QWERTY Writing Life Podcast

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith wrap up Season 5 with a grateful and reflective look back and a huge announcement for the future of QWERTY Writing Life Podcast. You will want to catch the news and find out what’s next for the QWERTYs and their friends. Check out the links referenced in the show: Joy’s LAM Summer Reading Challenge: https://joyerancatore.com/summer-reading/ Learn more about t...

Author Joy E. Rancatore muses on the might of mindset in this special QWERTY interview with a creative. Mea Smith asks Joy clarifying and deepening questions to dive well below the surface of the topic and prompts her to share a special QWERTY challenge with listeners. Tune in to be challenged, enlightened and motivated.    Check out the links referenced in the show: Learn more about their book on...

Author Mea Smith discusses her journey through determining her worth and shares epiphanies about how it connects to creativity in this special QWERTY interview with a creative. Joy E. Rancatore asks Mea foundational and process questions and prompts her to share a special QWERTY challenge with listeners. Tune in to be inspired, enlightened and uplifted.  Check out the episode about Mea’s poetry bo...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith dispel negative emotions toward motivation in the creative life for Episode 15 in Season 5 of QWERTY Writing Life. They present a QWERTY theory about the aspects of motivation and two QWERTY-identified types of motivation. Personal examples from their recent creative lives show how they arrived at this candid chat. And, they end with ten observations about mo...

Recently, authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith met with a group of writers on a college campus. One of the students asked a question that has spurred ongoing conversation between Mea and Joy … and this episode! “What is your motivation to publish? What keeps your butt in the chair to finish a project and get it out there?” Listen in as Joy and Mea share specific answers to how they achieved publ...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith highlight five benefits of writing across formats and genres in this episode of QWERTY Writing Life. They pull from their work and life experiences to exemplify each point and challenge listeners to add to the conversation. Check out the links referenced in the show: Joy’s Summer Reading Challenge: https://joyerancatore.com/summer-reading/ QWERTY Writing Life...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith approach a challenging topic in Season 5, Episode 12 of QWERTY Writing Life—how to balance vulnerability and memories in art. They offer five tips to avoid unhealthy bleeding out of emotions in public art while still seizing the opportunity to heal through creativity. In addition to practical tips creatives can implement, Joy and Mea share personal examples f...

In Season 5, Episode 11 of QWERTY Writing Life, authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith answer the question, “How do we add to the Great Conversation?” To do that, they came up with four thoughts on the how of it all to round out this mini series on the Great Conversation. Check out the episodes and books referenced in the show: QWERTY Writing Life, Season 5, Episode 5, Interview with a Creative: D...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith dive deeper into the topic of the Great Conversation as they answer the question, “Why Care About the Great Conversation?” They share three primary “whys” and then go further in regards specifically to literature with seven benefits to that creative medium. Check out the book referenced in the show: Finders Keepers: A Practical Approach to Find and Keep Your...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith begin a few thoughts about the Great Conversation. In Episode 9 of Season 5’s QWERTY Writing Life, they seek to answer the question “What is the Great Conversation?” Check out the links referenced in the show: Joy’s 12 Days of Reading https://www.facebook.com/groups/twelvedaysofreading Simon Schama, The Power of Art https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19797.T...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith encourage creatives to play this holiday season and jumpstart their creativity with prompts. In this episode of QWERTY Writing Life, they give five types of prompts for creatives and then share examples from their lives of how each can be used. Check out the links referenced in the show: Blog Battle: https://bbprompt.com/ Tales of the Faerie Shepherds (storie...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith continue season five’s extra candid format in an episode about sacrifice. They discuss people’s natural aversion to the word as well as the importance of it and how it ties into a creative’s life and art. As with many other introspective topics, asking “What will you sacrifice for your art?” requires a balancing act. Joy and Mea share a few of their tendencie...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith present perhaps their most candid QWERTY Writing Life episode yet. They don’t have any earth-shattering answers for the questions they pose on the topic of redefining self care. What they do have are honest reflections from their own lives and examples of how to redefine self care, specifically for the creative life. As shared in the show, this is the QWERTY...

Dan Blank, founder of WeGrowMedia, visits QWERTY Writing Life and chats with authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith about Creative Place and Purpose. He gives practical tips on how to take overwhelming aspects of the creative life—marketing, author platform, author purpose and mission statements, collaborations and audience—and make them manageable, approachable and even fun. Dan also explains his...

In Season 5, Episode 4 of QWERTY Writing Life, Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith bring back a previous question, with a twist. Where Is Your Art’s Place in the Creative World? Answering where an artist fits in the creative world is one challenge that comes with easy to follow questions. Placing art, though, can be more complicated. Joy and Mea share three perspectives to ease the task and gui...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith tackle a huge topic in this episode of QWERTY Writing Life: bringing Authors and Readers together. They seek to reduce the overwhelm of the topic, though, through a set of six lessons they’ve learned over their years as Creatives. Check out the links referenced in the show as well as a few suggestions for fellow authors seeking to identify their ideal readers...

Since childhood, people ask that loaded question: “Where Do I Fit In?” Creatives still ask that question, but with a twist: “Where Is My Place in the Creative World?” Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith have asked the same question, and they’ve developed a three-tiered approach to help Creatives answer where they belong. In this episode, Joy and Mea provide Creatives with 11 questions to answer...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith have been prepping for a life-changing literary submission. As part of that, they must submit an Artist’s Statement. Neither of them was sure what that was, but after a bit of research, they discovered they’ve been crafting theirs for the past several years. Listen in as they take this discovery and share how their statements have developed organically over t...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith reflect on the fourth season of QWERTY Writing Life and celebrate the highlights while announcing plans for the future. Tune in for opportunities to weigh in on upcoming creative opportunities and a challenge to help you plan your next steps. Check out the book and the previous episodes referenced in the show: Finders Keepers: A Practical Approach to Find and...

Season Four of QWERTY Writing Life has been full of productivity, surprises and lessons learned. Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith reflect on the season and the projects they have managed along the way. Tune in for thoughts on embracing the finiteness of time and the depth we add to our creative selves when we simply live life and much more. The QWERTY Challenge is geared toward helping you c...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith got together in person to complete the project they’ve been working on throughout Season Four. Tune in to hear how it went and what else the duo accomplished while they were together. As usual, the QWERTYs have insights and tips to share through this candid chat from their creative lives. Check out these links mentioned in the show: Finders Keepers: A Practic...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith understand what it’s like to feel stuck or uncertain in the creative process. They propose we all approach our creative endeavors from a new perspective, every now and then. Tune in for six distinct creative perspectives, complete with examples from various mediums. Accept the QWERTY Challenge to share your own examples, as well as other perspectives you’ve u...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith found themselves with an unexpected time gap in their current creative project and found a way to creatively redeem that gift. Tune in for a few tips and tricks for making the most of the gift of time in this episode of QWERTY Writing Life. Check out these links mentioned in the show: Finders Keepers: A Practical Approach to Find and Keep Your Writing Critiqu...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith share some words of wisdom for fellow creatives who find themselves in need of a double pivot. Creative processes require flexibility and introspection. When creatives try something new, it may work great; other times, though, that new approach may need some alterations. Check out these links mentioned in the show: Finders Keepers: A Practical Approach to Fin...

Authors Joy E. Rancatore and Mea Smith follow up their previous episode with a look at how creative habits can keep us from falling into the procrastination trap and avoid stagnant sitting. From there, they offer practical tips to enhance the steeping stage and get all we can from times of percolation. Check out these links mentioned in the show: Finders Keepers: A Practical Approach to Find and K...