Interview with Maria Ross: Author & Marketing Muse

I met Maria Ross over at She Writes, and we talked about Kindle marketing. One of the exciting parts of being a writer! But the things she talks about in this week's creativity interview are much more important... 

Welcome, Maria. What drives your creative work?

I’ve always loved a good story. I’ve pursued many passions  - acting, writing, marketing – that all come down to communicating a great story in order to engage, delight, move, anger or provoke an audience. Words are powerful when strung together in just the right way to exactly the right person and precisely the right time – and relish the challenge at getting better and more efficient at this art each and every day. And this also means I adore witty banter, a good conversationalist and a well-timed zinger!

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?

That’s a hard one, as I’ve been creative my entire life. From dancing and singing at age 6 to acting as a child to doing plays and writing in my adult life – even to creating marketing campaigns within my career. It never even occurred to me that creativity would not be a part of whatever profession I chose or path I traveled down. If anything, I guess the only thing would be not to be afraid to spotlight your creativity even in the business world. Now more than ever that is a skill that is highly sought after.

Interview with Roman Krznaric: Cultural thinker & author

Today we are honoured to be welcoming author Roman Krznaric to our series of creativity interviews. Roman is a founding member of the School of Life in London, and his most  recent book, How to Find Fulfilling Work, in which he quotes Fiona talking about Writing Our Way Home. The book came out last week and I look forward to reading the whole thing.

Roman, welcome. What drives your creative work?
A disastrous cultural inheritance from the Renaissance is the idea that creativity is about originality. We have in our minds the image of geniuses like Michelangelo, who was worshipped for his stunning originality, which seemed to be a divine gift from above. But I think that is off-putting for most of us, and makes us feel that if we aren't being brilliant and original then we are lacking a creative streak.

Rather than originality, I think creativity is more about self-expression. Cooking can be creative in this sense – it's not about inventing some amazing unknown dish, but just putting something of yourself into it, even if it's simply adding some extra topping to a frozen pizza so it resembles a Jackson Pollock painting. So my writing is driven, in part, by a desire for self-expression. I read my work out loud not so much listening out for original ideas, but for whether it 'sounds like me' and expresses my vision of the world.

I'm especially interested in how we can make our lives more fulfilling and adventurous in ways that also contribute to social change. That's why I've dedicated much of the last ten years to the subject of empathy, which I think has the capacity to do both. And it's also why, in my new book, How to Find Fulfilling Work, I quote Aristotle saying, 'where the needs of the world and your talents meet, there lies your vocation'. He's advising us to discover that place where personal fulfilment and social value intersect. My creativity, such that I have it, is directed towards exploring this intersection.

Interview with Brenda Miller and Holly J. Hughes Authors of The Pen and The Bell: Mindful Writing in a Busy World

Brenda Miller and Holly J. Hughes are the authors of The Pen and The Bell: Mindful Writing in a Busy World, which has just been released by Skinner House Books. As you might guess, their philosophy is pretty tuned in with our own... We're very happy to welcome both Brenda and Holly to Writing Our Way Home today. 

What drives your creative work?

Brenda: That’s a good question. Being creative can often take a back seat to everything else that appears to be more important. But I find that I’m not truly myself unless I’m writing regularly. I become depressed, cranky, and out of sorts. So I’d say that writing, for me, activates some essential center in the brain that contributes to happiness. When I’m writing, I’m making connections of all sorts, so I’m not quite as isolated; instead the world becomes alive with possibility.

Holly: Like Brenda, I’m happier when I’m writing. The act of creating somehow keeps me connected with my essential self and, at the same time, more connected with the world. I feel more alert, more grounded, more open to serendipity. That’s not to say that it’s easy—our lives are filled with tempting distractions—but when I do manage to get to my desk regularly, I feel more alive. I’m looking at the world through the lens of poetry and imagination and that enriches all that I see.

Interview with R. N. Morris, Author extraordinaire

Fiona writes: I love Roger's historical detective novels based in Russia, which are both beautifully written and page-turners. I loaned Kaspa his last one and now he's hooked too! We're very pleased to welcome him to our creativity interview spot today.

