March 30, 2025 • 57 mins
Creative writers with full-time jobs face unique challenges balancing their passion with their paycheck. I share my 30-year journey navigating the worlds of teaching and writing, revealing practical strategies for maintaining a creative practice amid life's demands.
• Building writing into small pockets of available time rather than waiting for perfect conditions
• Creating accountability through writing groups, online communities, and mentorships
• Recognizing your energy patterns and assigning creative tasks accordingly
• Finding inspiration within your day job rather than seeing it as an obstacle
• Using morning routines, music, and environmental shifts to trigger creative states
• Avoiding creative burnout through strategic rest and rejuvenation practices
• Experimenting with different writing approaches until finding what works for you
• Honoring your creative impulses to invite more inspiration
Visit amrapajalic.com/podcast for the full transcript, show notes, and how-to guides to support your writing practice. These cost-effective $5 guides provide actionable steps to help integrate creativity into your busy life while supporting this podcast.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amra Pajalic (00:01):
Welcome to Amra's Armchair Anecdotes.
I'm Amra Payalich, writer,teacher and storyteller.
Pull up a chair and let's diveinto stories about writing, life
and lessons learned, sharingwisdom from my armchair to yours
.
You can find the episode shownotes, your free episode
(00:22):
handouts and my how-to guides atamrapayelichcom slash podcast.
And now it's time to dive in.
Welcome to Amra's ArmchairAnecdotes.
Today's episode is aboutbalancing the pen and the
paycheck how to stay creativewhile we're working full-time.
(00:44):
I'm Amra Payalich.
I'm a full-time teacher, writerand indie author, and today I
want to talk about how do I keepteaching and working and
focusing on my creative practice.
Unfortunately, this is astruggle that all creatives face
(01:07):
.
I do play the lottery everyweek just in case I might win
that big prize and be able to betransformed into a full-time
author and still be able to eatand pay bills and take care of
my daughter.
But in the three decades that Ihave been focusing on my
(01:31):
creative practice, I have alsohad to work in a day job and I
have had to find ways of keepingmy creativity and my energy
going and how to fit it into thecracks of time.
I have only ever had theopportunity once in my life to
(01:52):
be a full-time author, and thatwas for an amazing 10 weeks of
my long service leave, whichmeant that I had actually worked
seven years full-time as ateacher in order to earn those
10 weeks and that little spaceof time.
And it was amazing I achievedso much in such a short amount
(02:16):
of time because I knew thatthere was a clock ticking and
that it was coming to an end,that it was coming to an end.
But I do have to work on how tokeep creative and how to keep
my writing going, because notmany of us have that opportunity
where we are able to dedicateourselves full time.
(02:39):
You know, we're usuallyfighting for it for a while in
the hope that we will have thatbreakout moment when we will be
earning enough from our creativepractice.
So I'm going to take you backand talk about how I became both
(02:59):
a teacher and a writer, and Ialways knew I wanted to be a
writer.
It was the only thing I everwanted to do in my life, um, but
you know, when you go throughthe school system, it's not
really a career that people knowabout and that they can guide
you in, and so I took a longtime to sort of discover.
(03:24):
You know this space in my life.
I finished high school.
I was one of the first peoplein my family, like my parents,
had not finished high school andI was too intimidated to go to
university.
Intimidated to go to university.
(03:48):
And my careers counsellorbecause I changed my preferences
and ruined my chances ofuniversity opportunities offered
me a course in doing anadministration course and so I
did that and I did anapprenticeship in administration
and was unleashed in theworking world.
And while administration was agood gig, it was comfortable, it
(04:12):
was a nice cushy job because,you know, most of my family were
factory workers, so this wasstill a lovely step up it did
not satisfy my intellectual andcreative curiosity.
I had realized that I hadambition.
So I was like, well, I'm inadministration, I may as well
(04:37):
look at how to make this work,how to get jobs.
I did a certificate in of inshorthand, which is sort of
obsolete now because we've gotall this dictation software, um,
but it's basically someonedictates and you're writing in
characters, uh, and then you'retranscribing that and producing
(04:57):
text from that, and I hated thiscourse.
I worked full-time, um, I wouldto TAFE, which is like a
vocational course, once a weekafter working the whole eight
hours and do three hours, six tonine.
I didn't like it at all.
(05:17):
I would call my husband and go,come pick me up, I don't want
to do this, I don't want to dothis.
And he would pick me up a fewtimes and he was like I don't
want to do this.
And he would pick me up a fewtimes and it was like no, you've
got to do it, you've got to seeit through.
And so I did.
And I had to pass a test where Itook dictation at 50 words per
minute and I passed and Isucceeded and I thought, oh well
(05:38):
, I did something I really hated.
I finished it, I got through it.
I was able to do it whilejuggling full-time work.
I wonder what would happen if Idid something that I actually
liked, and that's when I foundthe Diploma of Arts in
Professional Writing and Editing, and that was what gave me this
opportunity to enter this worldas a writer, learn how to do
(05:58):
all of these things in terms ofpitching to publications,
navigating my way through thepublishing world and again, I
did that while working full timeand going once or twice a week
over four years.
And then I did a Bachelor ofArts, again working at that time
(06:21):
three days a week and studyingtwo days, working at that time
three days a week and studyingtwo days.
And eventually I worked up tohaving my novel published.
But I realised I had thatawakening like a lot of people
do.
I thought that my novel beingpublished would change my life.
And it did in some ways,because when you achieve your
(06:46):
childhood dream, it isincredibly validating.
You know that you did it, thatyou put yourself out there and
you achieved that.
But it did not change my lifein the monetary sense.
Advances that you get frompublishers, especially in
Australia, are not in, you know,living income.
I received a $5,000 advance onmy first novel and I realized
(07:12):
that my dream of not workingwasn't going to happen.
Unfortunately, I'd already quitmy job at that point because I
went on maternity leave and Iwas like, oh, I don't want to
work in this anymore, I willfind something else, which was a
good and a bad thing, becauseit forced me to really think
about my future and think about,if I have to work, what should
(07:36):
I be doing.
And I did my teachingqualification and I entered
teaching, you know know, quiteas a mature woman.
I was 36 years old when Istarted teaching.
I am now 47 years old and I'vebeen doing it for 12 years.
I'll be turning 48 in a fewmonths, and so I had resisted up
(07:59):
until that time, finding anactual career.
I had thought, oh, I just needto work jobs that don't take up
too much energy and too muchheadspace, because if I do a
full-time job that will take allof my energy and take all of my
drive, I will stop writing andI will not keep that up.
And so there was some truth tothat, because working in
(08:23):
administration was quite dull.
It wasn't as taxing, becauseteaching is physically and
mentally demanding.
You can't stop in the classroom, you're always on and you're
always having expand energy.
And then also outside of theclassroom, in terms of
(08:45):
organizing and preparing lessonplans and all of the things that
we have to do, you never kindof switch off.
And so I was right in thatsense, because when I started
working full time as a teacher,oh my gosh, it was exhausting.
I was so tired, so tired.
(09:05):
I started working full time as ateacher when my daughter was
five years old and she startedprep.
When I started teaching.
Thankfully, my husband was thestay home parent and he was the
one doing everything for her interms of pickups and drop offs
and cooking and cleaning andcoordinating everything.
But I would literally come home, um, sit down and have dinner
(09:30):
uh, those first few months andthen I would go to bed with her,
like at her bedtime.
She would go to bed at 7 30 andI would be in bed at 7 30, um,
and it was very, verychallenging and very hard, and
so I had to really look at waysof maintaining my passion and my
writing practice, both when Iwas in administration and when I
(09:53):
was a full-time teacher, andthere are a variety of
strategies I've used for that.
So I'm going to go into some ofthe ways that I did that, and
you know the ways that I foundinspiration and momentum.
So I think one of the ways thatI learnt when I was in
(10:20):
administration, I had to findspaces of time where I could
write, and the only time I hadwas when I was traveling on the
train going to work, and so Istarted transcribing and writing
, handwriting my pages, and Iset myself a goal that I was
(10:40):
going to do three pages each wayon the way to work and three
pages on the way home, and eachpage turned out to be 250 words,
and so I sort of did the mathsand figured out that if I did
that every day I would achieve5,000 words.
Now the problem with thatprocess was the typing up, which
(11:01):
had its pros and cons, becauseI was.
Now, the problem with thatprocess was the typing up, which
had its pros and cons, becauseI was handwriting, I was
unlocking that stream ofconsciousness and there was no
editing as I was writing, andthen, when I was transcribing it
, that was the opportunity toedit and to polish it, and so I
had to figure out ways ofkeeping myself motivated when I
(11:26):
was a teacher, and so some ofthe ways that I did that was I
got a mentor.
I was working on my memoir whenI was working as a teacher and
I knew that I would strugglewith writing and with
maintaining that energy and Iknew that I needed some sort of
(11:50):
support system to keep meaccountable, and so I applied
for and I eventually, after thethird go, received funding from
Creative Victoria and I got amentor in.
Alice Pung is now my very, verydear friend, who's a successful
memoirist, and so she, you knowwe would set a schedule in
(12:13):
terms of me writing and I wouldsend her extracts and I would
have phone meetings with her,because we were both juggling
with things and we wouldstruggle to meet face to face,
and so we would do a lot ofthings on the phone and then
meet face-to-face every once ina while, and so that was one
strategy that I employed wascreating those accountability
(12:37):
opportunities and thoseopportunities to connect with
other people.
Some of the things that I didwas I was blogging my writing
goals and my writing word countand, interestingly, at that time
, you know, blogging had juststarted and it was getting, you
know, traction and I was doingthis for myself, as a way of,
(13:03):
you know, keeping myself goingand, you know, doing that author
blog.
And the more I did it, the morepeople sort of started coming
to my blog.
I started connecting with otherbloggers and actually created a
really nice online community,and so that was also great and
(13:23):
supportive.
