Creative Lift

We're at the very end of NaNoWriMo, and it's time to wrap up the season and our drafting process. Today's mini-episode of Creative Lift focuses on how to bring your plot to a close. Follow the show link to download the special resource we created for this season: A Little Book of Drafting Strategies.

We're nearing the end of NaNoWriMo, but we're not quite there yet. And this moment can be the one that makes or breaks your momentum. So, today, in our mini-episode, we'll discuss one of the hardest parts of drafting, a moment every writer hits sooner or later in their writing life: What do we do on the day we fall out of love with our project? Follow the show link to download the special resource...

If you're drafting a novel this month, you've likely hit a moment at some point where you weren't sure how to make your story's logic work. Whether you skipped that scene or are facing it in the near future, today's mini-episode will help you face a logic tangle head-on. Follow the show link to download the special resource we created for this season: A Little Book of Drafting Strategies.

Here we are, already in the third week of NaNoWriMo. How's the drafting coming along? I hope you're doing well, and hanging in there even when the going gets tough. Speaking of, today's mini-episode of Creative Lift will get you out of a jam if you're wondering how you'll draft onward when you're wondering, "What's Next???" Follow the show link to download the special resource we created for this...

If you've taken the NaNoWriMo challenge, you're deep into the drafting process at this point, and chances are, you've hit at least a little bit of friction. Today's mini episode is designed to help you tackle a difficult scene. Our hope is that this conversation and the strategies we share encourages you to draft onward. Follow the show link to download the special resource we created for this sea...

e're into week two of NaNoWriMo, and in this season of Creative Lift, Alex and I have taken on the challenge of drafting 50,000 words in a month. Many of you are drafting, too, so we're offering mini-sessions designed to help you (and ourselves) stay on track. Today, we're discussing How to Overcome Character Overwhelm. Follow the show link to download the special resource we created for this seas...

It's the first week of NaNoWriMo, and the Creative Lift episodes this month are focused on helping you maintain your drafting enthusiasm and momentum as you aim to draft a novel in a month. In today's mini-session, we explore how to move forward when you're thinking, "I know what happens, but not how!" Follow the show link to download the special resource we created for this season: A Little Book...

It's NaNoWriMo, and Alex and I are drafting our hearts out this month. Are you, too? If so, this episode is for you. It's a podcast mini-session focused on overcoming world-building overwhelm, and designed to help you maintain your momentum. Follow the show link to download the special resource we created for this season: A Little Book of Drafting Strategies .

It's almost time for the NaNoWriMo challenge to begin. That means, across the world, writers are preparing to draft 50,000 words in the month of November. In the past couple of episodes, we've discussed how to prepare for a month filled with flow. In today's episode, Alex and I are discussing one final, but essential piece of the puzzle: How might you troubleshoot ahead of time, so that when you'r...

Are you considering taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge? Whether you plan to draft a novel in November officially, or simply want to think more about the art of drafting and how you can face the blank page with more flow, this episode is for you! In this season, Alex and I have decided to take on the NaNoWriMo challenge, and are sharing our experience as we go in order to keep ourselves motivated an...

Welcome to season five of Creative Lift: Dive Into the NaNoWriMo Challenge! I'm Naomi Kinsman, and you're listening to episode 36, How to Choose a Project for NaNoWriMo . In case you've never heard of NaNoWriMo—it's a challenge started by an organization of that same name, in which writers are invited to draft a novel in the month of November. Now you may not be a novelist yourself, or you might b...

Where do you start with a full novel revision? We're finishing up season four of the podcast, Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision, in which Alex Doherty, a fellow writer and I have been discussing his full-novel revision. Our conversation has been guided by his questions and goals for the manuscript, and today we're wrapping up the discussion. Alex has started his revision process, using so...

How do you speed up and slow down the pace in your stories? And when do you choose to speed up or slow down? What purpose does pacing serve in our storytelling? We're in season four of the podcast, Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision , in which I'm discussing a full novel revision with my fellow writer, Alex Doherty, a fellow middle-grade writer. In today's episode, we're discussing pace. F...

Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, for every writer there's generally room to amplify a character arc in your novel once you've completed a full draft. But what does that process look like, beyond firming up the first scene, the climax, and the final scenes? We're in season four of the podcast, Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision , in which I'm discussing a full novel revision with my f...

Even if a story isn't a mystery, there's something about a great question that keeps us turning pages. We want to know: What's the answer? But can a question draw out too long? How many questions does it take to turn suspense into confusion? We're in season four of the podcast, Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision , in which I'm discussing a full novel revision with my fellow writer, Alex Do...

Aside from interior monologue, are there other ways to clue a reader into a character's thoughts and emotions? How might we keep a reader informed if we don't want to submerge them in a sea of rumination? We're in season four of the podcast, Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision, in which I'm discussing a full novel revision with my fellow writer, Alex Doherty, a fellow middle-grade writer. O...

When does a character's voice come to life for you? And if you're struggling to find a character's voice, what strategies might you use to illuminate it? We're in season four of the podcast, Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision, in which I'm discussing a full-novel revision with Alex Doherty. In today's episode, we're considering how Alex might build on the connection his readers feel with h...

When you're reading, do you prefer to look at a character from a distance? Do you prefer to be deep in their thoughts? Or somewhere in between? And when you're writing, how do you craft the distance between your fictional creations and your readers? We're in season four of the podcast, Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision , in which I'm discussing a full-novel revision with Alex Doherty. Our...

Welcome to season four of Creative Lift: Behind the Scenes of a Full-Novel Revision. We're experimenting with an alternate format this season, not to replace what we do here at Creative Lift, but to offer another type of invitation for you.   Sometimes it's helpful to be walked through an exercise, or presented with new ideas, the way we often do at Creative Lift. Other times, it's helpful to hear...

What role does intuition play in your creative process? When you use design thinking tools, you bring intention to the way you approach your creative work. Sometimes, that mindfulness can feel like the opposite of intuition. Along the way as I learned design thinking, the question pops up now and then. What role is intuition playing here? Am I trusting my gut enough, letting go of control, allowin...

How do you move a project toward completion? How do you know a creative project is done? This season, we've been talking about Design Thinking, and today's episode focuses on our penultimate topic: Iteration. There are two truths I want to be sure I underline today. First, when we hit this stage in our creative process we're not in the final stretch. We're just beginning the messy middle. Making i...

How do you feel about creative feedback? This is a tough question for me, because often my mind responds one way and my heart responds another. But even that either/or frame falls short of sorting out the complex feelings I have about feedback. And complex feelings bubbling under the surface are a sneaky culprit of creative roadblocks. Since Creative Lift is all about uncovering the core of roadbl...

You've probably heard the question somewhere before: Are you a plotter or a pantser? But, have you ever considered the possibility that you might not be either of these, in fact, you just might be a prototyper? This season on Creative Lift, we've been talking about Design Thinking, and how to use these powerful mindsets, tools, and strategies in service of our creative work. In today's episode, we...

Especially if you're the kind of person who always has a thousand ideas, learning to brainstorm more effectively may seem pointless. After all, if you already have too many ideas, why generate more? On the other hand, what would happen if you could clear away the more obvious ideas and tap into truly innovative ones? What potential might you unlock if you leveled up your brainstorming capacity? Th...

It's a question I've heard so many times: Should I make this choice or that one? The creative process is filled with decisions large and small. We need a compass to guide our decision-making so that we can confidently move forward in the direction we mean to go. But when we're traveling uncharted territory, what kind of compass can guide us? In this episode, we'll explore one way to define our cre...