Category: Uncategorized

Age-Decoded with Mark Ryall

Mark Ryall

Author Mark Ryall explores the exciting, and ethically daunting, world of genetic engineering in his novel, Age-Decoded. Focused on the current technology called CRISPR, he explores the wide variety of possibilities the technology opens up. It’s a project that brings together his background in math and science as well as teaching. Our conversation digs into […]

Creative Pep Talk #14: Comparison and Self-Rejection

Pep Talk Logo

Continuing from last time: more on comparison, and how it’s actually a way to reject ourselves, even if we don’t know it. Perfectionism factors into that process, too, creating an ugly soup of not-good-enoughness. The good news: you CAN do something about it. Details within! Want more help? Check out my Creative Tune-Up, which is […]

It’s Gonna Be Great with Paul “PB” Bessenbacher

Paul "PB" Bessenbacher

Musician Paul Bessenbacher, known to his friends and fans as PB, lives a genuine optimism best summed up in his signature statement: “It’s gonna be great.” PB has followed the flow of that sentiment from an undergraduate degree that let him experiment with every genre he could find, to learning recording engineering on the fly, […]

Creative Pep Talk #13: A Story About Comparison

Pep Talk Logo

A story about comparison and how it robs us not only of our creative joy but also distorts our sense of ourselves. Did you know you can watch this episode on YouTube? If you knew how much time drafting experimentation, especially the failures, screaming cursing, heartbreak and desperation went into creating the Mona Lisa, would […]

Anger and Curiosity with Dr. Ryan Martin

Dr. Ryan Martin

None of us gets through the day without encountering anger somewhere, be it at work, at home, on the road, or even inside ourselves. Ryan Martin is a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, and he specializes in anger. He’s written a book, Why We Get Mad: How to Use […]

Creative Pep Talk #12: How Hard Is It?

Pep Talk Logo

“We can do hard things,” as the saying goes—but we can also make it way harder to do those things than we have to. Hear how I learned this lesson and how you can make it easier to do the tough things on your list in this episode. He knew we could do it. And […]

Psychology and Writing with Sarah Fine

Sarah Fine

Urban fantasy author Sarah Fine, who writes psychological thrillers as SF Kosa, is a clinical psychologist as well as a novelist. As a result, she has a lot to say about the amateur psychology and observational skills writers tend to possess, as well as what she will and won’t do in portraying aspects of mental […]

Creative Pep Talk #11: Failure

Pep Talk Logo

Failure visits us all—and I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Failing doesn’t have to be the end, and it definitely doesn’t reflect our worth. It’s actually a really important part of the creative process (and of growing/learning in general), so maybe we should start embracing it rather than fearing it. All failure means […]

Coming Out of the Cave with Eddie Louise

Eddie Louise, writer of the Sage and Savant audio drama podcast, has lived one of the most fascinating creative journeys I’ve ever heard. She has followed her curiosity from the libraries of Wyoming to undergraduate studies in Edinburgh and back to California, and absolutely none of it has happened in the way anyone is told […]

Creative Pep Talk #10: Tiny Steps

Pep Talk Logo

If you’re feeling stuck and don’t know how to get moving again, this is the episode for you! There’s a simple way to get your momentum back, and it’s probably not what you expect. (It may even feel kind of insulting… but it works!) Break it down. Break it down so small that you know […]