And I remember the first timethat I had a comment on my blog
from someone and I went andchecked them out.
It was someone in England and Iwas like someone in England is
reading my blog and it was thisamazing moment of you don't know
what you put out there and whomight see it.
And this blogger was alsosomeone who ended up getting
(13:46):
published and getting atraditional publishing deal.
So for a long time we sort ofkept in touch online and kept
each other motivated online, andso that was another way that I
kept myself going and that Icreated those accountabilities.
Some of the things that I didwas, you know, writing groups.
(14:07):
So when I originally startedwriting, I was seeking support
and people who were like-minded,and so when I did my TAFE
course, I met my friend Jodie,who I'm still friends with three
decades later, and we becamecritique partners and
(14:27):
accountability partners so wewould keep each other motivated
and check in with each other.
There were also opportunitiesto create little writing groups,
because we were critiquing eachother's work and we would work
in groups where everyone wouldread each other's work.
People started sort of takingthose writing groups and those
(14:49):
critique groups outside of theclasses and meeting in the real
world and using that asaccountability.
And so early in my career Ifound writing groups.
There was this one writinggroup I found online which was
really well organized I was aromance writer at that time.
That was the genre that I wasexploring and these women were
(15:10):
amazing.
I have to say, the one thingabout romance writers that is
just jaw dropping is they arethe trailblazers in terms of
promotion and marketing and thatwhole world, because they
really know how to connect withreaders and how to create those
connections with readers.
And so that group was amazing.
(15:32):
We would have monthly meetings.
There would be, you know,reward systems about, you know,
like at the beginning it wouldbe like who's written this much,
who's submitted, who's donethis?
We would get chocolate, wewould bring each other work to
read, we would do littleworkshops and, you know, upskill
ourselves and learn.
(15:52):
And that was a wonderfulopportunity.
And so I've tried differentwriting groups.
Some of them were a little bitdysfunctional, where some of
them did get.
You know, I kind of call thisthe good, bad and the ugly.
So I've had the good and thebad and the ugly of writing
(16:14):
groups where I had, you know,the amazing ones, the great
sense of community.
Then there was one where itbecame a little bit egotistical
and it split into a bit ofcliques and stuff.
Um, there was another writinggroup I was a part of, which is
amazing.
I'm still sort of connected with, uh, some of these writers, um,
but it got too big.
We got too big for um, you know, meeting regularly, and so then
(16:36):
people started sort of um,creating little offshoots and
meeting, um, and then I got tothe point where I thought, uh, I
need a writing group and I wantto create my own.
So I created my own.
I sort of reached out to peopleI knew who were aspiring
writers and we started a writinggroup.
We set up a schedule, werotated and met each other at
(16:59):
each other's houses and thatworked really well for a while
and it gave me the impetus andthe motivation that I needed.
And then that group sort ofsplintered.
I did have one before that.
Also, we were meeting in thecity.
It was just a few of us whowere friends and we loved the
opportunity to sort of go intothe mid city and meet and
connect.
And so I've always had some sortof you know groups or online
(17:25):
support systems.
Even today, I saw this memeabout how every woman has a
online chat group with you know,with some cute name, where
they're just constantly posting,and I'm like, yeah, I've got
two of those where I've got, youknow, two online chat groups.
(17:45):
We have very cool names and wejust kind of post in there and
motivate each other and sharewhat we're working on and just
have that continuousconversation.
So I guess what that comes tois create some sort of a network
, whether it's online, whetherit's in real life, whether it's
people that you know, whetherit's people that you don't know.
That's one way of findingmotivation and creating those
(18:09):
opportunities to keep going andto keep your writing practice
going.
So I wanted to talk about howto build writing into your
everyday, and I think one of thethings that we do is where we
romanticize writing.
(18:30):
But in general creative pursuits, when you think about you know,
a writer or a painter or anartist.
They are in this beautifulspace with the luxury of time,
and most of us are not.
We do not have that, you know,in my house at the moment.
(18:50):
I have a tiny little desk in mybedroom, which is the only
space I could fit a desk into,and I do most of my writing at
home, either at that desk, on mybed with a cushion and my
laptop, or downstairs on myrecliner lounge with a foldable
(19:15):
table that I put my computer on,and so we don't have that.
You know, like I do now, afterthree decades and after working
for 12 years as a teacher andbeing able to reduce my time,
and now I'm working four daysand I have one day to myself and
(19:37):
I have this beautiful studiothat I can use, but I still have
to write and work on my writingpractice the other four days
while I'm a teacher, and I don'tcome here to do that, I do that
at home, I do that in shortbursts of times that I can, and
so you know you have to findways to make it fit in.
(20:04):
I remember what shattered myromantic perceptions of the
writing life was reading StephenKing's On Writing, and he
talked about how he got thisbeautiful office in his house
and set it all up and that wassupposed to be where he would
write and he would go in thereevery day and just inspiration
(20:25):
would die.
And so he slowly startedmigrating to the kitchen table
and having his computer therewhile life was going on around
him, while his wife and hischildren were getting up to
things, and that's when hestarted writing.
And so I realized he's thisincredibly prolific writer who
has, you know, worked anddeveloped this success and he
(20:51):
realized that, you know, writingjust has to be a part of your
life, it just has to be a partof your daily practice.
Um, you can't sort of waituntil that perfect time and have
a whole day and have this wholeyou know time that you can do
it.
You have to find those littlespaces, and so that's what I did
.
You know, for For quite a fewyears, while I was working full
(21:16):
time, I would wake up at 5.30 inthe morning and I would write
for an hour until 6.30 in themorning and do my morning
(21:36):
routine and get to work.
And that was the only time thatI had.
I was too tired and tooshattered to work after school
because in those early years,teaching took all my headspace
and all my energy.
And so I knew that the onlygood brain that I had was in the
morning and that I had tosacrifice to make that work.
And so, in order to wake up at5.30 in the morning, I had was
in the morning and that I had tosacrifice to make that work.
And so in order to wake up at5.30 in the morning, I had to go
(21:57):
to bed really early.
I had to go to bed at 8.30 andget enough sleep to be able to
wake up then and to sustain mypractice.
And that's what I did.
And that meant being verystrict with my bedtime routine
and it meant not going out,although that's hard for me
sometimes, but, you know, notgoing out and not making any
commitments after work, becauseI had made that commitment to
(22:20):
myself and initially, when Istarted doing that morning
routine, it was really hard.
Um, you know, you would wake upearly in the morning and my
brain would be kind of, uh, youknow, it takes a while to wake
up and I would sit down and it'slike this is all the time I've
got.
I need to make this work, Ineed to write.
And you know, sometimes you putpressure on yourself
(22:42):
psychologically where it's likeI must write now, this is it Do
or die, and the brain does notwork well under pressure.
And so I read this book uh, themorning pages by julia cameron,
and she talked about unlockingyour subconscious and writing in
the morning, not putting anypressure, letting your muse play
(23:03):
.
And she also had all theseother great strategies that I
used, um, in terms of making adate with yourself and ways to
inspire your creativity.
And so sometimes I would wakeup in the morning and I would
just write lyrics.
I would write music lyrics, orI remember some days I would
wake up and say I don't want tobe awake, I don't want to be
writing, I don't have nothing tosay.
(23:24):
And then, just as I kept sortof doing this word vomit.
Slowly things would starthappening, things would start
coming to me and then it becamea routine and my brain started
waking up.
At that time it startedactivating.
The writing started happeningbecause I only had that one hour
.
I would write and whatever Iwas up to I would have to stop,
(23:47):
and sometimes it's good to stopat the high point in a scene
where, like you know whereyou're going and then you have
to stop.
And I would go to work and whenI would have quiet moments my
brain would be sort of turningit over and the subconscious
would be doing its little job ofcreating associations and words
(24:10):
and images.
And then I'll come back thenext day and it would just pour
out of me and it would.
It would really just cometogether and then I would have
these big waves of writinginspiration where you know, I
would feel like doing it on theweekend, and I would get that
wave of inspiration andmotivation and then I'd finish a
chapter and then I would haveto start again and I would go
(24:33):
through that process of oh my,my God.
I've got nothing to say.
I don't know what the nextchapter is going to be, but it
would happen because thatcontinuous practice did it, my
(24:54):
writing.
I would always listen to whatpeople were saying and how they
were writing and I would try itand some things would work for
me and some things would notwork for me, but I would figure
it out.
You know, there were some timeswhen I was going to my car with
a notebook and I was writing inmy car for 20 minutes, or I was
sitting at my desk and justwriting something at my desk,
(25:16):
and so you have to create thesesmall chunks of time, and
sometimes the way to do it alsois to take the pressure off.
You can either make it aboutword count or you can make it
about time, and so there havebeen periods of my life where
I've not been able to make itabout word count and go.
I will write 1000 words a daybecause that was unsustainable,
(25:39):
that was too hard when I had ayoung daughter, and so, for
example, when I was waking up at5.30 in the morning, it was not
about word count, it was justabout.
I will wake up, you know, fivedays a week at 5 30 and I will
dedicate this time to ourwriting practice and whatever I
do, I do and some weeks I wouldhave amazing word count where it
(26:00):
would be, you know, 5 000 words, and some weeks it would be
like a thousand, a thousand anda half.
It wouldn't be huge, um, butthat's what I had to do.
I had to make that commitmentand I had to make that small
goals for myself and build inways of doing that.
Other ways is, you know, findingwhat works in terms of writing.
(26:24):
Like you know that writing inlife I now sometimes, when I'm
struggling with writing, I havea tv show on in the background,
usually either a tv show I'm notreally into, obviously, because
when you're really into ityou're like or where I'm
re-watching something.
