The Time is Right: Living A Creative Life

This year, for our January episode, we allowed ourselves to admit that we sometimes, maybe, sort of, set goals. Hosts John M Davis and Kevin J. Fellows discuss goal-setting, their successes and failures with it, and try to figure out how not to be among those throwing in the towel on Quitters Day . Articles mentioned in this episode: The 6 Stages of Change : Change can be *so* hard, but understand...

We’re back! And returning is a theme for this episode because also coming back for a second interview, is writer, editor, and reviewer, Jordan Duncan. Jordan talks about the major change in her working life since the first time she spoke on The Time is Right. Mainly, she’s found a way to put more creativity into her life. She also discusses how important planning and research are for such changes....

Like those days in school where we're asked to write about what we did over vacation, John and Kevin discuss what they learned last year about their own creativity, and how they plan to apply those lessons this year. This is an activity every creator should do. By reviewing and evaluating what's working and what isn't, we move our creativity forward and keep the energy flowing. When the flow isn't...

Do you get distracted by your creativity tools? Do you put off your creative work because you haven't found the perfect tools? Do you argue online about your favorite tools? In this episode, we talk about these concerns and how to work through the temptation and get to work. A Resource? Neither of us read this book, but it appears useful. Unclutter Your Mind: 500 ways to Focus on What's Important...

This episode is a little more personal for us. We dig into how we each have managed our creativity while dealing with unexpected and emotionally difficult times. Each creative deals with this in their own way. There is no single best approach other than to use or perform creative work in the manner that serves you best. Creativity can be a therapeutic benefit, but it can also cause anxiety and str...

In this episode, John and Kevin discuss whether creatives should focus on making weaknesses stronger or double down on our strengths. How do we even evaluate what a strength or weakness is? Should we label something as a weakness? We each want to improve in our craft, but what's the best way to frame how we do that? Resources Kevin suggests reading Cory Doctorow's article about how social media pl...

In this episode, John and Kevin discuss why taking a break or slowing down our creativity can actually make us more creatively productive. Taking the time to consider our work: the content, techniques, and approaches, even our mindset, will benefit our overall effort. The need to recharge First Ideas: taking time to think of and generate better ideas Living—experiencing life, which fuels creativit...

The Lemon Juice Episode This episode features an interview with singer, songwriter, and storyteller, Dany Horovitz. Possibly the voice of his generation. Dany talks about practice, process, and the importance of community and collaboration. He also recommends living life! You can find Dany's music wherever you prefer to listen. Dany's links: https://lnk.bio/danyhorovitz Resources: John read Embrac...

In this episode, John and Kevin dig into how the pursuit of perfection in our creative work can hold us back. They discuss how and when perfectionism can manifest during the creative process and ways they have overcome the pitfalls. Resources Psychology Today primer on the psychological definitions of perfectionism: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/perfectionism Mindful Art Studio: How Pe...

This month we explore how boredom and tedium can help with the creative process. Do you get your best ideas while washing the dishes or walking the dog? There's a reason for that. Our minds need to associate freely between ideas, thoughts, and memories. But when we consciously try to direct our attention to create, often the associations don't come. Science says we often need to be distracted just...

In this episode, we're joined by Dewi Hargreaves, who is an author and artist. He shares his creative mindset and process, and his journey to living a creative life. You can find him here . Resources Mentioned Embrace Your Weird: Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity by Felicia Day You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir , by Felicia Day The Artist's Way , by Julia Cameron John is r...

This month, we go deeper into the idea that the process is more important than the outcome. We discuss why valuing, even honoring, the creative process is so important to our creativity. We explore the significance of practice, experimentation, and intention. Also, why it's important to create our creative spaces and time. For a creative: if time is money, then process is the currency and the outc...

The last episode for the year was supposed to be a review of our favorite books about creativity. That didn't work out so well. But we did look at what inspired us and what we'll be doing in 2023. Resources Mentioned The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker Ezra Klein Sh...

