You're Too Sensitive

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 23 “Let’s Get It Started” comes to you amid a Minneapolis-come-Seattle rainy night, ripe for creating with good words and other stuff. I discuss why starting a novel is harder than it seems, why prologues are stupid and a waste of time, and the writer’s ripple effect. Find the new episode on @spotifypodcasts or directly from the HJH Creative Solutions website –hjhcre...

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 22 “Poets and Marketers in Arms” comes to you on a Monday after the Executive Board’s careful consideration of a schedule change. I discuss using being deeply unqualified to teach creative writing, highlighting the work of someone deeply qualified to teach creative writing, and that despite outward differences, poetry and marketing are cut from the same cloth. p.s. -...

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 21 “Don’t Let the BastardsGrind You Down” is brought to you by a pissed-off Minneapolis resident that wants NIMBYism to die in a fire. I discuss writing as activism, and how to turn words into activism writing, serving as a powerful tool to help the people who need your help the most.

You’re Too Sensitive - Episode 20  “The Two Rules of Writer’s Club” is ready for your Air Conditioning-aided listening enjoyment. I discuss the Big Chill (ironically), a painful experience that launched my writing career, and what helps me write fiction while staying true to writing what I know.

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 19 “A Perfect Day for aShort Story” dives into my personal favorite genre of literature that’s the hardest to write, in my humble, somewhat informed, expert opinion. I discuss the seeminglydull yet ultra-sexy concept of word efficiency, the world’s most perfect short story, and the super, easy peasy steps anyone can take to become a certified bad-assedstoryteller.

You're Too Sensitive - Episode 18 "The Space Between" (thanks, Dave) is the love child of a long holiday weekend filled with craft beer, tales of fishing whilst catching no fish, and leftover feelings about grief resulting from too much Aughts emo alt-rock. Thus the writer/creator's Substack account was launched.

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 17 “Just Stop Writing” drops on a Tuesday because schedules are made to be broken, especially when writer’s block has it’s firehose focused on your forehead (hello alliteration; maybe not as blocked as I thought). Today’s all about addressing writer’s block through writing-adjacent activities, what works for me sometimes but not always, and finding the solution to wr...

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 16 “Let Me Be Mad” comes to you wrapped up in a special Thursday edition because life. On the agenda; satisfying temper tantrums as a requirement, reframing rejection, and smashing through the invisible walls around unspoken industry rules with the rambunctious energy of the Kool-Aid Man. (PS - Bonus points if you remember where the Episode title comes from. I know I...

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 15 “Tennis Moms and the Eggs They Love” is the podcast’s open love letter to Thee Mom, and all other moms and mom-type figures that we ride or die for. On the table for discussion are open-to-interpretation Mother’s Day gifts, Tennis moms, and suburban chickens; *literal* suburban chickens, not pseudo-mallrat tough guys.

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 14 “Apologies to the Hemingway Family” brings you the literary exploration of Flash Fiction fueled by an afternoon caffeine intervention, why heatwaves are the worst, and why there’s nosuch thing as too much Walton Goggins.

From You’re Too Sensitive, it's lucky episode number 13; "Just Be a Baby. " Melanin-challenged writer, creator and mini-golf dominator HJ Hennen discusses the fear of writing poetry, creativity in STEM, and the enchantment of seeing the world for the first time.

From You're Too Sensitive, Episode 12 "Duck, Duck, Grey Duck," creative and duck aficionado HJ Hennen discusses golf etiquette, using filmmaker John Hughes as a tool to eventually land the gorgeous, tall girl you always wanted, and fostering creativity in all kids, even the “problem kids.”

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 11 “Don't Let the Robots Win” is fresh and on the shelves for you. Writer, creative and tortured Minnesota sports fan HJ Hennen discusses hockey fights, self-care for writers, and why you can't let the robots win.

Writer, podcaster and sleepy hockey fanatic HJ Hennen discusses writing with ferality, why everyone can have a little rejection as a treat, and when to be dragged headfirst, fearless. (thank you Taylor).

Today, writer and elite podcaster HJ Hennen explores the balancing act between a protagonist's who they are and why they do what they do, how books can re-ignite curiosities once believed to be burned out forever, and the key to teaching Japanese to a chimp in 46 hours.

We're on the road in Madison, Wisconsin, reliving my beer-soaked years without being beer-soaked. I discuss the business of writing, why writing your mom or mom-ish figure still matters, and Ray Liotta as Henry Hill's universally applicable and indispensable advice.

Content Warning: Eating disorders, binging, restricting HJ Hennen speaks to the transferable talents of frisbee and pinball, one of the angels who saved a life, and the ride or dies who really do stick, through chicken salad & chicken shit.

I discuss my first attempt at a novel (science fiction, no less), what it means to write from a specific point-of-view and common pitfalls that occur when those point-of-view narratives get mixed up.

Doggies, coffee, Long COVID; we have all the words today! Admittedly, some are forgotten like sand in the winds of time. We discuss how a writer survives on the days where the Word Superpower is on hiatus.

I'm not tone deaf, it's just you. I discuss Taylor Swift's songwriting, Kinesiology, and why I've never forgiven U2.

Depression, Anxiety, the creative process, and the coping skill that puts your data at risk with China.

Who is Lester Bangs and, unrelated, did school kids in Japan hate math the way I did? I discuss Potter's Point, my award-winning, ninth-grade poem.

Pushing off on the virgin voyage of publishing a book, creating a podcast, and answering every unanswered question since 1985, foolishly join writer H.J. Hennen through the creative process. First, "The Title" - subtitled, "What Am I Really Doing Here?"