You know how we've all got ourfavorite shows that we kind of
(26:45):
do on repeat, um, and so I mighthave that in the background
where it's my comfort watch andI'm not really paying attention,
I'm not really in the zone, butI'm always tricking my brain
where I am occupied and kind oflike watching, and then I'm sort
of writing and then, slowly,the inspiration and creativity
(27:07):
is coming, and so I do a lot ofthings in the midst of life
where you know I will, um, writewhile things are going on
around me, while, um, I'mcooking in short bursts or, um,
you know I can't do it while I'mcleaning, but at least then
I'll listen to my audiobooks.
So, finding ways of making itwork, um, so I think, to go
(27:33):
through what the importantthings are, the strategies I
think, create someaccountability in some way for
yourself.
Build in strategies to do it insmall ways, in small steps, and
make writing a habit and not achore.
(27:53):
So if you are writing andyou're getting bogged down and
you're getting bored and it'snot working, well, go to
something else.
Give your muse a break, give ittime to rejuvenate.
So to do that, you might needto either take a break from
writing and just immerseyourself in being a consumer of
(28:17):
entertainment, either reading orwatching things that inspire
you, or you might need to writesomething else.
It might be time to take a stepback and do something else that
you can write.
(28:38):
So when I was writing my memoirI would go through burnout and I
would hit points where it wastoo hard because there was a lot
of trauma associated withwriting my memoir.
And so what I did with that wasI started writing a romance
novel and so I would work on mymemoir and then when I ran out
of oomph or I was just reallyfeeling weary or you know blue,
(29:04):
I would work on the romancenovel, which was more fun, it
was light and it wasentertaining.
And you know, the memoir didtake a while.
It took five years to write andin that time I wrote other
books and other pieces, but thatwas what I needed to do.
I could not dedicate myself tothat on a full-time basis
because it was too hard.
Even the novel that I did formy PhD, which is going to be the
(29:30):
first book in the series, itwas a very hard book to write
because it's dealing with somereally serious and difficult
themes.
It is dealing with war, it isdealing with genocide and
massacre and deprivation, andthere were times when that was
really hard to write and I didhave to take a step back and
write a short piece or write ashort story and do something
(29:54):
else that would take me awayfrom that darkness and from that
moment.
The other way that I sort ofdealt with it sometimes I now
can't write without playinginstrumental music, but before,
(30:16):
when I was writing, I sometimeshad to find the right music to
motivate me, to get me in themood for certain scenes, and so
that was something else thathelped me get through dark
moments or through moments whereI was struggling with
inspiration Finding the rightmusic, finding the right
soundtrack and having that besomething that accompanies me
and gives me that bit of supportin the writing process.
Now I always play musicalsoundtracks.
(30:40):
I do it even when I'm at work,teaching, doing my lesson
planning and doing other things.
I just like sort of having likea work at teach or my work at a
school that has 2,000 people init.
We have, you know, 1,600students, we have over 200 staff
(31:00):
and support staff, so there's alot of people, a lot of bodies,
a lot of noise, and so I findthat I need to kind of cut off
that sensory overload and shutit down.
And in the early days when, um,you know, my daughter was small
and and there was a lot going onin the house on a day-to-day
(31:21):
basis.
I did have to do that too,where I would put, uh, my
headphones on for brief periods,uh, when she was, just try and
snatch those 15, 20 minutes oftime, um, and write and do that
bit of a sprint and move forward, and so that would kind of
create that little bit of space.
Now, one of the things thathappens when we are juggling so
(31:47):
much is we need to prioritizerest and we need to avoid
burnout.
So I did, and I still do, kindof get burnt out.
The thing now is I'm gettingbetter at recognizing it and I
am getting better at taking careof myself and taking a time out
when I am feeling that.
(32:08):
However, I am now at a pointwhere I am really driven and I
always have to do something, andso I'm learning to have a very
impressive to-do list, and sothen, anytime when I have time
to do something, I look at thatlist and I look at what is
(32:30):
something that I can do if I'mreally tired.
That does not require much inthe way of concentration, so I
might be creating promotionalgraphics or marketing or doing
some editing for some of thethings that I'm producing at the
moment and what is somethingthat requires concentration and
needs to be done when I'm fresh.
So if I'm proofreading, thathas to be done the first thing
(32:51):
in the morning.
So that's one way to sort oflook at managing burnout and
managing your energy levels,looking at how do you feel like
what can you do at the time thatyou've got?
So obviously, you know,stepping back when you need to
step back.
I go through times where I'mreally tired and I either need
(33:15):
to have a weekend where I'm justdoing, you know, binge watching
, marathons of a TV show that Ilove or a repeat of something
that I love, or I'm reading abook cover to cover.
I find that that rejuvenates meso much If I just sit down and
I do nothing but read for a dayand kind of leave the world
(33:39):
behind.
Because as soon as I read agood book and you know something
that is well constructed andthat uplifts me, I just I feel
inspired to create.
I feel that energy coming backwhere I want to create something
.
And then also nature I'mfinding I really did not
(34:00):
appreciate enough, I think, inmy early days, how much nature
does to recharge us, and so oneof the things that I do now is I
go for walks in this beautifulpark that is near my house,
brimbeck Park, and I eitherlisten to podcasts or I listen
(34:21):
to audiobooks.
And so I have this time whereI'm out in nature enjoying, like
I love, looking at treesthere's something about looking
at trees that really makes mefeel good and then, because I've
got the headphones and I'meither listening to a podcast
that is helping me in terms ofmy writing, or helping me in
terms of my you know businesspractices, or thinking about
(34:45):
myself as a creative, orlearning something, or I'm just
listening to an audio book.
I'm listening to, you know, agenre that I like, a book that I
like.
At first, when I startedlistening to an audiobook, I'm
listening to.
You know a genre that I like, abook that I like.
Um, at first, when I startedlistening to audiobooks, it was
a struggle.
I remember the first time Ilistened.
I listened to an audiobook.
The first 20 minutes, just, Ifelt so jangly and I felt so
(35:06):
like, oh, I don't know if thisis working for me.
And then it just stopped and Iwas in the moment and I was just
as I was hearing the narrator,um, I'm one of those visual
people, so pictures appear in mymind and I see things like a
movie, and so now, um, thishappens with audiobooks, where I
(35:29):
sometimes don't know did Ilisten to it or did I read it,
because I see the visuals andone of the things I've
discovered is the voice is veryimportant to me.
So I've now learned to listento a sample and find a sample
that you know, a narrator, thatreally appeals to me, and so I
(35:53):
love that opportunity to sort oftake that time out to still
feel like I'm multitasking,because sometimes, you know, my
ambition is just I want to do somuch, and so then, doing the
walking, being in nature, andthen listening to an audio book
and doing the reading, it justfeels like I'm achieving so much
still, um, so, I think,connecting with other creative
(36:16):
people and engaging in thecreative world.
So, you know, going to galleries, um, going to launches, going
to events, going to conferences,um, I have met some amazing
people, you know, like my frienddimet.
Uh, I met her at a not a launch, but at an event I think it was
the victoria's premier's awardsand she just came up to me and
(36:38):
we started talking and we justkind of connected and then we
exchanged emails and then westarted doing things together
and started collaboratingtogether and you know, um, I
don't know how many years it'sbeen now Sugar I think it's been
16 years and we're reallyreally close friends, still
there for each other andconstantly, you know, talking
(37:00):
regularly, posting in our onlinechat on a constant basis,
meeting up me, her and Alice youknow all writers mothers, wives
, you know got very full livesand still moving forward with
our creative practice.
And you know our jobs, day jobsand so I think that you know
(37:27):
you don't know who you're goingto meet or who you're going to
connect with, and especially inthose early days as an emerging
writer, it is so important tomake connections with people who
inspire you, and now I get somany ideas when I talk to some
of these people in my life whoare in the creative world in
different ways, where you knowthey help me problem solve or
(37:50):
they give me ideas of thingsthat they've listened to or
things that they've heard, andso we're just kind of feeding
each other constantly.
So you know, give your musetime and space to play.
So I spoke about the morningpages and I really think Julia
Cameron's book the Artist's Wayis something that might be
(38:10):
really useful for people.
I've recommended it a lot to alot of creatives and to a lot of
writers and it really kind ofputs you in touch with trusting
the muse.
The other one is ElizabethGilbert's Big Magic.
You know reading things aboutwriting in different ways, that
people do it and then trying it.
It's really important.
(38:35):
One other thing is don't keeprewriting the same book.
Try new things.
Like when we start, first ofall as emerging writers, it
takes us a long time to finish abook, and that's what I did.
You know, my first book was myromance novel return to me, um,
and which is there on mybookshelf, and, um, I spent
(38:57):
three years writing that bookand I got, you know, bored and
frustrated with it at certainpoints and I would take time out
and I would write a short storyand I would write a freelance
article and I would write a poem, and so every time I got bored,
you know, either I would jumpto the next scene I would keep
my momentum going that way butalso I would try something fresh
(39:19):
or try something new.
I would try and get my museplaying again and get it
inspired.
And so I would also encourageyou to try different genres.
I remember when I was doing mydiploma and you know we would
have guest speakers every well,one of the classes every week,
and so guest speakers would comein and they would talk about
the different ways that theywere writing, and I would try it
(39:40):
.
You know we had someone talkingabout flash fiction, so would
come in and they would talkabout the different ways that
they were writing, and I wouldtry it.
You know we have someonetalking about flash fiction, so
I wrote some flash fiction and Ihad it published.
And even today I listen topodcasts.
I really love the creative penand her interviews with
different writers and differentcreatives, and I hear ideas of
what they're doing and how theyare finding energy and
(40:04):
inspiration, and so I try it.
So you know, always try thosedifferent genres and different
ways of doing things.
One other thing is don't chasetrends.
Remember when the vampire bookswere the big thing and everyone
had a vampire book, and then wedid all these different types
of vampire books.
The problem with chasing trendsis, when you look at the
(40:27):
traditional publishing world, abook might be published, you
know.
Say now, that book was writtenat least three years before.
Then there was a submissionprocess, then it was picked up
for publication, then it, youknow, went through the editing
process and then it wasscheduled for publication.
