Fearless Writing With Bill Kenower podcast

4:20

If you have an imagination, curiosity, and desire you always have what you need to create anything you want. These can never leave you, but you have to trust they’re enough.

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Always Ask The Right Questions 4:29

acum 13 zile4:29

4:29

The imagination is faithful, but it doesn’t discriminate. It will answer any question you ask it. Make sure you only ask those to which you sincerely want an answer.

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No Complaints! 5:46

acum 20 zile5:46

5:46

Sometimes our most creative moments stem from things that bother us – stories that we wished ended differently, or passages that seem sloggily written. To be truly creative, however, we can’t complain, which is focusing on the thing we don’t like. Instead, our attention must be on what we want, the story we want to tell, and the life we want to live.…

1
Write Because Your Life Matters 7:43

acum 26 zile7:43

7:43

If you’ve spent a lot of time taking care of other people, it’s easy to start believing their lives, their happiness, their safety and well-being, matters more than yours. It doesn’t. Writing demands we close the door and acknowledge that our life matters to us more than anything else.

1
Your Cabin On The Beach 4:26

acum 5 weeks4:26

4:26

Writers sit down every day at their desk and summon all kinds of feelings, from joy to grief. When you’re not writing, focus less on the result you want, and more on the feeling you want, something you’re already good at.

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Look At The Swans! 5:13

acum 6 weeks5:13

5:13

A story from my brother that serves as a great reminder of how easy it is to lock our attention onto what we don’t want. Creativity is all about thinking deliberately, knowing that whatever we focus on increases.

1
Craft and Desire 6:26

acum 7 weeks6:26

6:26

Our craft evolves to match our creative desires. With time, you will always be “good enough” to write the kind of story you most want to write.

1
When Readers Don’t Get It 5:35

acum 8 weeks5:35

5:35

We can’t let fear of being misunderstood keep us from sharing our work. Not everyone can get everything, and that has to be okay.

1
Feeling Disconnected 5:56

acum 9 weeks5:56

5:56

Sometimes we go a few days or weeks without writing and feel disconnected and dissatisfied. Try not to despair. Your true creative self is always with if you know where to look.

1
The Dream Has Always Been Real 5:22

acum 10 weeks5:22

5:22

Nothing we dream exists outside of us. Just like our stories, it starts within us and then we dream it forward onto the page and into the world.

1
How Writing Teaches Us To Be Free 6:24

acum 11 weeks6:24

6:24

You must be willing to tell the story you most want to tell in the way you most want to tell it. That is freedom.

1
Creating on Purpose 3:28

acum 12 weeks3:28

3:28

Writing is a great way to practice creating on purpose, rather than accidentally or by default. The blank page asks what we want, and only we can answer that.

1
What’s Your Motivation? 7:46

acum 13 weeks7:46

7:46

You need to know your character’s motivation to really understand them and tell compelling stories. You also need to be clear about your own motivation when you sit down to write.

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A Writer’s Best Practice 5:56

acum 14 weeks5:56

5:56

Starting this week, begin practicing how you think when you sit down to write. Practice caring about the story, not what other people think about the story. It’s as important as craft.

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Big Announcement: Fearless Writing Retreat! 1:24

acum 14 weeks1:24

1:24

I'll be hosting a Fearless Writing retreat January 26 - 31 in Portland, OR. Space is limited! I'd love to see you there. Retreat: https://www.portlandretreathouse.com/fearless-writing-with-bill-kenower Bill's website: https://www.williamkenower.com/

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You Can’t Control What You Like 6:26

acum 15 weeks6:26

6:26

We all have a personal aesthetic that’s unique to us. We can’t control it; we can only obey it. In this way, what we create is not dissimilar to the stuff we love that other people created.

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Why I Publish 6:56

acum 16 weeks6:56

6:56

It can be hard to connect to why we publish aside from money and possibly acclaim. It’s important to remember that if you’re sharing something you love, you’re making the world just a little bit better.

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Fantasy and Reality 5:09

acum 17 weeks5:09

5:09

Writing has taught me, and continues to teach me, that the only thing real in life is love. You can’t manufacture it, you can only see it, find it, notice it, and then obey it.

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Accepting All Changes 5:43

acum 18 weeks5:43

5:43

When we work with an editor, we will inevitably accept most of the changes they make to our story. It’s good preparation for sharing our work with readers, giving up our complete ownership as the reader makes the story their own.

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Real Commitment 5:00

acum 19 weeks5:00

5:00

At some point, every artist must commit to their work before they have evidence of success. Let your love of the work be reason enough to make this commitment.

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What Comes Before Craft 5:32

acum 20 weeks5:32

5:32

Learning your craft is critical, but all the know-how in the world is useless without the right mindset. Unless we wait with an open heart and curious mind, we’ll never invite the ideas to which we will apply that craft.

1
Sometimes The Best Thing to Do Is Nothing 6:16

acum 21 weeks6:16

6:16

When you’re struggling, when you think you’re no good, when you feel like your story stinks – don’t try to fix anything. Do nothing until the feeling passes and you can make a better choice.

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Writing As A Way To Meet Yourself 5:04

acum 22 weeks5:04

5:04

The point of writing is never the outcome. An outcome is just an excuse to focus in a meaningful way, and when we do, we meet ourselves in a way we rarely do otherwise.

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Ignore the Odds 8:11

acum 23 weeks8:11

8:11

The only real certainty in writing and in life comes when we follow that guidance that tells us what story to write and how best to write it. If you don’t follow that, life will seem random, even though it isn’t.

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More Fearless Marketing 5:41

acum 24 weeks5:41

5:41

Two helpful tips to get over our resistance to marketing: make it fun, and offer a conversation. It’s nearly impossible to do anything well that we don’t enjoy, and we don’t so much sell our books as invite readers to join a conversation.

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Pain-Free Writing 5:01

acum 25 weeks5:01

5:01

When we write, we’re always seeking the effortless way forward. But we often meet resistance. The pain comes when we try to force our way through the resistance rather than find the better, more natural way.

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Always Be Creative 6:59

acum 26 weeks6:59

6:59

You’re an artist. You don’t have to stop being an artist just because you’re marketing your work. Keep being creative in everything you do. It’ll be more fun and more productive.

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Writing and The Eternal 4:39

acum 27 weeks4:39

4:39

People deal with death and loss all the time. Yet writing requires us to tap into something eternal within ourselves, something undying that is always seeking expression.

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The Elusive Art of Being Yourself 6:10

acum 28 weeks6:10

6:10

It shouldn’t be hard to be yourself. What else could you possibly be? Yet writing, and the arts in general, have taught me like nothing else that being myself requires as much trust as anything I’ve ever done.

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Meet Your Own Expectations 5:31

acum 29 weeks5:31