Follow Your Curiosity

You Cannot Mess This Up with Amy Weinland Daughters

Freelance writer Amy Weinland Daughters mostly wrote about college football until she decided to try her hand at, in her words, “a hilarious time travel novel.” That novel, You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened, turned out to be a catharsis, giving her a whole new look at her childhood and her family. It’s gone on to win the Silver Winner for Humor in the 2019 Foreword INDIES and the Overall Winner for Humor/Comedy in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Award.

Amy and I talk about the experience of writing about sports as a woman, what happens when a creative project becomes “real,” the importance of supporting each other’s creative dreams, even if they seem a little crazy, and just how she re-constituted Thanksgiving weekend 1978, and her whole family from an adult point of view, in her book.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:22 Always creative, imaginative childhood eventually inspired writing.

09:27 Support networks vital for achieving difficult careers.

10:42 Creative doubt and imposter syndrome affect identity.

18:23 Creating requires empathy; art preferences are subjective.

21:14 Believe in yourself; push to create magic.

27:52 Unexpectedly transformative journey, beyond initial intentions.

36:41 Book evoked nostalgia, laughter, and personal reflection.

38:59 Embraced younger self, now proud and united.

45:44 Memories change with age and perspective.

52:18 Nostalgic, relatable, thought-provoking, humorously realistic moments.

53:12 Misunderstood as sci-fi; divided reader opinions.

59:29 People share personal childhood stories with Amy.

Check out the full show notes (now including transcripts!!) at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks!

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in writing.

Why Make Bad Art? with Lucinda Sage-Midgorden

Story lover Lucinda Sage-Midgorden and I met here on Follow Your Curiosity last year. We got together this past week for a short conversation for her Patreon about why you should think about making bad art and embracing anti-perfectionism. What does that mean (and not mean), and how might it change your life? For that matter, how are we defining perfectionism—it’s often not what we expect it to be (as I learned myself when I was training as a Kaizen-Muse coach, to my great shock and, yes, horror!).

Lucinda was kind enough to share the recording of our conversation with me, and I want to share it with you. If you’ve been wondering if my Make Bad Art course is for you, you might find the answer here—for instance: whether you need to be an artist to make bad art, and if there’s a right way to make bad art (spoiler: no, and no). This conversation is short, but you’ll get a lot out of it.

Make Bad Art starts on November 4th (the day after this episode is being released), but it’s not too late to sign up, and we’d love to have you. All the details and signup info are here.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:23 Kaizen-Muse coach helping creatives break perfectionism.

05:43 Realizing hidden perfectionism hinders creative projects.

09:05 Creating bad art frees creativity for good art.

10:54 Next class starts November 4; contact details provided.

14:03 Anti-perfectionism practice: Easier and fun in groups.

18:56 Need to relax and overcome perfectionism daily.

21:51 Join "Make Bad Art" starting November 4th.

Check out the full show notes (now including transcripts!!) at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

CPT #92: The Magic of Making Bad Art

What happens when you make bad art? Sometimes you get really good art by accident! Here's a real-life story of a time when that happened to Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat, and why you should consider Making Bad Art yourself.

Source for this story.

Want to come Make Bad Art of your own, and lose perfectionism and harsh self-judgment in the process? Join us starting November 4, 2024! You don't have to be an artist, and you can't fail at bad art (unless you don't do it at all). I promise!

 

 

Creativity, Resilience, and Hurricane Helene with Darcy Wade

Four years ago, artist and art therapist Darcy Wade joined me to talk about her own journey with art and creativity, including how her discovery of expressive arts brought her back from a period of disconnection with her creative side and helped her recovery from addiction. Darcy has since moved from North Carolina to Colorado, where she’s now undertaking fundraising efforts to help folks back home in the wake of the destruction from Hurricane Helene. She talks to me about the history and artistic culture of Western North Carolina—particularly Asheville, but also the surrounding area; the creativity, ingenuity, and community that arises from crisis; her journey from North Carolina to Colorado; how awe and wonder elevate our lives, and more. You’ll find links to our previous conversation and Darcy’s fundraiser in the show notes, and I hope you’ll check them out.

