vid! A conversation with author Daniel Kooman.
Andrew K
So fun to sit down for a chat with Daniel Kooman to talk about his upcoming new #book and about the creative life.

We ask:

Is creative output about lightning…
https://static.licdn.com/aero-v1/sc/h/al2o9zrvru7aqj8e1x2rzsrca
Most writers either have or will have a failed or abandoned book project—or two, or three, or four—over the course of their lifetimes. The more you write, the more crisis moments you’ll face. It can be hard to come back from those moments, which is why this week’s episode of #WriteMindedPodcast with Paolo Bacigalupi is so encouraging. He shares with us his journey back from the edge of despair, having lost all motivation to write—and how he found his way to his latest book, Navola. This inspiring episode closes out our fifth season, and includes tips for world-building and wise words about this existential question so many of us face: why write.

I often say that writing a book is like learning a new language. Most authors approach this world with hopeful naivety, believing the trope they’ve been fed of the Inspired Writer. The story goes something like this: talented writer goes unrecognized until one day, she sits down, words flow out of her like sand through an hourglass, and her first draft is so dang brilliant that the publishing world instantly recognizes her for the genius she is. Best-seller lists, fame, fortune—it all hinges on that magical, mystical, totally bogus muse. The truth is that writing a book and being successful as an author is hard work. It’s meaningful work and, in my expert opinion, so worth it, but it’s hard. This week on the podcast, I unpack the hardness and amazingness of the author journey, from writing to marketing and beyond. On Beyond Better this week, I’m joined by Alexa Bigwarfe, a USA Today best-selling author, publisher, and founder and CEO of Write, Publish, Sell. Listen now: "The business of being an author, with author and publisher Alexa Bigwarfe" https://loom.ly/YsxdEyg #newepisode #beyondbetterpodcast #bookwriting #publishing #authorcommunity #authorhood #podcast

If I had to sum up the major theme of this week’s Finding the Throughline guest it’s this: WRITING IS FUN. Sonya Huber is an award-winning author of eight books, including “Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto” and “Pain Woman Takes Your Keys, and Other Essays from a Nervous System”, an essayist whose work has appeared in The New York Times and the Washington Post, and professor of English at Fairfield University in Connecticut. How did she rack up so many writing accomplishments? By sitting down each day and just thinking about, researching, or writing about what’s on her mind–or, as she says, “My questions, my curiosities, and my anxieties,”--with zero expectations of how much she’ll get done or even what she’ll write about. In Sonya’s world, writing doesn’t need to be a slog, and it doesn’t require you to be a super smarty pants. And I am here for it!! I think you’ll love this conversation, I know I did. Listen to Finding the Throughline wherever you get podcasts, and find the full show notes on katehanleysubstack.com. @sonyahuber #katehanley #podcastinglifestyle #funnypodcasts #selfhelppodcast #podcastoftheday #podcastmovement #podcastsofinstagram #podcastaddict #podcastinglife #writersofinstagram #podcasthost #survivingtheholidays #survivetheholidays #thingstodoless #findingthethroughline #art #artists #writers #creators

Words have the power to change worlds. Powerful words, powerfully written can open doors to the future. Beautiful words, beautifully written, can give us hope . Richard Wain’s new collection of poetry is doing all of these, with panache, and heart and soul. We all know by now that we need total systemic change – and a central thesis of this podcast is that we’ll get there best by creating narratives that build this – both highlighting the need for it and exploring possible paths through. What’s becoming clear is that this is an emotional and spiritual journey long before it’s a logistical one. So we need to find ways to reach beyond people’s head-minds into their heart-minds and spirit-minds. With this in mind, our guest this week is a poet, an entrepreneur and an artist. Richard Wain is founder and director of the digital marketing agency Vu Online, and of the Positive Nature Network, both committed to creating networks of businesses that can support each other in the move towards a regenerative, flourishing future. He is also a poet with a commitment to celebrating openness and vulnerability and he has now written a beautiful, generative book of poetry called Beyond the Brink is the Beginning. I met Richard when he came to our 6 month Thrutopia Masterclass back in May of 2022 – and was struck by his capacity to grasp the big ideas. Then I began to read the poems that arose out of our classes and was really in awe of his capacity to take these big, complex ideas, find the emotional spark at their core and weave it into something that could open hearts and help others to understand what really matters. We’ve been planning this podcast for ages, but his book is coming out soon, so now is the time – though in the end, as always happens, we roamed far and wide beyond the book, to the positive nature network and how small businesses and their owners, who are often their founders and may well be the sole employee, can begin to be part of the solution. As ever, we approached our own edges, which, a bit like poetry, is what this kind of medium is all about. Richard’s book will launch on 27th November at The Barrel House in Totnes. https://lnkd.in/eWVwYYgP #Thrutopia #Poetry #ThrutopianNarratives #MetaCrisis

What happens when you feel like you're not learning or growing enough? I often feel like that and I have to remember, as author Austin Kleon says, that "your job is to collect good ideas" while avoiding the infinite garbage that exists out there now. This means proactively and deliberately improving the quality of your 'inputs'. For me it means: - Grounding myself in curiosity in my conversations - Reading something thought-provoking - Listening to a good audiobook or podcast For you, it might mean you need to: - Capture the ideas that resonate with you - Figure out which ones are worthwhile - Break them down into digestible, less intimidating insights Doing any of these (or many of them) makes the journey to wisdom a series of 'aha' moments, instead of a giant epiphany. Curious to hear, where and how do you control your 'inputs' for good ideas?