The Transformative Power of Play with Tim Myers

Tim Myers does a bit of everything: he’s a writer, songwriter, storyteller, visual artist, and senior lecturer at Santa Clara University, where he teaches writing. We got together to talk about the nature of creativity, which Tim calls a “sacred mystery,” including everything from the way our childhood creativity is changed by the culture as we become adults, the necessary role of play in the creative process, the transcendent experiences of awe and wonder and how they fuel us, the wisdom of following your gut, and a whole lot more.

Episode breakdown:

01:39 Kids are instantly creative, often play traditionally.

06:50 Creativity influenced by nature, nurture, educators.

15:50 Importance of creativity in education and society.

21:22 Differences between play in childhood versus “professional” adults.

24:56 Nancy switched to teaching, advisor, and writing lit mag.

30:49 Encouraging exploration of language and creative thinking.

37:04 Parents see child, lifetime of giving love.

40:35 Zen story about finding wonder in life.

45:27 Believing in progress through challenging circumstances.

50:34 Art, festivals, play as a primal need.

56:21 Semantic split between “religion” and “spirituality.”

01:01:14 Falling in love based on unique personal idiosyncrasies.

01:07:23 Experimenting with writing schedule structure.

01:13:45 Craft is in choosing words for impact.

01:19:22 Writers and feedback.

01:25:00 Tim struggles with generalist vs specialist identity.

01:26:31 Passion for storytelling and visual art emerges.

01:35:38 Weekly writing schedule reduces overthinking and focus on perfection.

Connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode and in it, tell us about a time when humor made something easier for you. If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in writing.

Show links

The photography study we mentioned is detailed here.

Tim on Facebook

Subscribe!

You can subscribe to Follow Your Curiosity via the handy links at the top of the page for Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, Google, and YouTube. If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to tell your friends!