I still have to write a detailed post about my writing residency at Surel’s Place. But if you’re curious about how it went and about artist residencies in general, then listen to this episode. I go into some of the ups and downs I experienced as well as the general benefit of getting away, even for a short while, to concentrate on your art.
You can listen to the podcast below or on the episode page where you can see the show notes and also subscribe.
While I was at Surel’s Place doing my residency I interviewed Jodi Eichelberger, the residency’s program director. Jodi is a fascinating person and I enjoyed getting to know him while I was in Boise. Especially since we have a friend in common!
Jodi’s path to being a local arts superstar does begin in Idaho, but it took him through Portland, OR, New York City, and Reykjavik, Iceland. He’s done musical theater, puppetry, and steampunk coffee delivery by bicycle. Like I said, fascinating.
You can listen to the podcast below or on the episode page where you can see the show notes and also subscribe.
Those of you who were fans of the JEMcast will loooove this episode. In it, I interview and Aleen and I talk about writer Kelly Thompson, who wrote the Jem & the Holograms comics plus several others (including, at this current moment in time, Captain Phasma, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, and Hawkeye). We do go on about Jem-related stuff in this episode, yes, but talk about a bunch more! Such as writing within existing worlds, being a fan who then gets to write for the thing they love, how to organize your day if you’re a freelance writer, and imposter syndrome.
This is a long episode, but I hope well worth it!
Also: JEM. WHO IS TRULY OUTRAGEOUS. Just like Kelly.
You can listen to the podcast below or on the episode page where you can see the show notes and also subscribe.
I interview Nilah Magruder, who is a visual artist and a writer. Her two most recent books, a children’s picture book and a graphic novel, were both written and illustrated by her, which I find super impressive. Also, Nilah is amazing and smart. In this episode we talk about how some writers can benefit from thinking like artists and the origin story of Nilah’s book How To Find A Fox.
I also talk passionately about how important it is for young artists to not be told No or You Can’t Do That and what happened to me when I heard that kind of thing.
You can listen to the podcast below or on the episode page where you can see the show notes and also subscribe.
(art by Nilah)
This was the first episode recorded while I was at Surel’s Place. I talk a wee bit about the residency, but the majority of the ep is about how cross-pollination is essential to creativity. We get into it in terms of art, writing, music, of course, and also technology.
I mentioned the auctions we did to support the Interfictions anthologies and doing so made me long for the days of putting together artists and artisans with pieces of fiction and watching what happened. I also had an idea for the Interstitial Arts Foundation that we should try to foster this kind of thing on a consistent basis. If I had the time, if all the volunteers had more time… man.
Maybe I’ll make time at the end of next year when things calm down a bit.
Until then, you can listen to the podcast below or on the episode page where you can see the show notes and also subscribe.
In this episode Aleen and I talk about the value of travel and research trips for creative people. About how getting outside of your normal life–even if you go just 2 hours away–can feed your muse. I talk about how my trip to Europe this year gave me unexpected inspiration, and about how I need to visit places in order to really know how to describe them.
And jumping off that, this is a tiny reminder that I am still trying to raise money to go to Egypt next year for research. If you want to support me and my work, you can donate to the fundraiser via YouCaring. You can also support me by supporting my Patreon. Even $1 a month helps.
You can listen to the podcast below or on the episode page where you can see the show notes and also subscribe.
In this episode I interview writer and game designer Monica Valentinelli and Aleen and I talk about creativity and role-playing games. Monica gets into some cool stuff about ways game writers can be creative within an existing system and franchise, and also about how she got into writing for games. It’s a really great conversation.
You can listen to the podcast below or on the episode page where you can see the show notes and also subscribe.
NaNoWriMo is now over, but it hadn’t yet started when we recorded this podcast. And honestly, I don’t think you need to be preparing for NaNo or even care about NaNo to engage with what we talk about here. There are all kinds of art challenges you can take part in, be they 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year. They don’t have to be the ones dictated by someone else’s rules, either.
