and movies challenges. They’ve fallen away in attention in recent years, but I still think about them.

(From 2016 Year in Review: Personal and Travel)

Hoo, boy. Okay, first thing’s first: I didn’t really circle back to those 1001 challenges. In fact, it wasn’t until this week that I got around to reversing the movie list to make it the same as the book one, making the titles appear from most recent down. Thanks to a fibromyalgia brain fog, I couldn’t think properly so instead I decided to focus on what I could do. Small tasks FTW.

Let’s talk about the Living List accomplishments: drinking a ‘freakshake‘, spending a week on a tropical island and running a Spartan race. (Standing up on a surfboard is technically 2016, but I only blogged about it in February.) I’m happy with these! As I was too ill from the horrible bug I picked up in Asia to do the Run Melbourne half marathon, the Spartan race was a great substitute for the big physical challenge I try to do each year. I’m about to modify the Living List a little bit and I’ll update you when that’s finished.

More on the travel front, I finally got to visit the Twelve Apostles! (I know, after nearly 20 years living in Victoria…) It’s marvellous, dramatic coastline and I’m grateful I got that opportunity. We also made a late decision to go home to northern NSW for a week in December to see my family and that, honestly, was a Good Decision. So was going back to see Adam’s family in April.

As for this year, the only travel we’ve got locked in is a trip over to Tasmania. My 40th is at the end of the year, so something pretty special might be on the cards. (Fingers crossed, anyway!?)

Finally, the favourites list!

Favourite book?

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders followed very closely by From the Wreck by Jane Rawson.

Favourite short story?

‘Air Mail’ by Jeffrey Eugenides. (I haven’t read Cat Person by Kristen Roupenian, which caused much hubbub last month.)

Favourite movie?

The favourite movie I watched at the cinema? Hmm… The Last Jedi. I haven’t opined about it on the internet yet – partly because there are enough opinions going around already and frankly, for the first few days after I saw it, I was one of those people, harrumphing and bleating. But I’ve reflected, sat with it. I love it for the great bits and forgive the dodgy bits – and every respectable Star Wars movie is comprised of great and dodgy bits, right? 

And Wonder Woman was pretty cool. (I cried.)

At home, I re-watched Lawrence of Arabia. Goddamn, I’d forgotten how good it is.

Favourite TV show?

The new Twin Peaks. I also binge-watched Homeland on Netflix.

Favourite place we visited?

Singapore. Marvellous!

The favourite scary thing I did?

Either going on the trapeze (starts at 0:54):

Or doing the Spartan race:

Favourite gift to myself?

The occasional massage.

Favourite experience?

Less an experience than a moment: we’d just arrived at customs at Indonesia after getting off the ferry from Singapore. It was getting late, the humidity wet and heavy. Fat, dark green leaves poked through the timber roof. Workers were sneaking quick cigarettes around corners, just away from prying eyes. The night was loud and full of promise. All of a sudden, excitement replaced tiredness.

Favourite failure?

Not bringing ‘The Creative Life’ podcast back for another season. I just had too much on. It will be back in 2018!

Favourite song?

Not so much a song as my Spotify writing playlist. This got me through two books. It’s mostly David Lynch.

Favourite Instagram photo

This one of the beach at Club Med Bintan Island – just looking at it makes me want to go back.

Here’s to a great 2018!

Hello again and (almost) Happy New Year to you! I hope you’ve had a restful holiday period – ours has been… eventful. See the bottom of the post and you’ll see why! But it’s been lovely to host family and generally take it easy. I’ve needed it. The first book I’ll talk about is Rising Strong by Brene Brown, mostly because it’s the only one I’ve finished thanks to a week at the beach. I think it’s a solid book with a terrific message and I appreciate those told from her direct experience – they’re the examples that I think work the best too. I strive to tell stories similarly (truthfully, clear-eyed, open) and sometimes I’m more successful than others. But I keep trying.

Every time I pick up a book by Joyce Carol Oates I ask myself, ‘Why don’t I pick up more?’ With over 40 novels to her name, not counting her other work, there’s a lot to choose from! But this one caught my eye at the library – Black Dahlia & White Rose: Stories, due in large part to the subject of the title story: The Black Dahlia murder case. (I won’t link to it as that could take you and me down a path we might not be ready to go down, especially if photos are involved.) Still – I was curious! And now I can learn.

On the subject of stories, and off the back of last month’s recommendation, I’ve been dipping in and out of Fresh Complaint by Jeffrey Eugenides and have been enjoying them a lot. Still on that topic, I have The Best Australian Stories 2017 edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke on my To Be Read pile.

And now to the Christmas book haul. Every year I buy that year’s Best Australian Poems and this year is no exception. It is edited by Sarah Holland-Batt who I admire a lot and look forward to plunging in (my head space just hasn’t felt ready to tackle poetry). The kids got Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend and Elon Musk: The Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. In the spirit of authenticity I spoke of at the beginning of the post, I’ll admit that neither book has been cracked open yet by a child. By me? Yes. But not them.

Lucky last we have Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance. This is the original adult version the above one has been modified from. This was Adam’s lone book request and is about the second physical book he’s read in YEARS. (He’s almost a pure Kindle reader now.) This, too, remains untouched.

And now to family news: we have a new member. This is Kylo Ren – a male ginger kitten and is a bundle of energy and affection. Our existing cat – Whiskers – remains perturbed by this turn of events. These past few days have been quite involved as I’ve never owned more than one cat at a time and, boy, it’s a learning curve. All suggestions on how to get them to bond welcomed!

It’s Christmas Card Challenge time!

If you’re new to the blog this year, let me explain the story behind this humble little annual fundraising drive and its purpose.

A long time ago, I was that person who wrote Christmas cards. Not so much for pleasure but out of obligation, and also because I genuinely get excited about this season. Then life took over and there were so many other more important things that competed for my time – and won. But I didn’t want to give up the opportunity to somehow, in some small way, make a difference. In 2008, I parlayed that feeling into a digital ‘Christmas Card Challenge’, meaning I donated the equivalent for what a postage stamp then cost for each individual commenter since the previous Boxing Day. I also believed – still do – in thanking the very people who’ve supported me and my blog over the year.

What happens to that money? It goes into the savings account I created for one of my ‘Living List’ goals: To provide money for a study scholarship.

This Challenge became difficult when I swapped commenting models on this blog last year, going from standard WordPress to a Facebook plugin. The former tracked email addresses, the latter did not, and so I had to change how it was run. The best alternative I came up with was to ask people to sign up to my newsletter. If you’re not already signed up for it, let me give you a quick pitch: you get a free ebook and I only send it every couple of weeks. And if you’re not – I invite you to take this opportunity to do so. You’ll be helping! This Challenge will be open up until 8pm on the 23rd December (AEST).

Here’s the link again.

Questions? Happy to answer. And thank you x