The Creating Pros Podcast

The phrase "Fear is the mindkiller..." from Frank Herbert's Dune is as popular a quote in sci-fi as in personal development. Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being on stage with Kevin J. Anderson talking about Dune, and thinking about some of the questions and feedback from other panels that were more oriented towards marketing, and the business of creativity. The root of most questions boi...

Improv is a great tool for inspiring creativity, improving cognitive function, developing social skills, and supporting mental health. Join me for a chat on the benefits of improv for your creativity, your business, and your life!

Adversity is just a part of life - it comes to us through business, creativity, and our personal relationships. How do we handle it? How do we face it? How can we learn to manage it? I recently appeared on an upcoming episode of "Amputate to Amplify" with John Register, and got to meet him in person and hear him speak last week. I go into a few takeaways from that talk, and some other thoughts. 

Knowledge is power, but we can't know everything, even within our own specialties and expertise. What do we do when someone asks a dreaded question where we don't have an answer? Join me this week to talk about the power of, and next steps to, "I don't know!"

Creative output requires research. Being a writer often leads down the "research rabbit hole." How do you collect all that info? What do you do with it when you're done? When is it "enough?"

You can't avoid AI generated content anywhere at this point on social media. We see platforms starting to filter AI generated content, but do users care? What does this mean for creators? Has AI finally made social media useless for creators, or is there a correction coming?

Dungeons and Dragons hits 50 years this year, and launched the modern era of RPGs. Building on thousands of years of gaming and storytelling, This week we celebrate D&D being eligible for AARP, and the influence it's had on society, technology, and creativity!

Perfection is a lie, but how do we know when we've gotten to good enough? And in the world where we compete with AI and and mass produced work, is imperfection the key to creative success?

Change is always a little scary. Whether it's changing jobs, companies, or even starting a business, our mindsets and emotions will both be excited - and anxious. What can you expect to go through your mind, and then once you've made the decision, how can you take the leap off the cliff to your next adventure?

Security basics aren't an option, especially in the digital space. Cybercrime is big business, and only growing. This creates bigger challenges for creators to balance personal safety and security against building brands, marketing, and getting to know your community. This week we touch on some of the basics to keep you secure!

When stress becomes burnout, our personal, professional, and creative lives pay the price.  How can you tell if it's just stress, or are you burning out, how can you recover, and how can you prevent it in the future?

Fear is primal. It's an instinct that is there to keep us alive, but it often won't let us thrive. Why do we often fear success? Why do we not take often even the "safe bet," much less the big gamble? How do we learn to manage, and even learn to harness fear and anxiety?

Believe it or not, coffee shops may offer more than just free WiFi. Is there benefit to creatives for getting out into public places? It turns out, for most of us, the answer is yes. At least sometimes.  

I haven't touched on it here lately, but there are a few important movements in the Gen AI landscape this week. We're seeing leaps forward in Gen AI video quality, which raises more concerns about deep fakes. More importantly, we are starting to see the various lawsuits work through the court system with much of the Sarah Silverman case which include Chris Golden and Richard Kadrey, plus many othe...

Lucienne Diver (LucienneDiver.com) is an agent with the Knight Agency(KnightAgency.net), and a young adult and adult novelist. We do a deep dive into how you find and connect with an agent, the query process, what an agent does, and how to find a good one. We also discuss avoiding the scams in the business. Then we shift into what it's like to be an agent and an author!

We all love to be recognized for our work, especially nominations, much less winning an award for our work. But when are the awards legitimate? There are a lot of scams out there. And what happens when even some of the biggest awards in the business come into question?

Learning is a lifelong process, or at least should be. The act of learning helps mental health and mental acuity, creates personal and professional opportunities, and encourages creativity. This week we talk about the benefits and struggles of learning to learn, and some tips for how you can learn to learn!

It's tax time 2024! Money works differently in a business than it does for your personal finances, and tax time is when you get to see a lot of the differences. Whether you are a freelancer, have a side business running, or it's your full time creative business, you have to deal with the second certainty of life. Join me for a quick primer as you go into tax season, and some ways to help you prepa...

Ada Lovelace is a pioneer in computing, having worked with Charles Babbage and having innovated on his mathematical calculations engine to propose new and innovative uses, including creating music. We take  a look at Ada Lovelace, and how her parents greatly influenced her, and ultimately set her up to influence the world. A case for STEAM is showing how despite her mother's attempt to shield her...

January 1 is Public Domain Day in that ever year this is when thousands of works Copyrights expire and enter the public domain. This year, it was Mickey Mouse's turn. Being that Disney has been a significant influence on Copyright Law and extending out Copyright dates, it's worth taking a look at what this means for the Mouse, how trademarks are still in play, what other famous works entered the P...

This one was supposed to drop last week, but technical issues! Every year as we head into the holidays, most of us begin reflecting on the past year, and come up with resolutions for the upcoming year, only to usually push them aside by the end of January.  In this process this year, I've seen and heard (and might have uttered myself) some flavor between I didn't get anything done, or I did a lot,...

John Ryan is a mental health expert and advocate and half the team of happytohealthyou.com where they blend humor and comedy with mental health. As a comedian, John performs in clubs and cruise ships, has written and performed for the BBC, Irish Times, Liberty Radio, and more.   Join us as we talk about his early days in mental health work, often for people at end of life, transitioning into comed...

In college, after being diagnosed with Dyslexia, Ariel Burgess (ArtistArielBurgess.com) painted the Wheel of Time playing cards and has since branched out towards film, story-boarding and concept art. She was an Official artist for The Wheel of Time from 2012 to 2019 and has been published internationally. Her first publication was in “Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics”. Ariel has won a Geeky award fo...

For most creatives and freelancers, "strategy" is throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks. Are you trying to figure out why ads aren't working? Social media engagement sucks? One big factor is not treating your creative process and output like the commercial enterprise it is. Most people confuse taking classes in ad tactics as a strategy. It's not.  Find out what is it, and why it's important...

Randee Dawn reports on entertainment and lifestyle stories during the day for publications including Today.com, NBCNews.com, Variety, The Los Angeles Times and Emmy Magazine, and is a speculative fiction writer by night. We talk about her career, what the media side of life is like, covering celebrities and entertainment, and how it influences her fiction!