Trisha Traughber
Write a book that will set you apart: María ...

If you’re a creative, teacher, trainer, or coach, should you write a book? 

And if you do want to write a book, have you asked yourself why?

I’ve worked with many online writers who decided to write books--and when they start asking me their questions, I often respond with a question too. 

“Why do you want to write a book?” 

There is no right answer to that question--only your answer.

And, yes, you’re allowed to have many reasons for wanting to write a book—from being passionate about the subject, to wanting to share something with the world, to ‘just having a book in you.’

Today, I’m really excited to share an interview with María Ortega Garcia on the many reasons she wrote her book.

Write a book that will set you apart: María Ortega Garcia
Trisha Traughber
What keeps you inspired in uncertain times?

Sometimes, when the world seems like too much, I pull a heavy, fuzzy blanket over myself and disappear into a novel. This month, as the world spins, and wobbles, I’ve been reading The Paris Network--our creative community’s book of the month. I invite you to pick up this story (or another great book) and see what happens when you forget your surroundings, your time for a minute…

Suddenly you’re in France, World War II, the occupation. You pop into a bookshop. The owner writes “poetry prescriptions” to keep the townsfolk strong, runs a resistance book club with banned books. Poetry falls from the sky in airdrops. And it’s all based on true events: the banned books, the resistance publishers, the literature and poetry woven into the novel, like “Liberté” by Paul Eluard.

Under the story, there’s a truth that will, no doubt, resonate with you:

Sometimes, literature (or art) is more important than food.

What keeps you inspired in uncertain times?
Trisha Traughber
Writer profiles: Sofia Polykreti: Cultivating ...

Are you someone who works with words? Maybe you teach or translate, write copy in one or more languages?

Are deadlines something you’re familiar with? Do they add a certain rhythm to your days?

If so, you know that time to create, to express yourself, to work on your own projects is an issue.

And you’re probably intimately familiar with that feeling of working all day on a big writing, translating or teaching project…and the challenges that come with transitioning into your creative self at the end of a long day. Even if you love your work.

If that sounds like you. I think you’re going to really enjoy reading this interview with Sofia Polykreti. Sofia is an active and inspiring member of our Tip of the Iceberg Writing Community. She brightens our book chats with her insights, brings her energy to writing workshops and shares her unique work in our forum.

Writer profiles: Sofia Polykreti: Cultivating time to create.
Trisha Traughber
Reconnect to your body--and your creativity.

When is the last time you stopped to think about your body?
As a writer, a creative…a human.

At our Vagabond Voices Creative Community, our inspiration revolves around creative seasons. And…there’s a ‘season’ that is just about the body—remembering you have one and reconnecting to it.

So, whether the season is one where it feels like winter is melting all around you, or summer is going to sleep--whatever side of the globe you’re on, join me today for a celebration of your body. It’s healing, it’s good for your creativity (and good for your writing).

This year, as we enter the creative season of ‘the body’ I’ve got a blog post for you with ideas for tapping into your body for healing and creativity.

And I’ll have a few words of wisdom from a fantastic book I finally finished reading: The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, brain, and body in the transformation of trauma. by Bessel Van Der Kolk.

How is a book on healing trauma relevant to our writing and creativity?

Here is what I know:

So many of our artforms, our modes of creative expression actually help us heal.

They are a part of what helps us survive as individuals and cultures.
Even when the unthinkable happens. Or when it’s all around us.
They make us strong. They make us whole.
They bring us together--and they are our human tradition.

Celebrate these with me--whether you’ve experienced trauma or not.
Help keep these creative acts alive and share them with others.

For all of us.

Here are a few ways…

Reconnect to your body--and your creativity.
Trisha Traughber
When there are no words: peace, creativity + ...

Have you been sleepless lately?
Me too.
There was a night last week when I woke up at 3 AM, and could not accept—anything.

It’s the kind of thing that will leave you asking the ceiling overhead, the rafters, the roof creaking in the wind, the sky:

Is it worth being angry at the world?
Does it help anything?
Does it put bread on the table?
Stop madmen in their tracks?

So many questions and one thing I know for sure:
This is what the first creative step looks like sometimes…

When there are no words: peace, creativity + doodle prompts.

Creative

Find your creativity and focus. Take a walk with Joanna Radomska.

Find your creativity and focus. Take a walk with Joanna Radomska.

Have you ever felt stuck, silenced? At a loss for words?

Or maybe you’re like me these days and when you actually do have the time to write--you’re not ready yet. You know, when it feels like you can’t quite transition from the tsunami of information and decisions that is our everyday existence these days. When you can’t create…yet.

It feels scary. But the solution is actually pretty simple. Ask yourself:

What if the time you spend away from your desk was as important to your writing, your creativity, and your language learning?

What if you just needed to take a walk to find your creativity and focus again?

Want to be a creative writer? Get out your crayons.

Want to be a creative writer? Get out your crayons.

If you're reading this, you're drawn to adventures of the written word. You love to read, and you're either writing…or dreaming of it.

You know that writing is so much more than telling an entertaining story. It's something you do to connect, to express yourself, yes.

But writing is also something deeper, something you do only for yourself, something transformative. Something fun. A place you go, a refuge.

These are the things that are so true, you barely need to think about them. So what if today we talked about a much less intuitive part of your writing process?

Something that might you might be missing out on as a writer—whether you’ve been writing for decades or are just trying to work up the courage to start.

Today we’ll explore why, as someone who loves to write, you may need to grab your crayons and some messy paint—and explore your visual side.

What Creative Projects Are Pulling You? (+ a real-life example and great children's literature)

What Creative Projects Are Pulling You? (+ a real-life example and great children's literature)

What creative projects are pulling you?

You may already know that I’m right in the middle of a creative project--a creative journaling workbook. It’s something I’m writing with a few of you in mind (thank you for all of your help and inspiration).  It’s a project to help you not just find your words, but to give yourself permission to write for self-expression, in a creative way, for fun, for yourself or for someone you love. One of the topics we’ll go into is when a subject, a passion, or a project tugs at you quietly.  And how to recognize that silent, gravitational pull you might feel toward creating something.

It might just be that you want to finally write a story and feel good about it. Or simply that you want to feel more like yourself when you write. Some of us are secretly turning books over in our heads (If you’re wondering if I mean you specifically, then the answer is probably yes--and myself too). That memoir, that story from your family, a novel, a collection of poetry...or a story for your children..

Creative Constraints: rewriting your limitations with your creative journal.

Creative Constraints: rewriting your limitations with your creative journal.

We can’t always create despite our limitations. Sometimes we have to create with them.

In some stories, we don’t climb the mountain, defeat what’s ‘holding us back,’ and emerge victorious.

Some constraints are not to be defeated. They may be precious: lovely, down-haired creatures who wake us feverish and sniffling in the night. Some are simply part of us: limitation and gift bundled wired right into our neural pathways. And then there are those human limits that are, simply, non-negotiable.

Maybe the question is not how to escape these constraints. Or even how we could have created if only…

Sometimes the question is simply, how to create with these (human) conditions?

If you’ve ever felt like your creative endeavors were drifting beyond your grasp and that limitations loomed too large in your life, then this is for you. (And it’s also for me--because it’s full of everything I have to remember as well).