If you missed my first conversation with Darcy in 2020, you can check it out here.

Full show notes, including photos of Darcy's beautiful art, can be found here.

Read this week's post, My Perfectionism Story, here.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:18 Resigned dream job, faced challenges.

07:24 Art and creativity integral in daily life.

13:37 Art project raised $7,000 for North Carolina.

17:09 Stuck in Denver due to licensure requirements.

25:32 Artists help Asheville mountain communities with essentials.

31:25 Nature-based expressive arts; paused for now.

34:13 Pass exam for new job in youth.

39:12 Expressive arts therapy empowers diverse artistic expression.

44:54 Children's fresh perspectives inspire and move me.

48:37 Redefining "bad" art: Challenging traditional definitions.

56:00 Embrace sensitivity; curiosity fuels personal growth.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks!

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in visual arts.

CPT #91: Change Your Perspective

I recently had a chance to get a very different perspective on something I dearly love doing—by not doing it. I thought it would be torture. I was wrong. I tell you what I discovered in this short episode.

Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!

My Make Bad Art course starts on November 4! Are you tired of contorting yourself to meet others’ expectations? Do you want to remember your own wild, imperfect self? And reclaim your curious, adventurous, creative genius inner kid?

Make Bad Art is the anti-MBA, a safe place to come unlearn all those things you're taught you have to have as an "adult" (stress, perfection, conformity) so you can reclaim the inner wild, curious, creative kid who's always been inside you--the one who knows how to play, invent, have fun, and live with abandon and joy. It's a playground for the liberation of your inner artist AND your authentic self, and the effects will go beyond the class container.

Check out all the details at https://fyc.quest/MBA

I hope you'll join us!

Narrative in Medicine and Fiction with Dr. David Weill

My guest this week is Dr. David Weill, the former director of the Center for Advanced Lung Disease and Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University Medical Center. He’s currently the principal of the Weill Consulting Group, which focuses on improving the delivery of pulmonary, ICU, and transplant care. He’s also the author of the new novel, All That Really Matters, which follows his memoir, Exhale: Hope, Healing, and a Life in Transplant. David talks with me about how he made the shift from surgery into writing, how healthcare workers have historically been encouraged to deny the emotional reality of their work as a defense mechanism, and how that is finally shifting; the harsh and sometimes cruel realities of the transplant world; how fiction allows greater latitude in telling the truth about those realities; why transplant patients often like to go sky diving after their surgeries; and more.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:31 Transplant professional documented experiences, produced two books.

05:19 Hid emotions in career, later embraced vulnerability.

06:53 Health care work strains minds, career change needed.

12:14 Interesting emotional arc, unwise career decision impacts protagonist.

16:51 Medicine's learning curve: years of motivating terror.

18:01 Mentor's patient admiration influenced his demeanor.

22:32 Some should leave jobs earlier, unlike most.

26:47 Healthcare struggles balancing patient care and profitability.

29:34 Moral injury from value misalignment in healthcare.

31:57 Left clinical role; now consulting for solutions.

36:49 Saving young lives is my most memorable work.

40:27 Enjoyed writing fiction; eager to continue exploring.

42:31 Organ allocation ethics and financial incentives examined.

45:40 Talented, flawed protagonist falls and redeems self.

50:55 Next book explores questions of identity.

Check out the full show notes (now including transcripts!!) at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks!

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in writing.

CPT #90: Chaos and Control

In Western culture, we don't often think of creativity as something controlled, but the truth is, there's a place for chaos and control in our creative process. In this slightly-longer-than-usual pep talk, I give a couple examples of the push-pull of chaos and control, and how they can both be helpful—and detrimental—to our creative work, and why it's worth experimenting with a little more of one if you're used to working primarily with the other.

Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!

Could you leave a review? It's really easy, and it helps SO much. Thanks!

