Closing out this batch of episodes and heading into summer, I'm re-releasing one of my most popular shows from last year: Searching for White Space.
Because we’re conditioned to link our productivity to self-worth, we’re not always practiced in the art of releasing and slowing down, so I wanted to share my own experience in an effort to help you find your own white space in whatever season you need it.
Episode Highlights:
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
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Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
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Seven years ago this spring, I was in Brooklyn on book tour for my literary cookbook, Eat This Poem. I was there for a live radio spot and a bookstore event, and had time to find the cutest coffee shop where I parked myself for three hours to write the draft of my proposal for Wild Words, which came out a couple of years later.
When starting to work on episodes for this season of the podcast, I came across an old draft called “Notes from the Road.” This document was filled with questions I was asked at events—the kinds of questions that were so good I wanted to share them with everyone who wasn’t there in person.
Questions We Discuss
If you have 3 kids and 20 minutes of free time, what should you work on first?
How do you get back to writing if you haven’t done it in a while?
Does your writing process change with each book?
What’s the secret of balancing writing with everything else?
Have you ever been afraid of success?
When you do have a margin, how do you avoid just scrolling through Instagram?
How do you reconcile wanting to write for yourself, but also the desire to get affirmation for your work?
How do you be content with just being a writer, and not being the next Ann Patchett?
Linkable Mentions
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Say hi on Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
Today I’m answering a listener question: How do you know when you’re done? It seems straightforward on the surface—you’re done when the essay is published, when the book comes out, or when the workshop is over. But not every writing project has defined edges. In fact, this episode argues that when we’re wondering if we’re done with something, we’re actually asking the wrong question.
Conversation Starters
“When something is finished, it might mean something is true. It could mean someone will read your words. It means you now need to relate to this part of your life differently. You need to tell a new story about what happened to yourself. None of these things are bad, but when we're habituated to the old narratives, change is always hard.”
Episode Highlights
Understanding completion as a phased experience
Questions to ask yourself to gauge where you are in the process
Examples of finishing—from blogging to Facebook groups
The advice MFK Fisher gave Ruth Reichel that changed the course of her career (and her relationship to finishing)
Linkable Mentions
Episode 26: Cultivating Trust in the Writer’s Life
Episode 50: Make Space, Not Time & Other Insights From the Sacred Pause
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Say hi on Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
Because of social media’s shape-shifting nature (hello, algorithms) it’s useful to check in a few times a year to see if it’s still serving you, and if there’s anything you’d like to change about how you’re using it. This episode is less about whether or not you should be on these platforms in the first place, and more about how to be in relationship to our visibility and the internet at large in ways that are inspired by nature and our bodies.
Conversation Starters
“It might seem strange to give this much thought to how we’re using apps like Instagram, but I think it’s really important, especially because as Annie Dillard once wrote, “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Episode Highlights
A framework for social media use based on your body’s inner seasons, the lunar calendar, and nature’s shifts
Prioritizing our needs within the framework of a larger digital ecosystem
5 suggestions for using social media based on your menstrual cycle
6 ways to play with the cyclical energy of your choosing (and still benefit from Instagram)
Linkable Mentions
How Embracing the 4 Phases of Your Menstrual Cycle Can Expand Creative Potential
Episode 30: A Post-Pandemic Relationship with Social Media
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Say hi on Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
If you’re ready to give yourself the gift of space, time, and rest, this episode is for you. I’m sharing the highs and lows of a recent writing retreat I took with a friend, plus lots of takeaways to help you plan your own DIY getaway.
