March 25, 2024 • 40 mins
Why is it that when life gets tough, we turn to creativity?
In this episode of Creativity: Uncovered, I am joined by Amber Byers, an attorney who re-found her love of writing after being made redundant.
Now Amber is an award-winning author, editor and head judge of the Tadpole Press 100-Word Writing Contest.
In this episode we talk about:
- Amber’s career as an attorney when she knew it wasn’t right for her
- How Amber found her creativity again
- Her journey to become an award-winning author
- How she has made a business from writing - in more ways than just being an author
- Her writing competition, the Tadpole Press 100-Word Writing Contest
- Her tips for others who may want to switch their current career to a more creative pursuit
Amber has also prepared a special offer for Creativity: Uncovered guests. To access this, head to: http://www.tadpolepress.com/uncovered
Happy listening!
xo Abi
P.S. For more information about this episode and our guest, head to: www.crispcomms.co/podcast-episodes/how-to-change-your-career-to-better-serve-your-creative-self
Creativity: Uncovered is lovingly edited by the team at Crisp Communications.
Creativity: Uncovered is a registered Australian Trade Mark.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
[MUSIC]
There is something so interesting about creativity that it can often get pushed to the side in our lives.
But when things start to go a little awry, it's in our nature to try and seek it out again.
(00:22):
And I'm really intrigued to see what that is. And I think that this has happened with my guest today.
[MUSIC]
Hi and welcome to Creativity (00:30):
Uncovered. My name is Abi Gatling and I'm on a journey to uncover
how everyday people find inspiration, get invented and open their imagination. Basically,
I want to find out how people find creative solutions and then how they use that at home,
work, play and everything in between. And my goal for this podcast is that by the end of it,
(00:57):
you'll be armed with a whole suite of tried and tested ways to summon creativity the next time that you need it.
[MUSIC]
Now today I'm speaking with Amber Byers who's an attorney turned award-winning
author. And I'm very excited about this chat. Welcome Amber.
(01:18):
Hello, welcome Abi and thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.
Yes, me too. And Amber's actually calling in from Colorado.
I am. I also realized I just welcomed you to your own show. So I don't know if everybody's done that before but...
Very friendly. I like it.
(01:39):
Yeah.
Yeah. So Amber, I'm really intrigued by your story because you are someone who sought out creativity
when your career life was just not serving you as best as it could. And you had this massive,
massive career change from being an attorney to now being an author and an editor and a writing
(02:03):
coach and hosting a competition. And it seems like a really radical change. So I'd love to start
about to talk about your life as an attorney and what shifted you away from that?
Yeah, absolutely. So I would say it's been a process of listening to my intuition. And
(02:28):
there's been many years where I ignored my intuition. I knew from the very first semester
of law school that law was not a good fit for me. It's primarily an adversarial system where
two sides are fighting and one side is inherently set up to lose. And I'm so much more collaborative.
(02:49):
And so just little things like that that started to chip away at my soul. And you just push it aside
and continue until it finally you're like, "Who's life am I living if I'm not living mine?"
You know, so it just continued to build up and eventually it always what's tricky is you can
(03:15):
tell yourself in your mind, "This makes sense. This is a logical decision. Being an attorney
is very respectable." And yet so while I knew it was this gorgeous, sleek, black dress that looks
great on other people, when I put it on myself, it just didn't fit right. And it itched on the
(03:39):
shoulders and kind of pinched on the hips. And just you try to go with it for a while. And
eventually again, it just comes back to what is it that brings me joy and what is it that
lights me up inside? And that's when I kind of knew I needed to make a shift toward that because
(04:00):
I had left my joy so far behind years before. Wow. Oh my gosh, that was such a cool description for
that about the dress because I think a lot of the time, you know, when you say, "Oh, this is not
for me." A lot of people go, "Well, it is for me. Like, is there something wrong with me enjoying
(04:21):
being an attorney, being a lawyer, being, you know, whatever my career path is." But actually,
it's not one size fits all. It's good for you, does not fit them. And so what was like,
you slowly sort of realizing that you had no joy or this wasn't spouting your joy in your career,
what was the actual turning point for you that made you go, "Okay, I need to change something."