What drives your creative work?
The desire to get out what’s inside. I say ‘desire’, but it’s more of a compulsion. I think I become occupied by stories, possessed, almost. It can be quite an abstract feeling at first, but still concrete, if that makes sense. It may be a feeling that takes hold of me at a certain moment, perhaps driving on a long journey and being struck for a moment by the colours and character of the sky. That there is something about that transient moment that corresponds with a sense of a story inside me and I then know I have to try to get it out somehow. As the process develops, and I get into the actual writing, then it becomes more focused but is still essentially the same urge to get out what’s inside. It becomes more urgent as I go on.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?
It’s all right. Don’t worry. It will happen but it won’t be like you think it’s going to be. So relax. And enjoy your life a bit more.

Interview and book review with Katherine Jenkins, author of 'Lessons from the Monk I Married'

Fiona writes: We have a special creativity interview today. Regular readers might already know that I married a Buddhist monk of my own, Kaspa, and so when I came across the title of Katherine's book online I just had to get in touch...

Katherine first travelled to South Korea to look for the kind of answers a lot of us struggle with - what's it all about? How can we find peace, happiness and meaning in our lives? During her first months there, she happened to visit a remote temple, where she happened to meet a Buddhist monk, Seong Yoon Lee. Months later, they met again by chance—and fell in love. The rest is history...

Katherine's journey was much longer, more complicated and more challenging than my own brief intense courtship. Throughout the ups and downs, she takes learning from the difficulties life throws at her. How can we surrender and let go when we want to cling? Paradoxically, when we can surrender, what (or who) we want is often more able to come towards us...

A lovely book - very human, very ordinary (despite extraordinary circumstances), and very wise. Just like Katherine, I'd bet.

And so I'm very pleased to be welcoming Katherine to our creativity interview series today.

An interview with Sean M Madden: Creative Writing & Mindful Living Guide

When I found Sean's profile it felt like I was reading Writing Our Way Home's mission statement. It's always lovely meet kindred spirits. And it's also lovely to welcome him to our series of creativity interviews today.

Welcome, Sean. What drives your creative work?
A love and corresponding need to reflect back my own experience, my own inner truths, and — as I've said countless times in my writing and mindful living classes — to witness the world within and without. To simply witness is itself a creative act. Indeed, to be is to create. Too often we relegate creativity to certain artistic types — writers, visual artists, musicians, etc. — rather than recognize that we are, each of us, inherently creative beings. Our every act creates our world, which we, in turn, share with others.

An interview with Jamie Ridler: Creative Living Coach

We are delighted to welcome Jamie Ridler to our series of creativity interviews today. Over to you, Jamie!

What drives your creative work?

An unquenchable inner impulse. Ever since I was a kid I just had to create, create, create. I just love to turn an idea into a happening or a piece or a “something it wants to be”. Bringing an idea to life in the world, that’s magic to me.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?

Don’t worry. All of these threads, all of your interests and experiences, they will eventually come together and make sense. And the beautiful thing is – you don’t have to understand in order to make it happen. Just relax and enjoy what you’re doing. It will weave itself together before you and you will love what you see.

An interview with Fiona Robertson: Textile Artist

We've already interviewed Fiona's husband Doug in our creativity series. He shared one of Fiona's pieces on Facebook I was immediately seduced by its colours and intricacy... We're very pleased to welcome Fiona and to showcase her work here at WOWH.

Welcome, Fiona. What drives your creative work?
As an Artist I have always felt an inherent need to create. Every time I observe a particular light in the landscape or find an intriguing object I instantly start to analyse and question, an internal dialogue begins. I always have my camera and sketchbook with me. I don’t think it is a conscious decision to create, it is a definite need.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?
I would tell myself to have more self-belief, to work very hard at developing my individual voice. When I left Art School I was very influenced by other Artists, I spent too much time trying to please other people and be more like them.