I am still very much interested in hearing from artists across the spectrum about the challenges they’ve taken part in or set themselves and where those challenges have been successful and even where they haven’t been.
You can listen to the podcast below or head over to the episode page and do it there or even subscribe so that every episode shows up in your podcatcher.
In this episode Aleen interviews Antony Johnston, author of The Coldest City, which was turned into the movie Atomic Blonde. We talk about the process of having ones art transformed into a different medium, women spies and why there weren’t enough of them in our childhoods, and how ideas come back around even after you’ve put them away for a while.
You can listen below or on the show page where you can also subscribe to the podcast.
This week the fine folks at the Writing Excuses podcast announced the next cruise and retreat. In 2018 I’m joining the team as an instructor alongside Amal El-Mohtar, Maurice Broaddus, Piper J. Drake, Valynne E. Maetani & more. The workshop starts on 9/22 in Houston, and the cruise sails from Galveston, TX and goes to Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico before docking again on 9/30. It’s going to be a fabulous trip and I’m very much looking forward to it.
Before I tell you why I’m so excited for this based on my experiences over the past couple of years, I want to ask for your help with something. Every year, alumni of the Writing Excuses retreats raise funds for a full ride scholarship to the cruise. This is in addition to a scholarship funded by supporters of the Writing Excuses Patreon (the $20/month level). The more money they raise, the more people who can’t afford this cruise get the opportunity to experience this. Please consider donating to the Alumni fund before December 15th, or giving ongoing support via Patreon. I’ll give details on how to do that at the bottom of this post.
But first, let me tell you why I think going on this cruise is an awesome opportunity for writers.
I first came on the cruise back in 2016 when I was invited to be a staff member. That year we sailed around the Caribbean, and it was my first time on a cruise ship. The nature of cruises like the one we took is that we only spent a few hours on each island, and so there wasn’t much time for seeing more than one thing and certainly not enough time to get a real sense of the place.
That said, having one distinct experience in each place, getting some time in places I’d never been, being exposed to even the slightest hint of something outside of my life, was powerful. It made me want to have more time, to visit the places for real. But I also appreciated those few hours floating in clear, warm ocean water and allowing myself to just be and breathe and listen.
This year’s cruise was very different. We went to the Baltic sea with stops in Sweden and Denmark and Estonia and Russia. There were no beaches! But with each city there was time enough to again have a distinct, capsule experience.
And it was on this trip that I discovered how even a small amount of time in a place can provide inspiration for my writing and fodder for my creativity. I talked about this in episode 13 of ORIGINality (skip to the 1 hour mark for the stuff on this trip in particular). I was able to turn experiences I had in Europe into useful reference points for the novel I’m writing set in Egypt. And I know down the line the places I’ve been will bubble up in some other way. Everything one does can benefit ones writing.
Beyond that, the cruise instructors all offer classes, there are critique groups and other workshops, the chances for one-on-one discussions with amazing authors, editors, agents. There’s networking and craft working and skill building and the opportunity to get to know some amazing people. I have felt so very lucky to be part of it the last two years and to get to be part of it going forward.
I want more people to have the opportunity to be part of it. And so I’m asking that if you have $5 to spare or $10 or $20, please donate to the alumni scholarship fund. You can donate via PayPal to wxralumscholar@gmail.com by December 15th. If you donate via credit card, please mark it as a gift and not as for a good or service, so they won’t be charged a fee. If you really hate PayPal, email that address and they’ll work something out with you.
If you have $20 a a month to spend, consider supporting the scholarship through the WX Patreon. You get cool extras if you do.
And if you’re a person who would love to come on the cruise and would benefit from it but cannot afford it, keep an eye out for when the scholarship applications open. It’ll be announced on the Writing Excuses website, social media, etc.
Finally, if you’re a writer and you can afford the time and price of the cruise, please join us! I have no doubt this year is going to be as wonderful as the last two. The ports we’re visiting have the potential to offer inspiration or relaxation, and the instructors are going to teach you amazing stuff.
Come on a boat!