(04:44):
So it had been building for a long time and I had been looking for a way out and also I had no idea
what else can I do. I still have so many student loans from law school. I'm in so much debt just
over my education. What on earth am I going to, how do I move out of this? So while all of that was
(05:09):
necessary for the process, the turning point came when I got laid off from my law firm and it actually
felt like relief to me. And as awful as it was to wake up the next day and realize I don't have a job,
I was really grateful that I had unemployment and I had a little cushion of time to figure it out.
And the one thing that I always went back to was I'm a writer. So why am I not focusing on writing?
(05:36):
So that period when I was transitioning, I just started writing a book and then I very quickly
realized I love this. I can do this. And so then it became how do I support myself financially
in this type of writing because of course I'd written legal motions and memoranda and whatever,
(05:58):
but to write creatively for fun was a whole different animal. So it just was a switch into
how can I make this work and then all the lessons that come after that. So yeah.
Wow. It's kind of like the golden handcuffs when you're in this career.
(06:21):
You're earning good money. There's no particular one reason for leaving. And sometimes you have this
being like being made redundant or you kind of need that to actually shift you out of that space.
That is so interesting. And so yeah, is there much other many parallels or any translations between
(06:44):
writing for legal reasons and writing a book?
Yeah, absolutely. And one of the sweetest things somebody in my old writer's group told me when
I showed up was your legal writing experience is really going to benefit you in this new career.
And it was sort of this gift to realize, oh, I'm not entirely starting over. I have a great
(07:11):
vocabulary. I have a great understanding of literature and the English language and how
words fit together and what makes things stand out. And so it was just tying it back into
kind of my original interest from being a kid of this is reading and writing and creativity and
(07:36):
just thinking about things that come up in books. Like all that curiosity, I was just tapping back
into that and neat curiosity a little bit again. So it felt really good.
Yeah. So you were a bit of a writer as a kid and you explored that and did you
I was.
(07:57):
Did you stop while you were working or did you try and keep it?
Yeah. So my mom told me that I started reading the words in picture books instead of looking
at pictures when I was three. And so I've always been a huge avid reader, but very young child,
probably elementary school. I remember I think for when I was eight that Christmas,
(08:23):
I just printed out my first story that I had published on those old computer printers and
sent it to my family as their gift from me. And so then it just kind of evolved into I would
write short stories. I've saved some of them and uncovered some and some of them are just
(08:46):
really adorable and some of them are totally wacky and I didn't really question it. There was one
I wrote that I just was looking at recently when I pulled my writing stuff out of my drawer
and it was all about Yarlow, the yo-yo who encountered a bully. And I was like, where
did I even come up with that idea? But I just went with it and I loved it. So yeah, I've always
(09:12):
been creating even since a young age. That's so good. And so then was it just that was your first
choice when you were made redundant? You thought immediately writing or did you try and sell a
couple of other things? No, that was always the thing. Anytime I was at a crossroads in life,
(09:36):
it was, I'm a writer. I mean, that's just kind of the essential identity that I had. And so,
well, what does that mean? What kind of things am I going to write? Am I going to publish them?
How am I going to publish them? Then you kind of get caught up into where I'm at now is I have
(09:57):
been doing this for, I think seven or almost eight years since I left the law. And when I switched
and said, this is my full-time focus, this is my career now, I also inadvertently invited in this
sense of seriousness into my work. Not so much pressure, a little bit of that, but more so of
(10:24):
this writing has to mean something. Because I'm either going to create it and share it on my blog
or share it with my email list or it's going to be published or I'm going to submit it to a
literary magazine or something has to come of this instead of just, I'm just going to play around
with stories and kind of have this image of myself as a kid in my sandbox playing in the sand.