Like every book that ispublished.
(40:48):
Traditionally, it's got atleast one year usually more from
when the contract was signed.
So the problem with chasingtrends is whatever is published
currently has had a long leadtime, and so if you're chasing a
trend, by the time you gothrough the process and write it
, that trend might be over.
(41:08):
And the problem with that isyou are then personally
disappointed and bitter andirritated, which is how I felt
when I've chased trends, becauseI could have been working on
something that I was reallypassionate about and that, even
if it didn't, you know, getpicked up, I would have been
personally satisfied and contentwith it.
(41:30):
Make your trends, write yourpassion, write what tickles your
brain, put your unique twistforward, and that is how you
will keep getting thatinspiration and keep getting
that momentum.
Okay, I also think you know,write the fun bits of a novel,
(41:54):
leave the boring bits.
So, uh, when you're firstwriting a draft and I still do
this now I sort of plot out alot more than I used to.
But I get bored and I'm like,oh, I don't know what I want to
say with this part.
I think I've done as much as Ican and I work on the next scene
, the next interesting scene,and then as I keep going, it
(42:14):
becomes clearer to me what'smissing beforehand and what I
need to develop beforehand andthe world building that I need
to do, and then I can go backand flesh out the scenes that
I've got.
So, you know, keep yourselfmoving forward so that you keep
that inspiration going, and then, obviously, try different ways
(42:35):
of writing, you know, with music, with TV in the background,
with your children in the room.
Another thing that people havetalked about, and I haven't
really experimented much with,but it's dictation.
So these days there is amazing,you know transcription software
and dictation software that youcan use quite inexpensively,
(42:58):
and so I've been hearing a lotof writers who just use their
phone and they dictate intotheir phone as they are moving
around there every day, and thenthey put that through to you
know, through some softwarewhere it gets transcribed, and
that's how they write, and youknow that might be one way of
(43:19):
moving things forward andgetting that word count down and
building it into your regularlife.
So, you know, use the toolsthat we've got now and software
that we've got.
Try new ways of writing and newways of building it into your
writing practice and see whatworks.
I've pretty much every book.
(43:39):
I've done something differentor tried something different.
I, you know, used to getdifferent books about book
structure and how to structurethem and I would read the books.
So you know I used Save the Cator something cat, and you know
(43:59):
I would use those tips and thosestructural templates.
Now I use Plotter quite a bit,which has got the different ways
of plotting and the differentways of structuring your novel,
and so that's something thathelps me with that structure and
thinking it through.
So, you know, try the differentways of doing things.
(44:23):
And then, you know, just listento other creatives, find ways of
.
You know, if you can't in yourreal life connect with other
people, it's wonderful now to beable to do it online, to be
able to listen to podcasts, tobe able to find people on
YouTube and watch their videosin times you know the times that
you've got and just hearingwhat other people are doing and
(44:46):
trying it.
Not everything will work foryou, you know.
Some things will work for ashort period and then it's not
going to work anymore.
But that is the thing aboutthis creative life and this
creative world you areconstantly evolving and learning
and changing and changing yourthinking and changing your
processes, and that's the joy ofit.
(45:08):
I constantly need stimulationand I need to find the fun and
the joy, and so that's the waythat I work and that's what I'm
always looking for.
(45:31):
I want to talk about now, um,how teaching inspires writing
and, in a way, how do we findinspiration from our day jobs to
continue our creative practice?
So when I worked inadministration, um, a lot of the
jobs that I did, you know, wereindustries.
I wasn't, you know, like theywere just industries.
I was working thenot-for-profit sector and stuff.
But what I found worked for mein terms of motivation was the
(45:54):
fact that it gave me theopportunities to learn software
and technology that at that time, I did not have access to
outside of work, in a sense,like I had my own computer, but
just some technology and somesoftware was more expensive, and
so there were things that I waslearning that were was helping
me with my creative practice.
(46:15):
So I remember one job I had Iwas learning a bit of coding, I
was learning about projectmanagement, and so some of those
skills translated to my writingworld and helped me kind of
find an in With teaching.
I now have different benefits,so one of the really important
(46:37):
things that I've gotten out ofteaching I'm an English teacher
and so I have to teach texts andteach text analysis and text
response, and so through thatprocess I have to deconstruct
novels and the structure ofnovels and the language of
(46:57):
writers and authors, intent, andI've found that has really
helped me with my writing,because now my brain is
constantly thinking about theway that things are structured
and you know writing strategiesand it's woken up that part of
my brain.
I've also found you know thatdeveloping of discipline with
(47:21):
teaching because as a teacheryou're very busy.
There is not much time.
We're constantly on the run.
Like you know, I have a shortbreak, recess and a lunch break,
and it takes five minutes topack up and go from the
classroom to my desk and fiveminutes to go from my desk back
(47:42):
to the classroom.
So then that time is reallycompressed and so you have to
figure out how to manage thingsand how to do things quickly.
And so you know even strategies, like I love drinking tea, but
I would never be able to haveenough time to make a cup of tea
and actually drink it, and so Istarted bringing tea in a flask
(48:03):
so that I could quickly justpour myself tea, and so it
really made me good at problemsolving, that thinking how do I
maximize time and how do I dothings in a much quicker time
frame and how do I maximize whatI can do when.
And so the strategy about thegood brain and what brain am I
working with and what can I dothat started at work, where
(48:25):
sometimes I'd be too tired andit's like, well, I can't do the
lesson planning or I can't dothat, you know, preparation of
the text analysis, but I can gostand at the photocopier for
half an hour and photocopy allthe resources that I need.
So you know, looking at thetime and how I'm feeling and how
do I maximize it, that wasreally helpful.
One of the most important thingsthat being a teacher has given
(48:49):
me is the mindset.
So I live in the suburb of StAlbans it is where I grew up and
I teach at the school that ismy former high school and I
teach at the school that is myformer high school and I love
that I am in that position to dothat because I love being a
role model for my students.
(49:10):
When I grew up in this area andwe are in the western suburbs
of Melbourne, so it's lowsocioeconomic in general you
know really hard lives a lot ofmigrants, migrant parents having
to give up their dreams fortheir children and to give their
(49:31):
children opportunity, and thenthe pressures that places on the
students.
And then when I grew up, Ihated living in this suburb.
I hated being associated withthis suburb.
I could not wait to get out.
And I see that with a lot of mystudents because you know, when
(49:51):
I say where I work and when Isay where I live, people have a
lot of stereotypes and a lot ofnegative views of my area and
they say a lot of negativethings about my students and I'm
like, well, you're wrong.
My students are the mostbeautiful people you know.
They are so incrediblyrespectful.
(50:11):
The things that a lot of otherteachers face in terms of
disrespect and disregard doesnot happen very much at my
school.
Disregard does not happen verymuch at my school, and so I am
really happy and I get a lot ofmotivation from being a role
model for my students, for beingable to show them how it
(50:37):
doesn't matter where you comefrom, it is what you do with it
and what you can achieve, andthat gives me a lot of impetus
and a lot of that inspiration tokeep going.
And then, even when I look backat my cultural background and
my community I am from a Bosnianbackground and being able to
(50:59):
tell stories about my cultureand my community also gives me a
lot of inspiration.
And so that you know, being arole model, you know to go back
to teaching and how thatmotivates me with my writing.
I get a lot of you know, a lotof inspiration from that.
(51:20):
So I look at what are you doingin your day, what is it that
your day job is and how can youget some lessons from it?
Or how can you get somemotivation in terms of thinking?
How is it supporting yourwriting practice?
So you know, at certain pointsin administration it supported
me in terms of the learning sideand learning packages.
(51:42):
Um, then it supported me interms of writing on the train
and so that traveling part of it, um, and so you know, find
(52:05):
your're working full time, buthave that creative itch.
Just don't give up.
It is possible.
You just need to find whatworks for you.
You need to find the momentsand the ways that you can make
it fit.
Um, it's not about having thetime, it's about making the time
, and there's something aboutsometimes with our creative
(52:27):
practice that we don'tprioritize it because we might
not be making any money with it,especially in the beginning,
and therefore it's not worth ourtime and not worth prioritizing
.
There's always something elseto do, but we have to prioritize
it for ourselves because wehave to prioritize who we are.
(52:47):
So if I'm not writing or if I'mnot working on my creative
practice, I'm not a good person.
I'm not a good mother.
I'm, and I know that I'm notbeing my best self and I am not
(53:09):
being the person that I shouldbe.
And so I have learned that Ihave to prioritize it, not just
for myself, but also foreveryone around me and for all
of the people that depend on me,because if I want to be a good
mother and someone who isexperiencing joy and who is
(53:30):
modeling joy, then I need to dowhat gives me joy, and so that's
something that I really focuson modeling with my daughter and
I see how it works with herwhere she also prioritizes her
creativity, where she will sitdown and paint something and
create something and have thosemoments of joy.
(53:54):
And we can very easily wastetime I know I do on social media
and a lot of things like thatand so I have to practice
discipline in terms of dedicatedtime and even if it is 20
minutes a day if that's all youcan give it, then give it that
(54:17):
habit.
As you are creating thatopportunity for your brain to
engage and for your muse to play, it will start developing more.
I find that the more ideas Ihave and the more that I action
on my ideas, the more they keepcoming to me.
I learned that from I reallygot that from Elizabeth
(54:40):
Gilbert's Big Magic, where shewas like it's about honoring
your muse, and if you don'thonor your muse, she will
flutter away and go to someoneelse, and so that's the way that
I think of it.
It is about honoring thatenergy and whatever that is
coming from and just putting itout there and building those
(55:02):
small moments, those smallpractices, and having them build
into something more.
So thank you for listening tothis episode and I hope you have
gotten some helpful tips.
Don't forget that on my websitethere is a transcript.
(55:22):
Don't forget that.
On my website there is atranscript, there are show notes
and there is also how-to guidesto support you with your
writing practice, which is alsoa way of you supporting this
show.