Episode Highlights
Why even one night away is always worth it (and how to make the most of a short trip)
Thinking through the when, where, and how—logistics are covered
The pros and cons of solo vs. group retreats
The value of meal planning (including my favorite sparkling water and a tip for when you return home)
Seeing the momentum before and after a retreat as adding to the overall experience
How to capture retreat magic at home
Linkable Mentions
Substack Newsletter: Diary of a Writing Retreat
Episode 52: Micro-Shifts to Prioritize Writing
What to bring on a writing retreat (Edan Lepucki)
Aura Bora sparkling water
Vacation Anticipation Can Boost Happiness (Well+Good)
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Say hi on Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
Writing in the margins isn’t just the actual time captured, it’s also the belief that these micro-moments add up to something. In Part 1 of our liminal space series, we discussed the “sacred pause,” Part 2 covered how to approach liminal seasons as a vacation from writing, and today we explore re-entry. What happens after we’ve moved through a pause, a break, or liminal season but also find the same schedules and demands waiting for us?
Conversation Starters
“Big shifts are harder to achieve and make sustainable long-term, so pick one, maybe two things to start with and see what happens when you prioritize your writing again with both your energy AND your time.”
Episode Highlights
How I moved through creative liminal space in 2023
Experiments to reconnect to your writing practice
Why writing magazines can help you feel connected
What’s happened since making micro-shifts to prioritize writing
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Say hi on Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
After spending three weeks away from home this winter (more on why in the episode), it got me thinking about how we spend time off from our writing routines, and how to approach it when we do. This episode is full of real-time insights on preparing for a break, including suggestions for mindfully setting expectations and cultivating curiosity along the way.
Episode Highlights
What *not* to do when you’re preparing for a break or vacation
How to set realistic expectations
6 things to try when you’re out of your regular writing routine
My biggest takeaways from three weeks away from home
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
In a world driven by doing, pausing can feel lazy, inaccessible, and scary. Most of us know that rest is important, but often find ourselves caught between what our bodies are telling us and the cultural expectations we’re pushing up against. It’s a lot to navigate, and takes time to soften into. In Part 1 of a 3-part series on liminal space and creative pauses, hear the wisdom from three writers who have approached this in different ways, plus a handful of practical suggestions for embracing this energy in daily life.
Conversation Starters
“I had intentionally brought no distractions: no email, no books, no articles to read, no doing-things, no podcasts, no small or big work tasks, no lists, no organizing intentions, nothing. That was it. It sounds easy. It wasn’t.” —author Molly Caro May on her recent sabbatical
Episode Highlights
3 authors on how pausing has impacted their creativity
Reflections from book burnout, starting a brand new book, and planned sabbaticals
The attachment between worth and productivity
Practical suggestions for embracing the pause in daily life
Linkable Mentions
The Pause and Creating Conditions (Molly Caro May)
“Body Full of Stars: Female Rage and the Passage Into Motherhood” by Molly Caro May
How I Start a New Book (Katherine May)
Episode 34: The Necessity of Winter with Rebecca Magee
Episode 40: Searching for White Space
Episode 41: The Discomfort of White Space
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Welcome to a new season of Wild Words! I’ve recently completed my seasonal reflection ritual, and am sharing my process to support your writing practice too. We’re covering what came up in winter, the books I’m looking forward to reading, what my writing life looks right now, plus a few podcast updates.
Episode Highlights
How a reflection ritual supports your writing practice
Why wintering doesn’t always mean not writing
The books I’m excited to read this spring
8 questions to ask yourself as you head into a new season
Linkable Mentions
You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World by Ada Limón
Rooted Kitchen: Seasonal Recipes, Stories, and Ways to Connect to the Natural World by Ashley Rodriguez
Around our Table: Wholesome Recipes to Feed Your Family and Friends by Sara Forte
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan
The Opt-Out Family: How to Give Your Kids What Technology Can't by Erin Loechner
Let’s Connect
Visit my website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging Substack newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Say hi on Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
Learning what makes your brain and body feel supported and safe is an act of self-love. With a spirit of experimentation, this episode offers a variety of ways to soothe your nervous system, tune in to what feels good, and prioritize rest on a daily basis.
Episode Highlights
Why experimentation is a key to understanding your nervous system
The easiest type of breathwork to try
Which types of books are the most relaxing to read
Why rewatching old sitcoms can help your body integrate
A pitch for touching trees
The essential oils I can’t live without
Linkable Mentions
The Book of Lymph by Lisa Levitt Gainsley
Your Brain on Art by by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
Episode 29: How the Nervous System Impacts Your Writing Life
Rocky Mountain Oils Counting Sheep blend
Let’s Connect
Sign up for my encouraging newsletter (including Wild Words podcast updates!)