(10:48):
I was like, that's what I want to do. I just want to play around with words and not take
myself too seriously. So, that's-
Yeah. So, did that change how you felt towards writing from, initially, you were just, I guess,
playing with it just to try and get a bit more joy in your life, but then you really quickly
(11:10):
switched to trying to make it a full-time living, I guess, the financial pressure of
having to find another job, I guess you didn't want to go back to law. But did that change how
you felt about it? I know you said it was like, not necessarily pressure, but did that take some
of the joy out of it or was it still there? So, I think it slowly shifted. So, the first few years,
(11:34):
I wrote, it took about two years for me to write and publish my first book. And that book did really
well. It won a gold medal for moving children's book awards. And-
Wow, isn't that-
Thank you. And it was such a sense of completion and a sense of validation, like, okay, I'm on the
(11:54):
right path. But after that, then you're like, now what do I do? I'm an award-winning author. I
either need to write another book that's going to do equally well or better, or then the pandemic hit
and things kind of stalled for a little while. But I was still, what I had done financially to
(12:15):
support my career was started to take on editing clients and writing coaching clients and hosting
a writing retreat and all things kind of circling around writing. And then I was realized, okay,
being an entrepreneur, owning my own business, developing all of these processes and all of
(12:38):
the marketing for all these different things I'm doing, this can eclipse my writing too.
So, it's a really interesting balance because when you're creating, nobody is paying you for that
instantly for the most part. So, it became this interesting balance of-
and also the two different sides of your brain, going into that kind of artsy, free-flowing
(13:05):
phase and then the accomplishment, let's check this off as an entrepreneur and figuring out how
do I balance both of those in a way that respects both sides of my brain and allows me to be the
artist that I am while still running a successful company. So, yeah. Yeah, that's true. Having to
(13:27):
switch between the two sides rather than really to stay in that creative space.
Yeah. But that's interesting. I suppose either the necessary steps you had to take so you didn't
have to go back and look for another law job. Exactly. A few years in, I retired my law license
(13:50):
because in order to practice law, to continue once you get your license, you have to take
continuing legal education classes and pay a fee even if you're inactive and I got to the
point where I thought there's not- I cannot imagine a job that I would want to go back to
the law for. So, it felt good to let it go and I love being an entrepreneur. I love the clients
(14:17):
that I work with. I love having the connection with the community that when I reach out to and
just this spring, I also kind of refocused the areas that I work on and thought I'm going in
so many different directions and trying to grow so many different ways at once that I really need
(14:37):
to narrow it down and what I chose was my own writing and my writing contest which is the
Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest that I host and judge. So, it gave a sense of calm
and more of a balance between the two which feels great. Yes, absolutely. You can't be pulled in
(15:00):
so many directions. Now, you're writing competition, that seems really interesting. At what point did
that come in your journey and tell me a little bit more about it. Yeah. So, I had hosted two
in-person writing retreats leading up to the pandemic and part of the retreat was they were
(15:24):
just short three-day retreats and for anybody who attended, they got to submit a short piece,
100 words or less and then they were due on Saturday night. I would take them home, read them,
announce the winners the next day. So, it was easy enough to incorporate into that.
(15:44):
And when the pandemic hit and I realized, okay, in-person retreats are on pause,
what can I put online? What can I take international? And that's where I thought the contest piece
could be applicable to everybody. And I put that online just as a separate
thing. I stopped hosting retreats entirely and it just exploded. And I think the first one was
(16:12):
November of 2021 that was online and that one received over 500 entries from I think 33 different
countries. And I was like, "Ooh, this is fun." And you get to see so many writers from all over the
(16:32):
world. So, it's been really cool to see it grow. Our last iteration was last November. So, it's
every April 30th and November 30th. And that the last one we had over 1500 entries from,
I believe, 68 different countries. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. But what's interesting to me
(16:56):
about this is that firstly, there's this interest in writing that is obviously firing your passion
at the moment. But it's not just writing, it's everything that goes around the writing. I think
that is really interesting. But I think also the second thing that's really intriguing to me about
what you're talking about is that when I think of writing and being an author, it seems like quite
(17:20):
a solitary pursuit. But all of the things that you're doing, you mentioned your writer's group,
this competition, the retreats, everything seems to be really collective and part of a community.
It's interesting how you've married those two up. Was that an intentional thing?
(17:42):
I think at the beginning, it was less intentional, but just something that I kind of was drawn toward.
And then it was, I think last summer that I noticed in my own self, my energy lags so much more when
I'm doing things on my own, whether it's being an entrepreneur or being a writer or whatever.