They are very cost-effective $5, and so they are giving you
these actionable steps thatmight help you having that
(55:42):
how-to guide and havingsomething written down, and by
purchasing those, you arehelping to support this podcast.
So I hope you got something outof this.
I would love to hear from youand love to hear some ideas that
you have in terms of how youintegrate your creative practice
(56:04):
and how you move that forward.
So go to my website,amrapajaliccom slash podcast for
the show notes.
So that isA-M-R-A-P-A-J-A-L-I-c dot com
slash podcast for the show notes, and tune in next time for my
(56:26):
next episode, where I'm talkingabout how short stories build a
publication history and how theycan help you find an audience
and get a publishing contract.
So thank you.
Thank you for tuning in toAmra's Armchair Anecdotes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
(56:49):
follow for more insights,stories and inspiration from my
armchair to yours.
Remember, every story beginswith a single word.
Welcome to Amra's Armchair Anecdotes.
I'm Amra Payalich, writer,teacher and storyteller.
Pull up a chair and let's diveinto stories about writing, life
and lessons learned, sharingwisdom from my armchair to yours
.
You can find the episode shownotes, your free episode
(00:22):
handouts and my how-to guides atamrapayelichcom slash podcast.
And now it's time to dive in.
Welcome to Amra's ArmchairAnecdotes.
Today's episode is aboutbalancing the pen and the
paycheck how to stay creativewhile we're working full-time.
(00:44):
I'm Amra Payalich.
I'm a full-time teacher, writerand indie author, and today I
want to talk about how do I keepteaching and working and
focusing on my creative practice.
Unfortunately, this is astruggle that all creatives face
(01:07):
.
I do play the lottery everyweek just in case I might win
that big prize and be able to betransformed into a full-time
author and still be able to eatand pay bills and take care of
my daughter.
But in the three decades that Ihave been focusing on my
(01:31):
creative practice, I have alsohad to work in a day job and I
have had to find ways of keepingmy creativity and my energy
going and how to fit it into thecracks of time.
I have only ever had theopportunity once in my life to
(01:52):
be a full-time author, and thatwas for an amazing 10 weeks of
my long service leave, whichmeant that I had actually worked
seven years full-time as ateacher in order to earn those
10 weeks and that little spaceof time.
And it was amazing I achievedso much in such a short amount
(02:16):
of time because I knew thatthere was a clock ticking and
that it was coming to an end,that it was coming to an end.
But I do have to work on how tokeep creative and how to keep
my writing going, because notmany of us have that opportunity
where we are able to dedicateourselves full time.
(02:39):
You know, we're usuallyfighting for it for a while in
the hope that we will have thatbreakout moment when we will be
earning enough from our creativepractice.
So I'm going to take you backand talk about how I became both
(02:59):
a teacher and a writer, and Ialways knew I wanted to be a
writer.
It was the only thing I everwanted to do in my life, um, but
you know, when you go throughthe school system, it's not
really a career that people knowabout and that they can guide
you in, and so I took a longtime to sort of discover.
(03:24):
You know this space in my life.
I finished high school.
I was one of the first peoplein my family, like my parents,
had not finished high school andI was too intimidated to go to
university.
Intimidated to go to university.
(03:48):
And my careers counsellorbecause I changed my preferences
and ruined my chances ofuniversity opportunities offered
me a course in doing anadministration course and so I
did that and I did anapprenticeship in administration
and was unleashed in theworking world.
And while administration was agood gig, it was comfortable, it
(04:12):
was a nice cushy job because,you know, most of my family were
factory workers, so this wasstill a lovely step up it did
not satisfy my intellectual andcreative curiosity.
I had realized that I hadambition.
So I was like, well, I'm inadministration, I may as well
(04:37):
look at how to make this work,how to get jobs.
I did a certificate in of inshorthand, which is sort of
obsolete now because we've gotall this dictation software, um,
but it's basically someonedictates and you're writing in
characters, uh, and then you'retranscribing that and producing
(04:57):
text from that, and I hated thiscourse.
I worked full-time, um, I wouldto TAFE, which is like a
vocational course, once a weekafter working the whole eight
hours and do three hours, six tonine.
I didn't like it at all.
(05:17):
I would call my husband and go,come pick me up, I don't want
to do this, I don't want to dothis.
And he would pick me up a fewtimes and he was like I don't
want to do this.
And he would pick me up a fewtimes and it was like no, you've
got to do it, you've got to seeit through.
And so I did.
And I had to pass a test where Itook dictation at 50 words per
minute and I passed and Isucceeded and I thought, oh well
(05:38):
, I did something I really hated.
I finished it, I got through it.
I was able to do it whilejuggling full-time work.
I wonder what would happen if Idid something that I actually
liked, and that's when I foundthe Diploma of Arts in
Professional Writing and Editing, and that was what gave me this
opportunity to enter this worldas a writer, learn how to do
(05:58):
all of these things in terms ofpitching to publications,
navigating my way through thepublishing world and again, I
did that while working full timeand going once or twice a week
over four years.
And then I did a Bachelor ofArts, again working at that time
(06:21):
three days a week and studyingtwo days, working at that time
three days a week and studyingtwo days.
And eventually I worked up tohaving my novel published.
But I realised I had thatawakening like a lot of people
do.
I thought that my novel beingpublished would change my life.
And it did in some ways,because when you achieve your
(06:46):
childhood dream, it isincredibly validating.
You know that you did it, thatyou put yourself out there and
you achieved that.
But it did not change my lifein the monetary sense.
Advances that you get frompublishers, especially in
Australia, are not in, you know,living income.
I received a $5,000 advance onmy first novel and I realized
(07:12):
that my dream of not workingwasn't going to happen.
Unfortunately, I'd already quitmy job at that point because I
went on maternity leave and Iwas like, oh, I don't want to
work in this anymore, I willfind something else, which was a
good and a bad thing, becauseit forced me to really think
about my future and think about,if I have to work, what should
(07:36):
I be doing.
And I did my teachingqualification and I entered
teaching, you know know, quiteas a mature woman.
I was 36 years old when Istarted teaching.
I am now 47 years old and I'vebeen doing it for 12 years.
I'll be turning 48 in a fewmonths, and so I had resisted up
(07:59):
until that time, finding anactual career.
I had thought, oh, I just needto work jobs that don't take up
too much energy and too muchheadspace, because if I do a
full-time job that will take allof my energy and take all of my
drive, I will stop writing andI will not keep that up.
And so there was some truth tothat, because working in
(08:23):
administration was quite dull.
It wasn't as taxing, becauseteaching is physically and
mentally demanding.
You can't stop in the classroom, you're always on and you're
always having expand energy.
And then also outside of theclassroom, in terms of
(08:45):
organizing and preparing lessonplans and all of the things that
we have to do, you never kindof switch off.
And so I was right in thatsense, because when I started
working full time as a teacher,oh my gosh, it was exhausting.
I was so tired, so tired.
(09:05):
I started working full time as ateacher when my daughter was
five years old and she startedprep.
When I started teaching.
Thankfully, my husband was thestay home parent and he was the
one doing everything for her interms of pickups and drop offs
and cooking and cleaning andcoordinating everything.
But I would literally come home, um, sit down and have dinner
(09:30):
uh, those first few months andthen I would go to bed with her,
like at her bedtime.
She would go to bed at 7 30 andI would be in bed at 7 30, um,
and it was very, verychallenging and very hard, and
so I had to really look at waysof maintaining my passion and my
writing practice, both when Iwas in administration and when I
(09:53):
was a full-time teacher, andthere are a variety of
strategies I've used for that.
So I'm going to go into some ofthe ways that I did that, and
you know the ways that I foundinspiration and momentum.
So I think one of the ways thatI learnt when I was in
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administration, I had to findspaces of time where I could
write, and the only time I hadwas when I was traveling on the
train going to work, and so Istarted transcribing and writing
, handwriting my pages, and Iset myself a goal that I was
(10:40):
going to do three pages each wayon the way to work and three
pages on the way home, and eachpage turned out to be 250 words,
and so I sort of did the mathsand figured out that if I did
that every day I would achieve5,000 words.
Now the problem with thatprocess was the typing up, which
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had its pros and cons, becauseI was.
Now, the problem with thatprocess was the typing up, which
had its pros and cons, becauseI was handwriting, I was
unlocking that stream ofconsciousness and there was no
editing as I was writing, andthen, when I was transcribing it
, that was the opportunity toedit and to polish it, and so I
had to figure out ways ofkeeping myself motivated when I
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was a teacher, and so some ofthe ways that I did that was I
got a mentor.
I was working on my memoir whenI was working as a teacher and
I knew that I would strugglewith writing and with
maintaining that energy and Iknew that I needed some sort of
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support system to keep meaccountable, and so I applied
for and I eventually, after thethird go, received funding from
Creative Victoria and I got amentor in.
Alice Pung is now my very, verydear friend, who's a successful
memoirist, and so she, you knowwe would set a schedule in
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terms of me writing and I wouldsend her extracts and I would
have phone meetings with her,because we were both juggling
with things and we wouldstruggle to meet face to face,
and so we would do a lot ofthings on the phone and then
meet face-to-face every once ina while, and so that was one
strategy that I employed wascreating those accountability
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opportunities and thoseopportunities to connect with
other people.
Some of the things that I didwas I was blogging my writing
goals and my writing word countand, interestingly, at that time
, you know, blogging had juststarted and it was getting, you
know, traction and I was doingthis for myself, as a way of,
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you know, keeping myself goingand, you know, doing that author
blog.
And the more I did it, the morepeople sort of started coming
to my blog.
I started connecting with otherbloggers and actually created a
really nice online community,and so that was also great and
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supportive.
And I remember the first timethat I had a comment on my blog
from someone and I went andchecked them out.
It was someone in England and Iwas like someone in England is
reading my blog and it was thisamazing moment of you don't know
what you put out there and whomight see it.
