Create Out Loud With Jennifer Louden

One of the most important evolutions in creative history is the emergence of a female voice. Despite cultural sociologists of old focusing on men, Maria is among a number of important voices who can recognize that we can both acknowledge, even honor those historic works, but invite the female voice to break them apart. Do you ever feel overly constricted by ancient, patriarchal models of storytell...

The pressure to have to create, to write everyday, to make our creativity a "job" is relentless. But what if we gave ourselves SPACE to pick up a project and put it back down? What if we didn't feel shame when because we have to take a break from our work. If you've been in the creative pressure cooker lately, THIS episode is for you. Thanks to Podchaser: gl8o4U4IdQiuyy4n4ZvF --- Support this podc...

Though she's now considered one of America's most important novelists, Ruth Ozeki didn't think of herself as a writer until her 30s. Before that, she had stumbled into a career editing schlocky, low-budget Japanese horror movies, struggling to find her way. But wisely, she knew, even then, that the experience would serve her. Because ALL experiences end up serving us in the end, right? Among other...

When we think of "self-help" we typically think of cheery, bohemian women talking about astrology and crystals, but what if we told you that Edgar Allen Poe - you know, the tragic alcoholic literary genius - was one of America's most valuable self-help voices? Today, we chat Catherine Babb-Muguira about her process of falling in love with Mr. Poe, and he pulled her out of her own dark hole. Drawin...

So often, we get caught up in the idea of who we should be as a creative. I should be a best selling author...I should be an award winning filmmaker...I should be giving my Nobel-prize winning speech. But what about who we already ARE? Even the greats wrestle questions of creativity identity and imposter syndrome, but remember, at the end of the day, YOU are your own greatest create superhero. Lea...

Crystal and Parker are some of the most exciting voices in the world of female-founded tech startups, and their brilliance lies beyond their product. The two of them have sharply navigated the very white and very male world of tech by following their north star - business that focuses on diversity, ethics, and inclusivity. Like their own business philosophy, their company Inclusive Journeys is foc...

Beth Pickens is one of the most practical and grounded creative coaches working today. Though she herself doesn't identify as particularly creative, Beth CHAMPIONS creative instincts and argues that when creative people don't fulfill their inner-need to create, their health, well-being, and general productivity will suffer. Need a boost? THIS is the episode for you. Jen and Beth also discuss... 1:...

Though her work centers on wild, uninhibited creative acts, Keri Smith is a self-proclaimed introvert. The hugely popular bestselling author Wreck This Journal is the first to admit that our creative needs to be a sacred choice, an intentional process that we commit to, despite the voices around us (and in our head), telling us not to. Keri and Jen get vulnerable as they discuss the gap between th...

If you're looking to find more gratitude in your creative life, today's episode is for you! Visit https://jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit/ to get instant access to a collection of audios that will: help you with some of the most common struggles we creatives have to manage including fear of choosing, falling into compare and despair, managing the inner critic (s), and feeling too exposed and vulnera...

For better or worse, so much of the creative life relies on marketing, which can feel icky. But for Toya Gavin, who has brilliantly built her life coaching business through her own ingenious marketing strategies, it doesn't have to feel icky. Instead, it can feel social, constructive, and even beneficial for those who deserve to hear about your endeavors. Though Jen and Toya might both struggle wi...

Laura Davis is the author of six non-fiction books, which have been translated into 11 languages and sold more than 1.8 million copies, that focus primarily on healing, recovery, and the beautiful scars that the challenges of our lives leave behind. In the course of her long career as a communicator, she has been a columnist, a talk show host, and a radio news reporter. Laura’ new book and first m...

"Why Bother" was the central question of Jen's last book, and so of course, it had to show up on the podcast! But today we go deep: why bother to create, at all? If you've faced creative failure, despair, or you feel like you're facing insurmountable cynicism, it may feel exhausting and impossible to create. Or even worse, it may feel pointless. And trust me, we get it. BUT, there are still a mill...

It's hard enough to feel like "our best selves" when we're creating, but here's a little secret no one tells you: we won't, unless we foster a safe space and sacred space around our work! What does that REALLY mean? Tune in to find out. Visit https://jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit/ to get instant access to a collection of audios that will: help you with some of the most common struggles we creative...

Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the author of the New York Times best-selling illustrated collection of nature essays and Kirkus Prize finalist, WORLD OF WONDERS: IN PRAISE OF FIREFLIES, WHALE SHARKS, & OTHER ASTONISHMENTS (2020, Milkweed Editions), which was chosen as Barnes and Noble’s Book of the Year. She has four previous poetry collections, and her writing appears twice in the Best American Poetry...

Oliver Burkeman is an award-winning thought leader and the author of 4 bestselling books about time, happiness, and strategies for living our best lives. His new book, Four Thousand Weeks, is about making the most of our radically finite lives in a world of impossible demands, relentless distraction and political insanity (and 'productivity techniques' that mainly just make everyone feel busier)....

Hey Creatives! We are SO excited to be launching season 2 of Create Out Loud and our first episode drops this Tuesday with NYT Bestselling Author Oliver Burkeman. We have TONS of incredible conversations in the can, and we promise a season that's bigger, better, and bolder as we continue to create out loud! Visit https://jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit/ to get instant access to a collection of audio...

As much as YOU feel like you've learned a lot from season 1 of Create Out Loud, I promise you, Jen has learned JUST as much. In this very special episode, Jen's producer Jeff asks her some of HIS burning questions about Jen's biggest creative breakthroughs, and we through it back to some amazing moments with Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Rissi Palmer, and Angeline Boulley. Visit https://jenniferlouden.com/...

Bestselling poet Kate Baer has a beautifully truthful relationship with motherhood, with social media, with internet trolls, and with being a woman. It's wrestling with all of this that inspires her poetry, poetry women love (and some men are threatened by) because she tells the truth. Listen to how Kate uses her life, and her critics, to know her truth and develop her craft. It's incredibly brave...

Shedding identities has been at the center of Ashley Sumner's creative journey and her company Quilt, and a good thing as she had to change her company's entire mission at the start of the pandemic. Ashley is the founder of a social media community Quilt dedicate to connection and self-care, creating a unique bridge between Jen's early work and Ashley's company Quilt. Jen and Ashley are both passi...

For bestselling poet and author Maggie Smith, sometimes the secret behind making her poetry interesting, unexpected, and surprising comes to "making it weirder." Maggie's unapologetic, unabashed approach to her work is the reason her work has been read by everyone from Meryl Streep to Dr. Jill Biden. Maggie hits on something essential about successful creativity. How do we be truly honest in our w...

Isn't it wonderful to hear widely celebrated NYT's best-selling novelists talk about shitty first drafts? Laurie's acclaimed new bestseller One Two Three "wrote hard," for her, and that's OK! For Laurie, the joy comes in the process, whether it's easy, hard, smooth, bumpy, or annoying - that complicated cocktail is what makes the creative process beautiful. And Laurie gets candid about the other s...

Tamiko Beyer's acclaimed poetry collection Last Days, was assembled from a collection of poetry written over the course of decade, which speaks to Tamiko's sense of open-minded freedom and patience when it comes to work. For Tamiko, the creative process is all about leaving space for play and imagination. By relieving the pressure and intensity of "generating a product" when it comes to our work,...

Maggie Shipstead is an NYT-Bestselling author of three novels - Seating Arrangements, Astonish Me, and Great Circle (on many best-of lists for 2021) and her work has won a laundry list of awards. She's also written essays and travel articles like her piece for Modern Love. And like all of us, Maggie has to begin again, face the blank page, and watch projects die. Maggie's newest novel "Great Circl...

All of us get caught up in the shoulds and I can't of our creative life, but Susan Piver has learned, through decades of meditation and practice, to disregard these inner voices. Susan regards all of her creative endeavors as art projects, a chance to get her hands in the clay of creativity and create something beautiful. Susan has learned to open her heart to the creative yearnings and she's pass...

Lisa cron is tired of staying quiet. As a bestselling author and widely celebrated story coach, Lisa has worked as a story consultant for decades with best-selling authors, major Hollywood studios, and taught at NYU and UCLA. And now, she's raising her story voice to help us all. Lisa's philosophies around story are deeply researched truths. She knows that understanding the mechanics of storytelli...