I'm currently in the home stretch of putting together my upcoming Make Bad Art group program, which will be starting in about a month. Make Bad Art is the anti-MBA, a safe place to come unlearn all those things you're taught you have to have as an "adult" (stress, perfection, conformity) so you can reclaim the inner wild, curious, creative kid who's always been inside you±the one who knows how to play, invent, have fun, and live with abandon and joy. It's a playground for the liberation of your inner artist AND your authentic self, and the effects will go beyond the class container.

I'll be posting more very soon at my newsletter, The Spark, so subscribe to get the details as soon as they're available! We'd love to have you! 

Failure, Innovation, and Play with Paul Pape

Paul Pape is an artist, designer, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the creative industry. He’s created thousands of personalized products for clients worldwide as well as companies such as Disney, Universal, and Nickelodeon. In recent years, he’s shifted to empowering creatives, companies and corporations, sharing his expertise and insights to help them embrace innovation, reverse the creativity crisis and make life and work FUN again. Paul talks with me about failure as something necessary to innovation—not something you did wrong; what we’ve learned from the pandemic, and what we’ve refused to learn; and the technological pandemic of boredom and doomscrolling, and what we can do to find inspiration outside of screens and devices (spoiler: it involves PLAY).

Read this week's post, "Letting Go and Finding Flow," here. 

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

01:18 Intro to Paul's creative and educational journey.

06:21 Disillusioned artist seeks better opportunities after MFA.

11:25 Thrive on process and problem-solving, not outcomes.

18:44 Creativity crisis: Innovation decline due to pressure.

23:16 Ownership fosters pride and individuality in work.

26:53 Uninterrupted work and flexible schedule were beneficial.

35:38 Short-term thinking limits long-term business growth.

38:48 Engage audience; leave wanting them to play.

44:03 Focus on interests, continually learn, and yield.

48:00 Prioritizing profits over addressing boredom and technology.

55:31 Encourage creative play with devices over mindlessness.

58:38 Hope: Augmented reality enhances life's immediate engagement.

Check out the full show notes (now including transcripts!!) AND SEE PAUL'S NERD WALL IN HIS PHOTO at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks!

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in education and theatre.

CPT #89: Building Momentum

In August, I talked about reading War and Peace over the course of this year at a pace of roughly one chapter a day—the value of small steps in practice. Since then, I’ve noticed a little more about what happens to your project—and to you—when you take those consistent small steps, and I’m here to tell you about it in this short episode.

Could you leave a review? It's really easy, and it helps SO much. Thanks!

Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!

Uniting Communities through Music with Lianna Magerr and Kimberly Doucette

When you hear the words “children’s chorus,” you probably think of a pretty straightforward group of kids making music. If you’re in Wilmington, Delaware, you have good reason to think of a whole lot more. Wilmington Children’s Chorus Executive Director Lianna Magerr and Artistic Director Kimberly Doucette join me to talk about how they’ve gone beyond the rehearsal room to create an organization that reaches more than 500 kids in the Wilmington area, many from low-income neighborhoods, with the goal of empowering young people to change their world through music.

Read this week's post, "How to Stop Being Your Own Creative Enemy," here: https://fyc.quest/enemy

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Lianna's and Kimberly's creative background.

10:18 Lianna wanted to teach; followed passion through choir.

14:37 WCC evolves to meet ever-changing community needs.

17:55 Pioneered safe in-person singing during COVID-19.

27:35 COVID disrupted children's conflict resolution skill development.

31:13 Neighborhood choir program for underserved communities launched successfully.

39:02 Inclusive environment helps kids try new activities.

43:20 Early childhood music boosts development but requires resources.

47:40 Community centers essential for low-income neighborhoods.

51:15 Families support children's chorus through donations, trust.

59:56 Identify community needs and provide unique contributions.

01:01:56 Collaborative spirit and community connections in Wilmington.

01:06:52 Wilmington Children's Chorus 20th anniversary post-COVID concert

 

Check out the full show notes (now including transcripts!!) at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks!

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in music.