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
Surprise! After a year of consideration, I’ve officially moved my newsletter to Substack and this episode is the audio version of my first official post. From my brief history in the entrepreneurial world (hello, burnout) to the slow and methodical steps I’ve taken to simplify how I show up (and where), we’re talking about what it means to be a writer online today.
Episode Highlights
The mistakes I made when pursuing and online business
4 reasons it took me so long to stop doing all the things
How Substack supports my decision to embrace ease
Why paying for a newsletter service was less about the money and more about keeping my body in survival mode
Linkable Mentions
Why Your Life Purpose is Bigger Than Capitalist Productivity
Author Edan Lepucki’s after school problem
The blogging boom is back—and it’s happening on Substack
Let’s Connect
Sign up for my encouraging SUBSTACK newsletter (including Wild Words podcast updates!)
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Every November, writers from around the world commit to writing daily for 30 days, with the goal of generating 50,000 words of a new novel. National Novel Writing Month has enormous potential for helping us make progress, but not everyone feels comfortable with the parameters. If you have a new project you’re itching to make progress on, the concept of NaNoWriMo can be useful, but it’s not one size fits all.
Episode Highlights
The benefits of participating in NaNoWriMo
Why poets and memoirists (not just novelists) should consider it as a tool
How to customize the experience to work for your current season
Why writing 1,600 words per day doesn’t work for everyone (and what to try instead)
Public and private accountability ideas
Schedule tweaks that fit into your day
Linkable Mentions
Let’s Connect
Get Wild Words podcast updates on Substack
Sign up for my encouraging monthly newsletter
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
My guest today is Tiffany Clarke Harrison and we’re talking about the shadow side of publication—something many writers experience but rarely discuss publicly. While it’s normal to experience self-doubt, comparison, anxiety, and feeling like you want to crawl into a hole a couple of weeks before your book comes out, we often meet ourselves with shame, believing that we should simply be grateful for the opportunity. But what we really need is to offer tender compassion, and get in the habit of expanding our capacity for joy long before launch day.
Episode Highlights
Why paying attention to how our body feels in different situations is the first step to preparing yourself for publication
Recognizing and avoiding the shame spiral of “I should be grateful” in the midst of “this also feels scary”
A 7-word mantra we can use during publication (or anytime!) you’re heading into a visible season
The importance of expanding our capacity for joy long before books are released
The play-by-play experience of finding out Obama chose her book for his summer reading list (and why she was ready to experience it)
Why choosing presence is a gift to yourself and your nervous system
The difference between bragging and celebrating your work
Meet Tiffany
Tiffany Clarke Harrison is an author, author mentor/book coach, and intuitive introvert whose blood runs thick with feelings and beauty and purpose: writing stories that reflect what it means to be human, and guiding authors of literary fiction to do the same. She writes about feelings: the ones that feel good, the ones that don’t, and definitely the ones you don’t want anyone to know. She graduated from Queens University of Charlotte with her MFA in fiction, and her novel, Blue Hour, was listed as one of the best books of 2023 by Vulture and made Barack Obama’s 2023 summer reading list.
Links:
Conversation Starters
“When you have wanted something for so long and it’s arrived, or it’s about to land, your body goes ‘I don’t know what to do with this. We know how to *not* have this, but we don’t know how to have this.’”
“We really don’t celebrate enough. I tell this to clients all the time. Even if it’s ‘I just wrote a page,’ or ‘I just got this sentence out that really scared me,’ what are you going to do to celebrate? Because celebrating stretches that nervous system to receive more of it.”
“Let’s just lean forward. We’re just gonna breathe. For a while I just sat there… I don’t feel like a real person, but we’re gonna try and breathe and be really excited and also, I realized you have been building up to this moment right here.”
