Create Out Loud With Jennifer Louden

Join the conversation with one of the most decorated American distance runner Lauren Fleshman as we discuss the mission that drove her to write her NYT's bestselling memoir Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World. We talk about how to write when you have a big story to tell, how to write when depressed, and why it's okay to move on from something that has been your calling. Enjoy!   Epis...

Jen recently shared in a solo episode that she's been working her way through burnout and in this episode, she shares her new project and how she approached it in a new way to refind her spark. Is it possible to change our patterns and create out loud without burnout? Let's find out.   Episode resources:  Find out how to work with me here. I'd love you to join me on one of my Retreats or Writing I...

In this bonus episode of Create out Loud, I interview a force of nature, Shannon Watts. In case you don't know Shannon, she founded Moms Demand Action, now the largest women’s volunteer organization in America. She's been called a “summoner of women’s audacity,” named a Time Magazine 100 Most Influential People, a Forbes 50 over 50 Changemaker, and a Glamour Woman of the Year. She writes a popular...

In this bonus episode of Create out Loud, I explore burnout, the power of quitting, and how your desires are allowed to change - in fact, they must be allowed to morph and grow with you or you will fall into Why Bother.   Many of us were raised to believe if you start a project, you have to finish it or you are a failure. But that isn't true! But how to know when to quit, when to change your focus...

In this last episode of season 2 of Create Out Loud, I share with you some tips for creating out loud, making your thing, finding your desire to create, putting pen to paper (and brush to canvas)...    Listen to the episode to learn:    What it means to give yourself permission to be seen as a creator  Why quantity over quality can help you produce better work  My top tip for picking a project up...

Does the thought of the climate crisis decimating our world fill you with thoughts of doom and gloom…  Thoughts like:  No matter what I do it doesn’t matter…  Why bother with ANY of my desires if there won’t be a world to live in?...  I’m powerless in the face of large corporations that continue to ignore their impact on the planet so they can profit…  Take a deep breath. And another one.  In this...

This episode is all about how seeking wonder can help you bother again and embracing the natural fallow period after you finish a big project. I’m joined by Andrea Scher, author of Wonder Seeker: 52 Ways to Wake up Your Creativity and Find Your Joy, to talk about how to fill up your creative well when its run dry..  We talk about the power of mixing up your routines to try something new – going fo...

Not everyone listening to this podcast wants to make money by being creative, but a larger number of people believe that they CAN’T make money from creative pursuits. That is NOT true!   I’m joined by the author of The Middle Finger Project and Meat and Hair, Ash Ambirge, to give a big ol’ middle finger to the idea that you can’t make money by being creative.    We talk about how important it is t...

Do you spend thousands on marketing, or hours researching trendy new marketing strategies… and it doesn’t move the needle forward?  Then this episode of Create Out Loud is for you.  In this episode, Jen Louden talks about the importance of ecosystem marketing.  It’s all about finding out where your people are, and communicating with them there.  Not to sell anything. Just to connect.  Are you…. sw...

We can be remarkably uncomfortable discussing money, but what if we shifted our relationship with the topic by instead recognizing how money can facilitate freedom, power, and creative potential? This is Paco’s mission. As a creative, author, consultant, and coach, Paco is passionate about empowering people, particularly those who identify as women, to step into their power.    On today’s show, Je...

Work, relationships, kids, friends… Do you find that everything comes BEFORE your creative desires?  Or has it been so long that you can’t remember what it’s like to take some time to just be curious, and play with creativity?  Author Eve Rodsky joins Jen Louden in discussing how our patriarchal society has carved away the time and space women need to pursue their creative passions, and how to rec...

Do you have to choose between writing for passion and writing for pay?   Getting paid to write seems like a fantasy to most, and getting paid to write something you are truly passionate about seems even more far-fetched.   Bestselling author Susan Shapiro joins Jen Louden in discussing what it takes to write what you’re passionate about AND get published in different genres.    Susan Shapiro is th...

Have you ever had a grand idea for a creative project, only to never actually start it?  You get excited about your big (or small) project, but you can’t wrap your head around how to start it.  In your mind it’s perfect, so how can it ever be as good in reality? Why do you feel fear and dread when you think about starting? Starting a new project can be one of the hardest parts of the creative proc...