This time, John and Kevin discuss finding creativity. Finding a creative path in the first place, or finding our way back to creativity. Recent years have been both a boon and a bane to creative work. We offer some thoughts and ideas for getting going or getting going again, and why you should. Resources: John is reading: Essentialism by Greg McKeown The Science Behind Creativity This article summ...

In this episode, John and Kevin discuss sharing our creativity. Not just posting a picture on social media or putting something up for sale, but sharing our process. Or even sharing the activity itself and discoveries we make along the way. How do you share creativity? Resources Mentioned Figuring by Maria Popova Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky Venus Theory , Musician and Youtuber Mary Spender ,...

Jordan Duncan is a multi-creative writer, poet, editor, blogger, and more. She's half of the Coffee Book and Candle blog duo. You can find out more about her and her work at Twitter and Linktree , and her poetry here: Quill and Crow Publishing . Creativity Resources Mentioned: Dan Koboldt : Putting the Science in Science Fiction Audacity : free audio editing Davinci Resolve : video editing Movavi...

Marijah V. is a writer, poet, editor, photographer, musician, adventurer and all-around creative. Marijah joined us for a conversation about creativity and how her various outlets have grown and changed. She's a firm believer in putting your creativity out into the world because you will receive more than you give. You can learn all about her at her website: marijahvwanderlust.com or Instagram or...

Are You a Creative Fraud? Some refer to this as Imposter Syndrome, but that can be a serious condition, and while it doesn’t have an official diagnosis, psychologists treat it seriously. Untreated, the effects can be devastating. If you believe your condition is serious or chronic, seek a professional therapist. What we’re talking about are the feelings creatives get periodically where we believe...

Kristin Osani is a queer writer who lives in Kyoto, Japan where she works as a freelance Japanese-to-English video game translator when she’s not wordsmithing, working on nerdy cross-stitching, or cuddling her two cats (three if you include her husband). Her fiction has appeared in FlashPoint SF, the Arcanist, and Ghost Orchid Press’s Beyond the Veil: Supernatural Tales of Queer Love anthology. Kr...

This time we're joined by author, artist (painting, NFT, sculptor), musician, and teacher Jonathan Hansen, aka Johan Michaels. We talked about deciding which creative endeavor to pick up when he has so many, creative energy, his influences, writing, and music. Jonathan also talked about NFTs as a creator. Jonathan's website: https://johanmichaels.weebly.com/ Resources we mentioned: A good video ex...

We continue our interviews, this time with Sci-Fi author Geoffreyjen Edwards. We get into many aspects of creativity, including collaboration and how challenging yourself by going big rather than going home can be a successful creative strategy. Before becoming a science-fiction writer, Geoffreyjen led a successful career as a full-time scientist. Indeed, he populates his world-building by drawing...

Our first interview with someone who isn't us! We spoke with Lily Hammer (aka Kate), a writer, drummer, photographer, and all around creative. She talked about her approach to creativity, and how her creative efforts and interests have changed over time. She also shared how creativity helped her cope with a dark time in her life. How placing creativity at the forefront helps her be the hopeful and...

In this episode, John interviews Kevin about his creativity. Kevin talks about why he writes and what happens when he lacks creative focus. He discuses taking his creativity full time and his other creative outlets, like playing guitar. Our interviews highlight people, famous or not so famous, living lives focused on their creativity. Creativity Resources: Kevin suggests using podcasts and searchi...

In this episode, Kevin interviews John about his creativity. John talks about why he focuses on music, and why having a creative focus is important to him. He also discusses other creative endeavors, such as photography, and doing creative work with his partner. This is the first in a series of interviews with people living creatively. Our goal is to highlight people (famous or not) living creativ...

In episode 5, John and Kevin discuss creativity as a process rather than an outcome. Every creative person produces finished work from time to time. For each creative work, however, there is a process of continuous learning and improvement that goes into it. They discuss the importance of a growth mindset and being open to viewing each work as a step along the way of a much longer journey. The guy...