I'm Being Interviewed

Today the tables have turned and I am being interviewed on Janet Whitehead's blog, Advocate for the Creative Soul!!  I am talking about writing and creativity, 2 of my favorite topics.

I am part of a group of over 20 creative muses who are going to showcase our work and passions in the Second Annual Muse A-Fair here in Kamloops, BC.  If you live in Kamloops, this event will be wonderful.  Even if you don't live here, these interviews with Janet (she is interviewing many of us involved and posting them on her blog) are going to be amazing and inspiring.  We are talking about a variety of things, such as our passions, how we show up for them, challenges, inspirations...

I'll put an exerpt of the interview below, to read the full interview, check out Janet's blog by clicking on this link.

Me & my three kids, reading our Nano novels.

What projects you are currently working on?
I am getting ready to participate in my third year of National Novel Writing Month where the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November.

Also, I am almost done editing my first Nano novel from two years ago.  It is a middle school fantasy called The Prophesy of Ilverzah.

What helps you to show up to your creative projects?
I have a writing buddy (yes, you Janet)!!!  This has been amazing for me to get things done.  Every (most every) morning, I call her at 9:30 in the morning, set the timer for 20 minutes, then get writing or editing – 20 minutes is such a non threatening amount of time.  After 20 minutes I call her back and debrief.  This is such a supportive, gentle way to write.  After 20 minutes, I am often eager to keep going, but in the back of my mind, I know if I only ever do the 20 minutes, I have still done something.  This is also a great way to celebrate the baby steps.  Sometimes all I can do in 20 minutes is edit one page or get my notes organized.  These are all important steps, but are often overlooked as part of the process.

Also, I am part of a very informal writing group.  We meet most weeks for coffee and talk about our projects, brainstorm and do writing exercises.  It is so much fun to meet with this great group of writers.

Then there is the threat of deadlines.  I think that is why Nanowrimo works so well for me.  There is a crazy deadline which makes me work crazy hard.

The last one is chocolate.  I often wonder if Nano was picked to be in November because it is the day after Hallowe’en.  I get through November by raiding my kid’s Hallowe’en chocolate.

To read the rest, click here to go to Janet's blog.