And this blogger was alsosomeone who ended up getting
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published and getting atraditional publishing deal.
So for a long time we sort ofkept in touch online and kept
each other motivated online, andso that was another way that I
kept myself going and that Icreated those accountabilities.
Some of the things that I didwas, you know, writing groups.
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So when I originally startedwriting, I was seeking support
and people who were like-minded,and so when I did my TAFE
course, I met my friend Jodie,who I'm still friends with three
decades later, and we becamecritique partners and
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accountability partners so wewould keep each other motivated
and check in with each other.
There were also opportunitiesto create little writing groups,
because we were critiquing eachother's work and we would work
in groups where everyone wouldread each other's work.
People started sort of takingthose writing groups and those
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critique groups outside of theclasses and meeting in the real
world and using that asaccountability.
And so early in my career Ifound writing groups.
There was this one writinggroup I found online which was
really well organized I was aromance writer at that time.
That was the genre that I wasexploring and these women were
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amazing.
I have to say, the one thingabout romance writers that is
just jaw dropping is they arethe trailblazers in terms of
promotion and marketing and thatwhole world, because they
really know how to connect withreaders and how to create those
connections with readers.
And so that group was amazing.
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We would have monthly meetings.
There would be, you know,reward systems about, you know,
like at the beginning it wouldbe like who's written this much,
who's submitted, who's donethis?
We would get chocolate, wewould bring each other work to
read, we would do littleworkshops and, you know, upskill
ourselves and learn.
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And that was a wonderfulopportunity.
And so I've tried differentwriting groups.
Some of them were a little bitdysfunctional, where some of
them did get.
You know, I kind of call thisthe good, bad and the ugly.
So I've had the good and thebad and the ugly of writing
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groups where I had, you know,the amazing ones, the great
sense of community.
Then there was one where itbecame a little bit egotistical
and it split into a bit ofcliques and stuff.
Um, there was another writinggroup I was a part of, which is
amazing.
I'm still sort of connected with, uh, some of these writers, um,
but it got too big.
We got too big for um, you know, meeting regularly, and so then
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people started sort of um,creating little offshoots and
meeting, um, and then I got tothe point where I thought, uh, I
need a writing group and I wantto create my own.
So I created my own.
I sort of reached out to peopleI knew who were aspiring
writers and we started a writinggroup.
We set up a schedule, werotated and met each other at
(16:59):
each other's houses and thatworked really well for a while
and it gave me the impetus andthe motivation that I needed.
And then that group sort ofsplintered.
I did have one before that.
Also, we were meeting in thecity.
It was just a few of us whowere friends and we loved the
opportunity to sort of go intothe mid city and meet and
connect.
And so I've always had some sortof you know groups or online
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support systems.
Even today, I saw this memeabout how every woman has a
online chat group with you know,with some cute name, where
they're just constantly posting,and I'm like, yeah, I've got
two of those where I've got, youknow, two online chat groups.
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We have very cool names and wejust kind of post in there and
motivate each other and sharewhat we're working on and just
have that continuousconversation.
So I guess what that comes tois create some sort of a network
, whether it's online, whetherit's in real life, whether it's
people that you know, whetherit's people that you don't know.
That's one way of findingmotivation and creating those
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opportunities to keep going andto keep your writing practice
going.
So I wanted to talk about howto build writing into your
everyday, and I think one of thethings that we do is where we
romanticize writing.
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But in general creative pursuits, when you think about you know,
a writer or a painter or anartist.
They are in this beautifulspace with the luxury of time,
and most of us are not.
We do not have that, you know,in my house at the moment.
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I have a tiny little desk in mybedroom, which is the only
space I could fit a desk into,and I do most of my writing at
home, either at that desk, on mybed with a cushion and my
laptop, or downstairs on myrecliner lounge with a foldable
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table that I put my computer on,and so we don't have that.
You know, like I do now, afterthree decades and after working
for 12 years as a teacher andbeing able to reduce my time,
and now I'm working four daysand I have one day to myself and
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I have this beautiful studiothat I can use, but I still have
to write and work on my writingpractice the other four days
while I'm a teacher, and I don'tcome here to do that, I do that
at home, I do that in shortbursts of times that I can, and
so you know you have to findways to make it fit in.
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I remember what shattered myromantic perceptions of the
writing life was reading StephenKing's On Writing, and he
talked about how he got thisbeautiful office in his house
and set it all up and that wassupposed to be where he would
write and he would go in thereevery day and just inspiration
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would die.
And so he slowly startedmigrating to the kitchen table
and having his computer therewhile life was going on around
him, while his wife and hischildren were getting up to
things, and that's when hestarted writing.
And so I realized he's thisincredibly prolific writer who
has, you know, worked anddeveloped this success and he
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realized that, you know, writingjust has to be a part of your
life, it just has to be a partof your daily practice.
Um, you can't sort of waituntil that perfect time and have
a whole day and have this wholeyou know time that you can do
it.
You have to find those littlespaces, and so that's what I did
.
You know, for For quite a fewyears, while I was working full
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time, I would wake up at 5.30 inthe morning and I would write
for an hour until 6.30 in themorning and do my morning
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routine and get to work.
And that was the only time thatI had.
I was too tired and tooshattered to work after school
because in those early years,teaching took all my headspace
and all my energy.
And so I knew that the onlygood brain that I had was in the
morning and that I had tosacrifice to make that work.
And so, in order to wake up at5.30 in the morning, I had was
in the morning and that I had tosacrifice to make that work.
And so in order to wake up at5.30 in the morning, I had to go
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to bed really early.
I had to go to bed at 8.30 andget enough sleep to be able to
wake up then and to sustain mypractice.
And that's what I did.
And that meant being verystrict with my bedtime routine
and it meant not going out,although that's hard for me
sometimes, but, you know, notgoing out and not making any
commitments after work, becauseI had made that commitment to
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myself and initially, when Istarted doing that morning
routine, it was really hard.
Um, you know, you would wake upearly in the morning and my
brain would be kind of, uh, youknow, it takes a while to wake
up and I would sit down and it'slike this is all the time I've
got.
I need to make this work, Ineed to write.
And you know, sometimes you putpressure on yourself
(22:42):
psychologically where it's likeI must write now, this is it Do
or die, and the brain does notwork well under pressure.
And so I read this book uh, themorning pages by julia cameron,
and she talked about unlockingyour subconscious and writing in
the morning, not putting anypressure, letting your muse play
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.
And she also had all theseother great strategies that I
used, um, in terms of making adate with yourself and ways to
inspire your creativity.
And so sometimes I would wakeup in the morning and I would
just write lyrics.
I would write music lyrics, orI remember some days I would
wake up and say I don't want tobe awake, I don't want to be
writing, I don't have nothing tosay.
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And then, just as I kept sortof doing this word vomit.
Slowly things would starthappening, things would start
coming to me and then it becamea routine and my brain started
waking up.
At that time it startedactivating.
The writing started happeningbecause I only had that one hour
.
I would write and whatever Iwas up to I would have to stop,
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and sometimes it's good to stopat the high point in a scene
where, like you know whereyou're going and then you have
to stop.
And I would go to work and whenI would have quiet moments my
brain would be sort of turningit over and the subconscious
would be doing its little job ofcreating associations and words
(24:10):
and images.
And then I'll come back thenext day and it would just pour
out of me and it would.
It would really just cometogether and then I would have
these big waves of writinginspiration where you know, I
would feel like doing it on theweekend, and I would get that
wave of inspiration andmotivation and then I'd finish a
chapter and then I would haveto start again and I would go
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through that process of oh my,my God.
I've got nothing to say.
I don't know what the nextchapter is going to be, but it
would happen because thatcontinuous practice did it, my
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writing.
I would always listen to whatpeople were saying and how they
were writing and I would try itand some things would work for
me and some things would notwork for me, but I would figure
it out.
You know, there were some timeswhen I was going to my car with
a notebook and I was writing inmy car for 20 minutes, or I was
sitting at my desk and justwriting something at my desk,
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and so you have to create thesesmall chunks of time, and
sometimes the way to do it alsois to take the pressure off.
You can either make it aboutword count or you can make it
about time, and so there havebeen periods of my life where
I've not been able to make itabout word count and go.
I will write 1000 words a daybecause that was unsustainable,
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that was too hard when I had ayoung daughter, and so, for
example, when I was waking up at5.30 in the morning, it was not
about word count, it was justabout.
I will wake up, you know, fivedays a week at 5 30 and I will
dedicate this time to ourwriting practice and whatever I
do, I do and some weeks I wouldhave amazing word count where it
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would be, you know, 5 000 words, and some weeks it would be
like a thousand, a thousand anda half.
It wouldn't be huge, um, butthat's what I had to do.
I had to make that commitmentand I had to make that small
goals for myself and build inways of doing that.
Other ways is, you know, findingwhat works in terms of writing.
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Like you know that writing inlife I now sometimes, when I'm
struggling with writing, I havea tv show on in the background,
usually either a tv show I'm notreally into, obviously, because
when you're really into ityou're like or where I'm
re-watching something.
You know how we've all got ourfavorite shows that we kind of
(26:45):
do on repeat, um, and so I mighthave that in the background
where it's my comfort watch andI'm not really paying attention,
I'm not really in the zone, butI'm always tricking my brain
where I am occupied and kind oflike watching, and then I'm sort
of writing and then, slowly,the inspiration and creativity
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is coming, and so I do a lot ofthings in the midst of life
where you know I will, um, writewhile things are going on
around me, while, um, I'mcooking in short bursts or, um,
you know I can't do it while I'mcleaning, but at least then
I'll listen to my audiobooks.
So, finding ways of making itwork, um, so I think, to go
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through what the importantthings are, the strategies I
think, create someaccountability in some way for
yourself.
Build in strategies to do it insmall ways, in small steps, and
make writing a habit and not achore.