It has taken years but I have now found a visual language that just makes sense to me, everything has clicked in to place. I know what I am doing is right because my ideas just flow.

An interview with Michael Nobbs: Artist

We much admire Michael's quiet, honest and encouraging presence in the world. He's an inspiration to all of us to get better at looking after ourselves whilst still getting stuff done... we're honoured to welcome him to WOWH today.

Michael, what drives your creative work?
Ill health has meant that I have had to build a career that fits in with my physical ups and downs. Over the years I've learnt that the best way to do this is to work on small creative acts on as regular a basis as my energy allows. These small endeavours have (slowly!) built into a body of work (books, drawings and my online writings) and a sustainable creative career.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?
Don't push yourself so hard!

How do you keep creating when things get difficult?
Some days I don't do anything to keep myself creating when things get difficult. Some days the only thing to do is to stop, take care of myself and trust that a better day will be along soon. On other days I drink plenty of tea and take a lot of naps!

An interview with Lynda Bruce: Artist and Writer

We found Lynda's beautiful lush colour-sodden paintings when she joined our community and we're very happy to be hosting her here today.

Welcome, Lynda. What drives your creative work?
A passion for the beauty of light and colour. The love of slinging paint around and how this takes me to surprising places and new discoveries. Each time is like a journey. The starting point is usually an experience that has affected me emotionally. Creative work (painting, writing, music) allows the possibility of taking in: grinding, mixing, testing and tasting until there is something to offer back to the world that tells of an experience. It is an intimate offering, a tangible remnant of the intangible...love made visible.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?
I would tell my younger self that it will be a rough ride sometimes with many ups and downs, but 30 years later you will still be passionate and devoted to your creative work. I would suggest to my younger self that her definition of success will change radically with time. I would say always take heart and trust yourself.

An interview with Kristin Noelle, Artist, Writer & Trust Coach

Fiona writes: I first got in touch with Kristin years ago as I was impressed by her writing and her approach. Last August, when we lost our cat Silver, one of her posts about death was just what I needed to read and was deeply important to me. Thank you Kristin, for your writing, and for spending time with us here today!


What drives your creative work?

Trust. The concept and my experience of it have been so central to my path of healing and waking up that it's become a calling for me - to creatively express and inspire the things that trust can do.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?

Everything belongs. Truly. Each stage of the path, including the fear and the worry and the wobbly knees that accompany every new endeavor: these are all your teachers. The sooner you can ease yourself into believing it, the kinder and gentler your experience of your work will be.

An interview with Caro Sweet: Sculptor

Caro lives a stone's throw from Malvern. We met at our local business breakfast (at the wonderful Blue Ginger Cafe) and I'm looking forward to mooching around her studio sometime soon! We're delighted to invite her to join our series of interviews with creative people.

Welcome, Caro. What drives your creative work?
My passion for life. It is the way I express my understanding and appreciation of both the natural world around me and my inner world. Being constantly curious about life, I feel like a scout adventuring beyond the far reaches of known territory, returning to communicate my discoveries and experiences through the language of form and light, movement and texture. Bringing a perception to physical fruition as a sculpture in iron or bronze is always exciting and fulfilling.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?
Know your goals and don’t be afraid to change those over time. If you don’t know where you are going, you are likely to end up somewhere else. I review my goals as an artist at least once a year. It helps keep me heading towards where I would like to get to and enables me to put in place the practicalities that I need to succeed.

An interview with Matthew Licht: Author

Fiona writes: I first came across Matthew Licht's work when I was struck by the beautiful cover on his new collection from Salt (below). He was kind enough to do a 'story swap' and I'm looking forward to settling down with "Justine, Joe & the Zen Garbageman". We're happy he's joining our creativity interview series.

Welcome, Matthew. What drives your creative work?
Satan’s a hard master, but not a hypocrite. I get ideas. Sometimes they just come, or else I see something that makes me wonder. How did those two old guys walking down the street meet each other? Why did someone think it was a good idea to stack his little terrace with used auto tires? Sometimes I’ll hear the punch-line of a joke and try to figure out the build-up. Sometimes a name is enough to drive a story. Ideas are a fantastic gift. Got to be grateful, humble and respectful upon receipt. Horrible feelings follow on the heels of ideas undeveloped.