(18:04):
And then as soon as I surround myself with a supportive team and bring people together in
that sense of community, then I'm like, okay, now we're going someplace and just everybody's
energy comes up. And so I realized community is such a crucial element that I need in my own life
(18:25):
and my own journey as a writer and an entrepreneur. So that's when we started hosting community
writing events for the contest. So instead of, most people will wait until right before the
deadline to submit. But we said, if you come to just a short half hour Zoom event where we'll have
some quiet writing time, and there's also bonuses of either the judges talking about what they're
(18:49):
looking for in the pieces, or we'll play a game of bingo and the winner will get free feedback on
their piece or whatever the event is, you get to come together in community. And those events also
include one entry into the contest. So it's just a fun way to remind people we're not doing this
(19:15):
alone. And true, not everybody is going to win the contest, but it's about so much more than that.
So it's about bringing people together and celebrating each and every writer who submits in
our contest and celebrating where they are in the writing journey and supporting and encouraging
everybody, which just feels lovely. Yeah. Yeah. Do you think that was shaped by
(19:40):
you being part of a writing group very early on, realizing that that support network is
really important for your writing? Yeah, I do. I think it, I mean, again, like so it wasn't so much
intentional at the beginning, but it was a recognition within me of this is what I'm drawn
(20:06):
to, and this is how I succeed. And to be fair, the idea for the community writings wasn't mine.
It was actually an idea that came from one of my, the marketing manager I was working with at the
time as a way to, you know, kind of spread out the timing of the entries and encourage people to
enter earlier on in the contest and just a way to keep up the excitement and get to know the judges.
(20:31):
And so again, it's when we come together, like I wouldn't have thought of that on my own. And it
was just this idea that she came up with and was like, well, why don't we try this? And I was like,
oh, that's brilliant. So it's, it's like just how energy multiplies when you bring people together
in a way, then more so than when I'm on my own, I just start to get slower and slower in my work
(20:57):
and start questioning everything. And it's just no good for anybody.
Yeah, I think that sort of reflection is, it's so important because, you know,
to be sustainable in your creativity, you need to know what brings you energy and what takes
you away and what inspires you and what doesn't and being able to tap into that, especially if
(21:21):
you're doing it for your career. I mean, I certainly know that every day in my marketing agency,
I'm expected to have idea after idea after idea for all different businesses. But,
you know, unless I'm filling my creative cup, I just, you get depleted so quickly. So it's,
it's so important to be able to reflect on that. Absolutely. It is. It's huge. And it's,
(21:47):
it's again, kind of knowing yourself and listening into, you know, like obviously,
when I started out in the law, I very clearly recognized this is not for me. And I just kept
going. But to be in a place where I can hear myself and realize, oh, I'm so much more successful
(22:07):
when I'm surrounded by people who are supportive and whose energy excites me, then as an entrepreneur,
I can, you know, switch on a dime and say, this is what I'm going to do. And it's, it's so beautiful.
So I don't, yeah, I'm just really grateful to be in a place where I can respond to the things that
(22:30):
fill me up rather than continuously put myself out there in ways that deplete me.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. It's got to have the in and the out, you know what I mean?
And this, this is such an interesting story to me because, you know, you just mentioned again that
you knew that pretty early on that law wasn't for you, but you were going down this path. And then
(22:54):
you got to a point where I got to in my career as well, where you're like, I'm too far into it,
I'm earning too much money, I can't go back to the beginning again. It's all too difficult to switch
it all up. And that stopped me for a long time until I had my, you know, moment as well. But
there are, there are so many other people who listen to this podcast who are in a similar
(23:15):
situation, you know, they might be burnt out or they might be feeling like they're just not on
the path that's serving them. Reflecting back on your journey, do you have any advice or tips for
people who are feeling like that and want to take that leap but just a little bit too scared?