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So if you are writing andyou're getting bogged down and
you're getting bored and it'snot working, well, go to
something else.
Give your muse a break, give ittime to rejuvenate.
So to do that, you might needto either take a break from
writing and just immerseyourself in being a consumer of
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entertainment, either reading orwatching things that inspire
you, or you might need to writesomething else.
It might be time to take a stepback and do something else that
you can write.
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So when I was writing my memoirI would go through burnout and I
would hit points where it wastoo hard because there was a lot
of trauma associated withwriting my memoir.
And so what I did with that wasI started writing a romance
novel and so I would work on mymemoir and then when I ran out
of oomph or I was just reallyfeeling weary or you know blue,
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I would work on the romancenovel, which was more fun, it
was light and it wasentertaining.
And you know, the memoir didtake a while.
It took five years to write andin that time I wrote other
books and other pieces, but thatwas what I needed to do.
I could not dedicate myself tothat on a full-time basis
because it was too hard.
Even the novel that I did formy PhD, which is going to be the
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first book in the series, itwas a very hard book to write
because it's dealing with somereally serious and difficult
themes.
It is dealing with war, it isdealing with genocide and
massacre and deprivation, andthere were times when that was
really hard to write and I didhave to take a step back and
write a short piece or write ashort story and do something
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else that would take me awayfrom that darkness and from that
moment.
The other way that I sort ofdealt with it sometimes I now
can't write without playinginstrumental music, but before,
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when I was writing, I sometimeshad to find the right music to
motivate me, to get me in themood for certain scenes, and so
that was something else thathelped me get through dark
moments or through moments whereI was struggling with
inspiration Finding the rightmusic, finding the right
soundtrack and having that besomething that accompanies me
and gives me that bit of supportin the writing process.
Now I always play musicalsoundtracks.
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I do it even when I'm at work,teaching, doing my lesson
planning and doing other things.
I just like sort of having likea work at teach or my work at a
school that has 2,000 people init.
We have, you know, 1,600students, we have over 200 staff
(31:00):
and support staff, so there's alot of people, a lot of bodies,
a lot of noise, and so I findthat I need to kind of cut off
that sensory overload and shutit down.
And in the early days when, um,you know, my daughter was small
and and there was a lot going onin the house on a day-to-day
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basis.
I did have to do that too,where I would put, uh, my
headphones on for brief periods,uh, when she was, just try and
snatch those 15, 20 minutes oftime, um, and write and do that
bit of a sprint and move forward, and so that would kind of
create that little bit of space.
Now, one of the things thathappens when we are juggling so
(31:47):
much is we need to prioritizerest and we need to avoid
burnout.
So I did, and I still do, kindof get burnt out.
The thing now is I'm gettingbetter at recognizing it and I
am getting better at taking careof myself and taking a time out
when I am feeling that.
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However, I am now at a pointwhere I am really driven and I
always have to do something, andso I'm learning to have a very
impressive to-do list, and sothen, anytime when I have time
to do something, I look at thatlist and I look at what is
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something that I can do if I'mreally tired.
That does not require much inthe way of concentration, so I
might be creating promotionalgraphics or marketing or doing
some editing for some of thethings that I'm producing at the
moment and what is somethingthat requires concentration and
needs to be done when I'm fresh.
So if I'm proofreading, thathas to be done the first thing
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in the morning.
So that's one way to sort oflook at managing burnout and
managing your energy levels,looking at how do you feel like
what can you do at the time thatyou've got?
So obviously, you know,stepping back when you need to
step back.
I go through times where I'mreally tired and I either need
(33:15):
to have a weekend where I'm justdoing, you know, binge watching
, marathons of a TV show that Ilove or a repeat of something
that I love, or I'm reading abook cover to cover.
I find that that rejuvenates meso much If I just sit down and
I do nothing but read for a dayand kind of leave the world
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behind.
Because as soon as I read agood book and you know something
that is well constructed andthat uplifts me, I just I feel
inspired to create.
I feel that energy coming backwhere I want to create something
.
And then also nature I'mfinding I really did not
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appreciate enough, I think, inmy early days, how much nature
does to recharge us, and so oneof the things that I do now is I
go for walks in this beautifulpark that is near my house,
brimbeck Park, and I eitherlisten to podcasts or I listen
(34:21):
to audiobooks.
And so I have this time whereI'm out in nature enjoying, like
I love, looking at treesthere's something about looking
at trees that really makes mefeel good and then, because I've
got the headphones and I'meither listening to a podcast
that is helping me in terms ofmy writing, or helping me in
terms of my you know businesspractices, or thinking about
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myself as a creative, orlearning something, or I'm just
listening to an audio book.
I'm listening to, you know, agenre that I like, a book that I
like.
At first, when I startedlistening to an audiobook, I'm
listening to.
You know a genre that I like, abook that I like.
Um, at first, when I startedlistening to audiobooks, it was
a struggle.
I remember the first time Ilistened.
I listened to an audiobook.
The first 20 minutes, just, Ifelt so jangly and I felt so
(35:06):
like, oh, I don't know if thisis working for me.
And then it just stopped and Iwas in the moment and I was just
as I was hearing the narrator,um, I'm one of those visual
people, so pictures appear in mymind and I see things like a
movie, and so now, um, thishappens with audiobooks, where I
(35:29):
sometimes don't know did Ilisten to it or did I read it,
because I see the visuals andone of the things I've
discovered is the voice is veryimportant to me.
So I've now learned to listento a sample and find a sample
that you know, a narrator, thatreally appeals to me, and so I
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love that opportunity to sort oftake that time out to still
feel like I'm multitasking,because sometimes, you know, my
ambition is just I want to do somuch, and so then, doing the
walking, being in nature, andthen listening to an audio book
and doing the reading, it justfeels like I'm achieving so much
still, um, so, I think,connecting with other creative
(36:16):
people and engaging in thecreative world.
So, you know, going to galleries, um, going to launches, going
to events, going to conferences,um, I have met some amazing
people, you know, like my frienddimet.
Uh, I met her at a not a launch, but at an event I think it was
the victoria's premier's awardsand she just came up to me and
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we started talking and we justkind of connected and then we
exchanged emails and then westarted doing things together
and started collaboratingtogether and you know, um, I
don't know how many years it'sbeen now Sugar I think it's been
16 years and we're reallyreally close friends, still
there for each other andconstantly, you know, talking
(37:00):
regularly, posting in our onlinechat on a constant basis,
meeting up me, her and Alice youknow all writers mothers, wives
, you know got very full livesand still moving forward with
our creative practice.
And you know our jobs, day jobsand so I think that you know
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you don't know who you're goingto meet or who you're going to
connect with, and especially inthose early days as an emerging
writer, it is so important tomake connections with people who
inspire you, and now I get somany ideas when I talk to some
of these people in my life whoare in the creative world in
different ways, where you knowthey help me problem solve or
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they give me ideas of thingsthat they've listened to or
things that they've heard, andso we're just kind of feeding
each other constantly.
So you know, give your musetime and space to play.
So I spoke about the morningpages and I really think Julia
Cameron's book the Artist's Wayis something that might be
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really useful for people.
I've recommended it a lot to alot of creatives and to a lot of
writers and it really kind ofputs you in touch with trusting
the muse.
The other one is ElizabethGilbert's Big Magic.
You know reading things aboutwriting in different ways, that
people do it and then trying it.
It's really important.
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One other thing is don't keeprewriting the same book.
Try new things.
Like when we start, first ofall as emerging writers, it
takes us a long time to finish abook, and that's what I did.
You know, my first book was myromance novel return to me, um,
and which is there on mybookshelf, and, um, I spent
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three years writing that bookand I got, you know, bored and
frustrated with it at certainpoints and I would take time out
and I would write a short storyand I would write a freelance
article and I would write a poem, and so every time I got bored,
you know, either I would jumpto the next scene I would keep
my momentum going that way butalso I would try something fresh
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or try something new.
I would try and get my museplaying again and get it
inspired.
And so I would also encourageyou to try different genres.
I remember when I was doing mydiploma and you know we would
have guest speakers every well,one of the classes every week,
and so guest speakers would comein and they would talk about
the different ways that theywere writing, and I would try it
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.
You know we had someone talkingabout flash fiction, so would
come in and they would talkabout the different ways that
they were writing, and I wouldtry it.
You know we have someonetalking about flash fiction, so
I wrote some flash fiction and Ihad it published.
And even today I listen topodcasts.
I really love the creative penand her interviews with
different writers and differentcreatives, and I hear ideas of
what they're doing and how theyare finding energy and
(40:04):
inspiration, and so I try it.
So you know, always try thosedifferent genres and different
ways of doing things.
One other thing is don't chasetrends.
Remember when the vampire bookswere the big thing and everyone
had a vampire book, and then wedid all these different types
of vampire books.
The problem with chasing trendsis, when you look at the
(40:27):
traditional publishing world, abook might be published, you
know.
Say now, that book was writtenat least three years before.
Then there was a submissionprocess, then it was picked up
for publication, then it, youknow, went through the editing
process and then it wasscheduled for publication.
Like every book that ispublished.
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Traditionally, it's got atleast one year usually more from
when the contract was signed.
So the problem with chasingtrends is whatever is published
currently has had a long leadtime, and so if you're chasing a
trend, by the time you gothrough the process and write it
, that trend might be over.
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And the problem with that isyou are then personally
disappointed and bitter andirritated, which is how I felt
when I've chased trends, becauseI could have been working on
something that I was reallypassionate about and that, even
if it didn't, you know, getpicked up, I would have been
personally satisfied and contentwith it.
(41:30):
Make your trends, write yourpassion, write what tickles your
brain, put your unique twistforward, and that is how you
will keep getting thatinspiration and keep getting
that momentum.
Okay, I also think you know,write the fun bits of a novel,
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leave the boring bits.
So, uh, when you're firstwriting a draft and I still do
this now I sort of plot out alot more than I used to.