An interview with Colleen Leonardi: Writer, Editor, Choreographer

Fiona writes: I found Colleen Leonardi through her lovely blog, and soon discovered that she was multi-talented... choreography, cooking, yoga, writing... a fine candidate for our series of creativity interviews. We're very privileged to welcome her here today.

Welcome, Colleen. What drives your creative work?
My love of grace and the imagination, and an endless sense of curiosity. It’s a longing I feel in my body to understand things, transform things, and give back. When I was young and training in dance, it was the desire to jump higher, turn faster, and dance as much as possible. My writing life was private. I kept journals and promised myself that someday I would be a writer, but for the time being, dance was my passion. As I grew up, experienced the world, and came to accept how I see things, my passion for dance and my private desire for writing mellowed, each moving into the other. Eventually, I came to see my all of my life as creative work. And the longing I have in my body to write, cook, move, knit, make things needs to be expressed on a daily basis in order to feel like I’m connected and contributing to the world. It’s also a matter of survival. For me, the drive to create is like the drive to eat. If I don’t do it, I get hungry, cranky, and weak.

An interview with Rosemary Starace: Artist, Writer

Today it is our great pleasure to welcome Rosemary Starace to our series of creativity interviews.

Welcome, Rosemary! What drives your creative work?
It just seems to be my nature. It’s mysterious to me. It is simply something I want to do.

What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time and meet yourself at the beginning of your creative career?
I would say, “This is your nature, you can trust it.”

How do you keep creating when things get difficult?
In a certain sense art and life are always difficult! And so, the answer to this question would be, “Accept the difficulty!” When I was young, I confided to an advisor that I found it very hard to get to my studio and start working. I was asking him how I could change that; he asked me to ponder how I would deal with it if it never changed.

An interview with Terrance Keenan: Artist, Writer, Monk

Fiona writes: Sometimes you come across an author who speaks to you as if they knew you. Writing that answers questions you didn't even know you had.

Terrance Keenan is one of those authors for me. I was amazed when I wrote to him and he actually wrote back. It turns out he's an ordinary human being after all, as well as being a hero of mine. As you can tell, I'm very happy to welcome him to our series of interviews with creative people today.

Terrance, what drives your creative work?
I feel I was put here to do it. Not by anyone or thing, but it is why I am here. And as I age I am driven harder because there are certain things I feel I must finish before I die and time is simply running out. It's a great excuse for cutting out what doesn't matter. But if you want to go back to the roots of it, I can identify two experiences that have marked me and which I think about, without exaggeration, every day.

An interview with Gregg Krech: Director of ToDo Institute

This week I'm delighted to welcome Gregg Krech to our series of creativity interviews. Gregg is the founding director of the Todo Institute, and the author of Naikan, Gratitude, Grace and the Japanese Art of Self Reflection. He is also the editor of Thirty Thousand Days: A Journal for Purposeful Living.

I think that the style of Gregg's work, and his approach to life, parallels what we are aiming for here at WOWH. He describes his attiude to mental health as one, "that values action rather than talk, attention to the world rather than attention to oneself, and gratitude for the support of others rather than blaming them for our problems."

Gregg lives in Vermont with his wife Linda, daughters Chani and Abbie, and their Golden Retriever, Barley

Hello Gregg, great to have you with us. One with the first question. What is it that drives your creative work?

I believe the world, particularly western society, is headed in the wrong direction.  My writing is an effort to bring people back to a set of values that make life worth living: gratitude, compassion, kindness, self-awareness, interdependence, purpose and constructive action.  My involvement in Japanese Psychology (Morita and Naikan therapies) was born from a desire to find a way of reconciling our spiritual and psychology worlds.  Many Westerners have discovered profound wisdom in teachings from the East, but struggle with that wisdom and the nearly irresistible pull of contemporary western lifestyles.  We need an approach to everyday life that is unified and grounded, so we don’t get caught up in a current that takes us away from an authentic and meaningful life.  

