Shaili & Kate share their thoughts on winter & creating with the seasons.
Happy holidays!
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
We're back and we're troubleshooting how to find momentum again after a break from our creative practice.
Links to Shaili's new website and brilliant Find Your Flow workbook!
It's the final chapter! Wow - what a ride, thank you for joining us on our follow along of Julia Cameron's FINDING WATER, we hope you enjoy this closing episode, we've loved sharing this journey with you! (FYI: we recorded this in December 2022!)
Some of this episodes topics:
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
"you are asked to imagine yourself larger and more sure-footed than you may feel yourself to be"
Welcome to our 5th 'week' in our follow along of Finding Water by Julia Cameron! This episode includes chat about:
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
Join us in this episode as we talk about:
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
We loved this chapter! Kate actually did every exercise this week 😜
Join us in this episode as we chat about:
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
"All creativity requires grounded action. [...] Just as a bucket is filled a drop at a time, so too a creative life develops by the smallest acts." Julia Cameron
In our responses to this week of Julia Camerons' Finding Water programme we talk about feeling upended in life and creative process and how these practices do (or don't!) ground us back into ourselves and our creativity.
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
Hey everyone! Here's an episode where we share with each other and with you dear listener about our projects outside of Idle Writers Club!
In this episode we talk about the power of community and managing out energy levels.
Join Kate's group coaching Making in the Middle here: www.katemaxwellcoach.com/making-in-the-middle
Email Shaili here to find out about working with her here shailis90@gmail.com
(Sorry for the poor sound on Kate's mic!!)
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
For Idle Writers Club season 2, Shaili & Kate embark on a follow along of Julia Cameron's FINDING WATER: The Art of Perseverance.
In this episode we chat about 'The Basics': Artist Dates, Morning Pages and Walks as well as Chapter 1: Finding a Sense of Optimism.
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
Welcome to this cheeky bonus episode! We thought it would be super fun to interview each other about the stories that have been with us at different stages in our lives, from childhood, through adolescents, reading slumps and returns to reading.
This is also our first video podcast, enjoy!
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
Episode 6: Going with the Flow + What Nourishes Our Creative Practice
In the first part of this conversation, we talk about our experiences catching moments of inspiration in our daily life and allowing ourselves to go with the flow more. What happens when, as Kate put it, we think of our process as one of “hacking” or as collage/bricolage, just combining interesting bits as they come to us? What happens when we allow ourselves to be derailed by a shiny new idea in the middle of a longer project, and is it always a bad thing? (spoilers: Shaili had a great experience with doing just that 😂) We also unpack the moments when judgments creep into our creating sessions and how to reorient and soothe ourselves in those moments when fear of the worst case scenario overtakes us. And we talk about the magic of making the work feel new in the moment every time we come back to work on a project + muddling our way through the “messy middle”!
In the second part, we explore what we consume and absorb in our lives that either helps or hinders our creative flow: social media and internet culture (like bookstagram vs TikTok), our routines and usual environments, time to space out, and blocking out certain noise/vibes in our environment. Plus some of our favorite creative solutions to protecting our headspace and our creative time!
References:
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
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Episode 5: Learning Your Craft
In this episode we explore the link between ‘good’ art, ‘good’ craft and the push to ‘do things properly’, we talk about curating a list of ‘greats’ to learn from, the power of imitating to learn, consuming things to fill our cup, as well as ask some personal questions:
References:
Journaling prompts:
What does craft mean to you?
What wise word have stuck with you about the craft of writing?
Who’s approach to craft do you find really inspiring?
This conversation covers some really massive topics that we just cover briefly, but there are some important reminders about what it means to follow your energy and style and not anyone else’s way along with some strategies and exercises to try to tap into your unique expression of creative energy.
We mentioned a lot of different influences and people, so here’s a list if there’s any particular one that resonated with or intrigued you:
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Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
In this episode we talk about the impact productivity and grind culture have on our creativity by making us striving for consistency. We talk about the opposite of this being freedom, playfulness, fun.
Are effort and ‘hard work’ the only ways to create something of value?
Is it useful to bring playfulness into our practice if it feels performative?
How can we bring back lightness to our process when we get bogged down in making it ‘hard work’?
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Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
This episode is about how creatives need time for idleness and how to create pockets of idleness in your day. We also talk about the difference between a more generative idleness and one that feels not very useful, and how to do our creative work in a way that takes the “trying,” or sense of effort, out of it.
Some references we make in this episode;
You can find journal prompts for this episode on our instagram @idlewritersclub as well as a space for comment and discussion, we'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
Connect with Kate & Shaili - @idlewritersclub
Shaili:
Kate
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Welcome to the club! In this episode we explore the need to do things properly, how much it gets in our way and what we’re exploring to free ourselves up from trying to create ‘the right’ way. We talk about MFAs, writing everyday, ‘showing up’ online, sharing your work in progress, being a recovering snob, taking your process seriously whilst having a good time creating, resisting the first step or the first draft. It's great to have you here!
Join in the conversation on instagram @idlewritersclub or leave us a voice message at anchor.fm/idlewritersclub
Here’s a quick recap of the references we make in this episode:
Journaling prompts