“People want to feel joy. They want to feel good. Will some people be annoyed? Sure. That’s fine. There are so many more people who want to experience joy even when it is through someone else’s excitement.”
Let’s Connect:
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging monthly newsletter
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
Ever since Substack came on the scene, writers have flocked to the platform which claims to be a social media alternative that supports writers getting paid for their work. But is it something all authors should use? If you’re Substack curious, trying to decide whether or not to host your newsletter there, or just want some thoughtful ways to think through the decision, don’t miss this episode.
Episode Highlights:
What Substack is (and isn’t)
Pros and cons of using the platform
Deciding when to turn on paid subscriptions
Soulful questions to mull over as you decide where to show up online
How running a paid Substack is impacting my decision to use it now
Linkable Mentions
Off the Grid: To Substack or Not to Substack?
Why Substack Is Terrible for Creators (old article)
Let’s Connect:
Get Wild Words podcast updates on Substack
Sign up for my encouraging monthly newsletter
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
In her new book, Rest Easy, Ximena Vengoechea describes rest as “a state of being in which nothing is required of us. It’s a time where we can just be.” For writers who are typing away in addition to holding down a day job and parenting, rest can feel illusive, but as it turns out, rest is an essential tool of any creative practice. In our modern world, accessing restorative rest requires awareness and intention alongside a healthy spirit of experimentation, which is exactly what we’re talking about in this practical and empowering episode.
Meet Ximena: Ximena Vengoechea is a user researcher, writer, and illustrator whose work on personal and professional development has been published in Inc., The Washington Post, Newsweek, Forbes, and Huffington Post. She is the author of the new book, Rest Easy: Discover Calm and Abundance through the Radical Power of Rest. Her previous book is Listen Like You Mean it: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection (Penguin Random House). Ximena is a contributor at Fast Company and The Muse, and writes Letters from Ximena, a newsletter about staying curious, getting creative, and living well. She is also the creator of the popular project The Life Audit. Ximena is a keynote speaker on topics such as empathetic and inclusive listening, navigating difficult conversations, and preventing burnout. She previously worked at Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and currently advises select startups and executives on user research, executive communication, and resting well.
A few highlights:
The 3 types of rest (it’s not just napping)
Undoing the relationship between productivity and self-worth
The unseen work of writing and how it informs our rest practice
The false promise of multitasking
What happens to our brain when we take breaks
How reading outside your genre can be restful
6 rest tips informed by the writer’s life
With a new season upon us, the time is ripe for considering new routines. On this episode we’re talking about the transition from summer to fall, including why it can feel more intense (especially for sensitive souls). I’m sharing six categories of routine I’m currently thinking about—including beverages and literary journal submissions—to give you ideas to play with and inspiration to take with you into the cooler days ahead.
Episode Highlights
Why fall can bring up lots of big feelings
An essential question to ask during this transition time
6 ways to embrace the new season
The calm that comes from cleaning
The one ritual I recommend to everyone (and it only takes 10 minutes a day)
Linkable Mentions
Sheryl Paul: The Grief and Joy of Autumn
Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
Episode 38: The Highly Sensitive Writer
Let’s Connect
Get Wild Words podcast updates on Substack
Sign up for my encouraging monthly newsletter
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
As much as we long for time to rest and afternoons to daydream, the reality can sometimes be… uncomfortable. After taking the summer to pause, I’m sharing four lessons I came away with, including why I almost thought this experiment was a bad idea, the project I dusted off and completed in a single weekend, and more.
Episode Highlights
On creating pauses any time of year
What to do when new ideas come rushing through
How much work it really takes to create white space
Why white space can feel uncomfortable
Linkable Mentions
Episode 40: Searching for White Space
Wintering by Katherine May
Let’s Connect:
Nature expands and contracts, and so do we. It’s normal to experience periods of needing more rest, longing for time off after completing a big project, or craving the freedom to write in our journals without worrying about what the words might (or should) become. But because we’re conditioned to link our productivity to self-worth, we’re not always practiced in the art of releasing. Join me as we explore what it looks like to offer ourselves more spaciousness, how to take intentional pauses, and why it’s essential to honor our personal and creative needs in any season.