What are your deepest desires? What is the mystery between you and those desires? Who belongs with you explore those desires?  Even though she wrote and published as part of her career as a psychiatrist, Sarah Flick never considered herself a real writer. Even though she had wanted to write since she learnt how to read at three, a busy professional and personal life got in the way. That is, until...

In addition to being an actress, improviser, and best-selling author, Sam Bennett is a highly respected creative coach whose business, The Organized Artist, has inspired thousands to channel their creative urges into RESULTS.   Sam is the author of ‘Get it Done’ From Procrastination to Creative Genius in 15 minutes a day, a wonderful book for creatives on how to be more CREATIVE, CONSISTENT, SUSTA...

Has your work ever been greeted by a firestorm of furiously polarized tweets, both in fierce support and rampant opposition to what you have to say? In addition to being scathingly funny, bitingly honest, and sharply observant, author, essayist, and humorist Heather Havrilesky's work has always been provocative. And her latest memoir, Foreverland: On the Divine Tedium of Marriage does not disappoi...

One of the questions I’m asked often is, ‘how do I stick with a project?’ followed closely by, ‘how do I know when a project is done?’ We want to see our creative endeavors through to completion, but it’s not always easy to do or be done. This is particularly true if a project has hit the skids or we’ve lost our way in the mushy middle or it’s a big damn  project that takes a honking long time.   ...

Sue Monk Kidd is one of the world's most beloved writers, occupying a rare intersection of critical and commercial success writers dream of.    Perhaps most recognized for her #1 New York Times Bestsellers, The Secret Life of Bees, which went on to become the basis for a blockbuster movie, and The Invention of Wings, her earlier works, When the Heart Waits, an autobiographical account of a spiritu...

Have you seen those beautiful, colorful bottles of Method Soap at Target? They're most likely the work of today's guest, Lisa Congdon, who is one of the world's most recognizable graphic designers, a fine artist, and an illustrator who creates for clients such as Amazon, Comme des Garcons, Crate & Barrel, REI, and MoMA.    She’s also the author of ten books, including Art Inc: The Essential Guide...

Pamela Slim is a dynamic beloved thought leader and has been in the trenches with creative businesses for decades. Her breakout book Escape From Cubicle Nation hit the scene in 2009, and since then she’s launched many creative projects, including founding a beloved brick-and-mortar small business incubator, The Main Street Learning Lab at K’é, and two more books, Body of Work, and her latest The W...

Creativity psychologist Kim Hermanson almost died in her 20s. After a brutal near-death, head-on collision, Kim was laid-out in the ICU when a nurse whispered for her to "imagine herself floating on a cloud," and she immediately felt the pain and trauma of the horrific ordeal leave her body. This completely shifted Kim's understanding of the power of our brains and completely shifted her path. Sin...

Whether it's on the page, on the canvas, or on the screen, the essence of creativity has always been storytelling. And if anyone understands the power of Storytelling, it's Devi Lockwood, who traveled the world on her bike, documenting the stories of everyday people whose lives have been affected by the increasingly problematic issue of climate change. That journey became a bestselling book: 1001...

Hey Create Out Loud fan! A little peak behind the curtain - we're doing some maintenance with our podcast feed, so we're doing a little test announcement to make sure we're keeping the train on the tracks! As all of you know as creatives, change is a good thing, but sometimes requires a little bit of re-orienting when we pivot. No action required on your end. In the meantime, thanks for being a Cr...

How many Opera singers/wellness experts/radio broadcaster/racial reconciliation thought leaders do you know? You'll meet one today: the remarkable Celeste Headlee. Celeste is a 3-time bestselling author, including of her most recent book Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism — And How To Do It, who specializes in studying, articulating, and teaching about the complicated nuanc...

Comparison is the thief of joy. It may be a cliché, but it is profoundly true, especially when it comes to our creativity. Ask yourself now: when will YOU actually feel like you're "enough" when it comes to your work. When you win a regional award? A Pulitzer prize? An Oscar? Stop waiting for your pat on the back. Pat your own back. Today, we discuss: :35 - Why we "despair" when we compare 2:05 -...