Ten years ago I stumbled upon the phrase “Thirty Thousand Days” which is the average number of days someone in western society has to live.  This idea is a driving force in my work and in my personal life.  We’re reminded of our own mortality and the preciousness of our human life.  Our limits challenge us to find purpose and meaning in this life.  So my writing is often driven by the desire to remind people of the precious nature of their time and to help them use it wisely.  

An interview with Louise McClary: Artist

For our honeymoon in June, Kaspa & I hunted high and low for the perfect place to spend our week in Cornwall.

We found it in Louise & Matt's Caervallack Garden Cottage in Helston, and as well as Matt's beautiful garden buildings, cob walls and wooden bridge (and their stunning gardens) we were taken by Louise's paintings in the cottage. We're very pleased to welcome her to our series of creativity interviews today. Maybe Matt will be along later...

Bio: born 1958 penzance cornwall * penzance art school 1975 * head decorator troika pottery 1976- 1981 tenant no 6 porthmer studios  1990 - 1995 *

1995 moved to the lizard peninsula * solo shows london , bath , st ives * many selected mixed shows all over England  stations of the cross in cathedrals Truro and southall * arts council award 2003 * work in many private and public collections * www.louisemcclary.com * next exhibition "your green voice " ..Kestle Barton ,manacan , cornwall ..march 31st till may 7th 2012 .. www.kestlebarton.co.uk

Louise, what drives your creative work?
 its not like anything drives it in a way , i have no choice ..

An interview with Brad Colerick: singer-songwriter

Billboard Magazine called Brad Colerick "one of a baker's dozen of acts to watch in the folk community around the world."

He's the first musician we've interviewed, and I'm delighted that we can share his work and his answers with you. (I love a bit of American folk). I've embedded one of his music videos in the post below, so you can listen while you read.

Brad first made contact with WOWH way before we were called Writing Our Way Home, when he had some creativity coaching sessions with Fiona.

Brad hails from Nebraksa but moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and built a successful career making music for commercials. He's had the pleasure of working with a long list of legendary artists including BB King and the late Johnny Cash. Colerick's CDs have landed in the Top 5 of both the Folk DJ and Euro-Americana charts.

Hi Brad, great to have you with us. We begin, as always, with a question about motivation. What drives your creative work?
Unfortunately, it's usually panic and desperation. I observe the world around me, find ideas that resonate within me, then fight like hell to find time to sit and write and bring them to the surface. I feel incredibly fulfilled after finishing a project which is what propels me to the next one.

An interview with Dharmavidya David Brazier: writer, psychotherapist and Pureland Buddhist master

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dharmavidaya to this blog. I first met Dharmavidaya on a psychotherapy training course in 2006 and not long after that I asked to be his disciple.

He has a deeply rooted faith which underpins his other work. It's always risky to put words into other people's mouths, but if I had to frame that faith in words I would say that "all things flow from Love". His answers to the questions below are comprehensive and well worth reading slowly.

Dharmavidya travels all over the world, teaching Buddhism and Buddhist Psychology, he has eight published books including his first poetry collection Her Mother's Eyes and Other Poems, and Love and its Disapointment: the meaning of life, therapy and art. He has three children, three grandchildren and two more on the way. He is vegetarian. He enjoys travelling, gardening, woodsmanship, and photography.

You can befriend him on Facebook, or follow his Facebook page: Writings from David. The Huffington Post listed him as one of the 12 top Buddhists to follow on Twitter - @dharmavidya. He also keeps a blog on typepad.

Thank you for joining us, what drives your creative work?
Challenge. I generally write against something. This is not to say that what I write is negative, simply that I need a reason to write and the reason is generally that something is lacking, something asserted is wrong, or simply that something wonderful can be bettered, or, at least, played with in new ways. Creativity is dialectical. I do not think that I ever have the last word, but I have a duty to advance the discussion.