Episode Highlights
White space on the page vs. white space in our creative lives
A personal update on why my life was put on pause this spring
Why nature isn’t productive 24/7 (and we shouldn’t be either)
Struggling with resistance when taking time to rest
My 4-step process for cultivating white space in any season
Linkable Mentions
Episode 18: Essentialism for Writers
Needy Podcast: What Expands Must Also Contract
Let’s Connect
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging newsletter, Over Tea
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
Cheryl Wilder and I met four years ago at a writing conference, and I'm so excited to share our conversation to celebrate National Poetry Month! Cheryl’s collection, Anything That Happens, centers around the aftermath of a car crash that she caused in her early twenties. From spending the night in jail to becoming a mother, these poems explore relationships in all their forms—with parents, friends, and ourselves—through the backdrop of shame, self-worth, and forgiveness. We’ve all had moments in life when we’ve made a mistake or wish something turned out differently, and this conversation proves it’s possible to move from the depths of shame to the redemption of self-forgiveness.
Episode Highlights:
How a set of car keys changed the trajectory of her life
Why she didn’t feel she deserved to write for 7 years (and how she found her way back)
How writing a memoir first became another step in the writing and healing process
A writing mantra she lives by
The both/and of denying herself joy while simultaneously wanting to help others
The decision to shift from writing a memoir to crafting a collection of poetry
How her body informs her daily writing practice
The secret to writing while raising young children
Meet Cheryl:
Cheryl Wilder’s book Anything That Happens, a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection (Press 53, 2021), received Second Finalist in the 2022 Poetry Society of Virginia North American Poetry Book Award and Honorable Mention in the Brockman-Campbell Book Award. Her chapbook, What Binds Us, was published in 2017 by Finishing Line Press. Co-founder of Waterwheel Review and president of the Burlington Writers Club, Cheryl received a 2023 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Support Grant.
Links:
Book: Anything That Happens
Conversation Starters
“I made the decision I wouldn’t write because I didn’t deserve anything that brought me happiness. At the same time, I held a thought that I wanted to help people, to share my story at some point in some way so that I could help somebody not get in the car in the first place, or help someone who’s been in that situation, on either side.”
“I’m an optimist. Part of me believed when I read wise writers or philosophers that I did deserve happiness. There was always that beacon of other people’s stories that one day you can find peace and you deserve it. But I had to work towards that.”
“Desmond Tutu talks about how shame hides. By bringing shame into the room, it resonates with people because people feel shame throughout their lives for one thing or another. The allowance of that emotion is huge.”
Linkable Mentions
McIntyre’s Books (Pittsboro, NC)
The Book of Forgiving by Desmond Tutu & Mpho Tutu
Let’s Connect:
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging monthly newsletter, Over Tea
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author
High sensitivity is a term coined by Elaine Aron who wrote The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You, and refers to how deeply you perceive and respond to the world, both your physical and emotional environments. The more deeply your brain processes information, the more sensitive you are. Sensitivity is a fundamental human trait (we’re all sensitive to some degree), but those with a higher degree of sensitivity experience and process the world differently. As creatives, this can be powerful, but it also means we need extra tending, rest, and recovery time. Tune in to learn more about thriving as an HSP writer, and how to support yourself along the way.
Episode Highlights:
The acronym that makes it easier to understand the HSP trait
How much of your sensitivity is genetic vs. the environment you were raised in
8 signs you might be an HSP
My personal journey to embracing sensitivity
5 ways you might encounter sensitivity in your writing life (and how to work with it)
Linkable Mentions:
Book: The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine Aron
Book: Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World by Jenn Granneman & Andre Sólo
Let’s Connect:
Website: nicolemgulotta.com
Sign up for my encouraging newsletter, Over Tea
Curl up with one of my books: WILD WORDS and EAT THIS POEM
Instagram: @nicolegulotta.author