But I get bored and I'm like,oh, I don't know what I want to
say with this part.
I think I've done as much as Ican and I work on the next scene
, the next interesting scene,and then as I keep going, it
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becomes clearer to me what'smissing beforehand and what I
need to develop beforehand andthe world building that I need
to do, and then I can go backand flesh out the scenes that
I've got.
So, you know, keep yourselfmoving forward so that you keep
that inspiration going, and then, obviously, try different ways
(42:35):
of writing, you know, with music, with TV in the background,
with your children in the room.
Another thing that people havetalked about, and I haven't
really experimented much with,but it's dictation.
So these days there is amazing,you know transcription software
and dictation software that youcan use quite inexpensively,
(42:58):
and so I've been hearing a lotof writers who just use their
phone and they dictate intotheir phone as they are moving
around there every day, and thenthey put that through to you
know, through some softwarewhere it gets transcribed, and
that's how they write, and youknow that might be one way of
(43:19):
moving things forward andgetting that word count down and
building it into your regularlife.
So, you know, use the toolsthat we've got now and software
that we've got.
Try new ways of writing and newways of building it into your
writing practice and see whatworks.
I've pretty much every book.
(43:39):
I've done something differentor tried something different.
I, you know, used to getdifferent books about book
structure and how to structurethem and I would read the books.
So you know I used Save the Cator something cat, and you know
(43:59):
I would use those tips and thosestructural templates.
Now I use Plotter quite a bit,which has got the different ways
of plotting and the differentways of structuring your novel,
and so that's something thathelps me with that structure and
thinking it through.
So, you know, try the differentways of doing things.
(44:23):
And then, you know, just listento other creatives, find ways of
.
You know, if you can't in yourreal life connect with other
people, it's wonderful now to beable to do it online, to be
able to listen to podcasts, tobe able to find people on
YouTube and watch their videosin times you know the times that
you've got and just hearingwhat other people are doing and
(44:46):
trying it.
Not everything will work foryou, you know.
Some things will work for ashort period and then it's not
going to work anymore.
But that is the thing aboutthis creative life and this
creative world you areconstantly evolving and learning
and changing and changing yourthinking and changing your
processes, and that's the joy ofit.
(45:08):
I constantly need stimulationand I need to find the fun and
the joy, and so that's the waythat I work and that's what I'm
always looking for.
(45:31):
I want to talk about now, um,how teaching inspires writing
and, in a way, how do we findinspiration from our day jobs to
continue our creative practice?
So when I worked inadministration, um, a lot of the
jobs that I did, you know, wereindustries.
I wasn't, you know, like theywere just industries.
I was working thenot-for-profit sector and stuff.
But what I found worked for mein terms of motivation was the
(45:54):
fact that it gave me theopportunities to learn software
and technology that at that time, I did not have access to
outside of work, in a sense,like I had my own computer, but
just some technology and somesoftware was more expensive, and
so there were things that I waslearning that were was helping
me with my creative practice.
(46:15):
So I remember one job I had Iwas learning a bit of coding, I
was learning about projectmanagement, and so some of those
skills translated to my writingworld and helped me kind of
find an in With teaching.
I now have different benefits,so one of the really important
(46:37):
things that I've gotten out ofteaching I'm an English teacher
and so I have to teach texts andteach text analysis and text
response, and so through thatprocess I have to deconstruct
novels and the structure ofnovels and the language of
(46:57):
writers and authors, intent, andI've found that has really
helped me with my writing,because now my brain is
constantly thinking about theway that things are structured
and you know writing strategiesand it's woken up that part of
my brain.
I've also found you know thatdeveloping of discipline with
(47:21):
teaching because as a teacheryou're very busy.
There is not much time.
We're constantly on the run.
Like you know, I have a shortbreak, recess and a lunch break,
and it takes five minutes topack up and go from the
classroom to my desk and fiveminutes to go from my desk back
(47:42):
to the classroom.
So then that time is reallycompressed and so you have to
figure out how to manage thingsand how to do things quickly.
And so you know even strategies, like I love drinking tea, but
I would never be able to haveenough time to make a cup of tea
and actually drink it, and so Istarted bringing tea in a flask
(48:03):
so that I could quickly justpour myself tea, and so it
really made me good at problemsolving, that thinking how do I
maximize time and how do I dothings in a much quicker time
frame and how do I maximize whatI can do when.
And so the strategy about thegood brain and what brain am I
working with and what can I dothat started at work, where
(48:25):
sometimes I'd be too tired andit's like, well, I can't do the
lesson planning or I can't dothat, you know, preparation of
the text analysis, but I can gostand at the photocopier for
half an hour and photocopy allthe resources that I need.
So you know, looking at thetime and how I'm feeling and how
do I maximize it, that wasreally helpful.
One of the most important thingsthat being a teacher has given
(48:49):
me is the mindset.
So I live in the suburb of StAlbans it is where I grew up and
I teach at the school that ismy former high school and I
teach at the school that is myformer high school and I love
that I am in that position to dothat because I love being a
role model for my students.
(49:10):
When I grew up in this area andwe are in the western suburbs
of Melbourne, so it's lowsocioeconomic in general you
know really hard lives a lot ofmigrants, migrant parents having
to give up their dreams fortheir children and to give their
(49:31):
children opportunity, and thenthe pressures that places on the
students.
And then when I grew up, Ihated living in this suburb.
I hated being associated withthis suburb.
I could not wait to get out.
And I see that with a lot of mystudents because you know, when
(49:51):
I say where I work and when Isay where I live, people have a
lot of stereotypes and a lot ofnegative views of my area and
they say a lot of negativethings about my students and I'm
like, well, you're wrong.
My students are the mostbeautiful people you know.
They are so incrediblyrespectful.
(50:11):
The things that a lot of otherteachers face in terms of
disrespect and disregard doesnot happen very much at my
school.
Disregard does not happen verymuch at my school, and so I am
really happy and I get a lot ofmotivation from being a role
model for my students, for beingable to show them how it
(50:37):
doesn't matter where you comefrom, it is what you do with it
and what you can achieve, andthat gives me a lot of impetus
and a lot of that inspiration tokeep going.
And then, even when I look backat my cultural background and
my community I am from a Bosnianbackground and being able to
(50:59):
tell stories about my cultureand my community also gives me a
lot of inspiration.
And so that you know, being arole model, you know to go back
to teaching and how thatmotivates me with my writing.
I get a lot of you know, a lotof inspiration from that.
(51:20):
So I look at what are you doingin your day, what is it that
your day job is and how can youget some lessons from it?
Or how can you get somemotivation in terms of thinking?
How is it supporting yourwriting practice?
So you know, at certain pointsin administration it supported
me in terms of the learning sideand learning packages.
(51:42):
Um, then it supported me interms of writing on the train
and so that traveling part of it, um, and so you know, find
(52:05):
your're working full time, buthave that creative itch.
Just don't give up.
It is possible.
You just need to find whatworks for you.
You need to find the momentsand the ways that you can make
it fit.
Um, it's not about having thetime, it's about making the time
, and there's something aboutsometimes with our creative
(52:27):
practice that we don'tprioritize it because we might
not be making any money with it,especially in the beginning,
and therefore it's not worth ourtime and not worth prioritizing
.
There's always something elseto do, but we have to prioritize
it for ourselves because wehave to prioritize who we are.
(52:47):
So if I'm not writing or if I'mnot working on my creative
practice, I'm not a good person.
I'm not a good mother.
I'm, and I know that I'm notbeing my best self and I am not
(53:09):
being the person that I shouldbe.
And so I have learned that Ihave to prioritize it, not just
for myself, but also foreveryone around me and for all
of the people that depend on me,because if I want to be a good
mother and someone who isexperiencing joy and who is
(53:30):
modeling joy, then I need to dowhat gives me joy, and so that's
something that I really focuson modeling with my daughter and
I see how it works with herwhere she also prioritizes her
creativity, where she will sitdown and paint something and
create something and have thosemoments of joy.
(53:54):
And we can very easily wastetime I know I do on social media
and a lot of things like thatand so I have to practice
discipline in terms of dedicatedtime and even if it is 20
minutes a day if that's all youcan give it, then give it that
(54:17):
habit.
As you are creating thatopportunity for your brain to
engage and for your muse to play, it will start developing more.
I find that the more ideas Ihave and the more that I action
on my ideas, the more they keepcoming to me.
I learned that from I reallygot that from Elizabeth
(54:40):
Gilbert's Big Magic, where shewas like it's about honoring
your muse, and if you don'thonor your muse, she will
flutter away and go to someoneelse, and so that's the way that
I think of it.
It is about honoring thatenergy and whatever that is
coming from and just putting itout there and building those
(55:02):
small moments, those smallpractices, and having them build
into something more.
So thank you for listening tothis episode and I hope you have
gotten some helpful tips.
Don't forget that on my websitethere is a transcript.
(55:22):
Don't forget that.
On my website there is atranscript, there are show notes
and there is also how-to guidesto support you with your
writing practice, which is alsoa way of you supporting this
show.
They are very cost-effective $5, and so they are giving you
these actionable steps thatmight help you having that
(55:42):
how-to guide and havingsomething written down, and by
purchasing those, you arehelping to support this podcast.
So I hope you got something outof this.
I would love to hear from youand love to hear some ideas that
you have in terms of how youintegrate your creative practice
(56:04):
and how you move that forward.
So go to my website,amrapajaliccom slash podcast for
the show notes.
So that isA-M-R-A-P-A-J-A-L-I-c dot com
slash podcast for the show notes, and tune in next time for my
(56:26):
next episode, where I'm talkingabout how short stories build a
publication history and how theycan help you find an audience
and get a publishing contract.
So thank you.
Thank you for tuning in toAmra's Armchair Anecdotes.
If you enjoyed today's episode,don't forget to subscribe and
(56:49):
follow for more insights,stories and inspiration from my
armchair to yours.
Remember, every story beginswith a single word.
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