Angie and Elizabeth dig into some forms, frameworks and rules that can sustain a creative practice in trouble times, including the practice of freewriting, the three rules that run Elizabeth’s craft classes, and opening and closing rituals. An exercise reminds us of the encouraging tenents of positive discipline. Other power tools include the spirit of experimentation, the impact of literary examples, and the inspiration of having an immediate audience when you write. They also discuss why people apologize for their writing, whether not allowing apologies lowers expectations or raises them, and how we can offer ourselves the structure of a group even when we are alone. And the importance of pushing through resistance, even dread to launch into activities that in the end sustain and enliven us.

Send your comments and questions to questions at storymakersshow dot com

Links Discussed: 

Episode on giving notes 

Natalie Goldberg Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life 

Mary Mackey on Story Makers Show 

Martin Seligman Authentic Happiness

Audiobooks—Libro.fm

Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival–everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.

The hosts:

Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.

Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.