Yes, absolutely. And what I would recommend is actually something I got from my last business
(23:40):
coach I worked with. And she called it the body compass, where if you have this decision to make
or you have this vision that you're going for, or maybe you don't have any idea what you think
or what you should do, but you kind of envision one option at a time and just close your eyes,
(24:02):
go internal, and then just scan your body for what does it feel like when you step into this,
this one option. And your body most likely is going to respond with the answer. So that can be,
if it's not a good fit, it might be, you know, your shoulders hunch or a clenching in the pit
(24:26):
of your stomach or just a feeling of darkness and constrictedness. Whereas, you know, so then you
get that information, you can say thank you and, you know, clear it all out. And then you envision
the second option, do the same thing, close your eyes, scan your body and vision it what you're
picturing. And if it feels good and aligns, then your body might lift up a little bit. There might
(24:52):
be a smile on your face, it might feel lighter or brighter, you know, so it could be colors or
textures or whatever. But when you listen to what your body says, our body and especially our gut,
which is where a lot of emotions are processed, can give us the answer. And if we just listen to
(25:14):
that, it's going to let us know when you get off track, you know, and you can go a long ways off
track. Like I was at the point in law where I was like, if I continue down this path, I'm going to
be one of those attorneys who has a heart attack at their desk when they're 50. And I'm like, okay,
we got to reel it back, you know, but then you find your joy and your body responds and let's go of
(25:39):
that dis-ease and discomfort. So that was a long answer. No, but it's so true. I mean, being able
to tune into your body cues is really important. But I love the idea of the body compass, just
looking at the intertwine, help you make that decision. But for me, certainly, I knew the
(26:06):
decision I needed to make that decision, I actually just couldn't jump at that point.
And was it fear holding you back or do you know what it was?
I think so much of it is that it's about earning and providing for your family that you're like,
I can't really start from the beginning because I can't take that pick up. My lifestyle has
(26:28):
inflated so much that I need to maintain this. But then you've got to compromise. Like for me,
I got to the point where I was like, what is more important, financial security or my health and
happiness? And then once you prioritize yourself, and you know, I realized like, no, actually,
I only get one life. Why am I wasting it doing this? That was the turning point for me when I
(26:50):
just realized I'm at rock bottom. I need to do something else. Otherwise, yeah, I'm going to
also have a heart attack or stress or whatever else. So die before you get to jump.
Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's also kind of, you have to get to the point where you're open to
considering other options, because you can get kind of tunnel vision on, well, this is what I'm
(27:16):
doing. So this is the only way that I can do it. But yeah, it's, it reminds me too, it's a little
bit of a tangent. But just who you surround yourself with, because if you're surrounding people who
look fabulous in that itchy black sleek dress, you're going to be trying to cram yourself into
(27:38):
it longer and saying, well, what works beautifully for them? Why is it not working for me? But if
you surround yourself too with people who are in the industry you want to get into or who have the
lifestyle or the new work industry or whatever it is you're trying to jump into, that becomes a new
normal. And so then you're like, well, I can't, I can't do any more excuses because obviously
(28:04):
all these people are following their dreams. And I think that was actually what led me into writing
was one of my childhood friends just bam came out as a self published author and had started
publishing book after book after book and she was doing so great and so successful. And I was like,
wait, hold up, you can just go do that? Like it sometimes takes somebody chasing after their
(28:28):
own dreams before you get that fire under your own butt to be like, I got to go get mine. Like,
what have I been doing all this time? Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. If you see it, you can be it. Is
that that's the saying, is that right? It's inspired by others around you who are already
forging that path gives you the aspiration. But also what a great resource to have to bounce ideas
(28:54):
off and just give you a bit of encouragement. I think that's really important. Absolutely.
It's like encouragement and permission. Sometimes we feel like we just need somebody to give us
permission to go do the things that we know will benefit us. Yes. Yeah. I do feel like there's so
(29:14):
much guilt in making a radical change, especially to something that you really like to do and
something that's fun. Creative things are fun generally. And you know, you give up like a
boring, stable, well-paying job for something really kind of fun and frivolous. It seems like
a really guilty act to do. So I love the ideas about, yeah, giving yourself permission to do that.
(29:38):
Yeah. Absolutely. And that we own our own permission. We can give that to ourselves. We don't have to
wait for somebody to come in and, you know, call us out and say, here's your permission. Now go,
go be the best version of yourself. Yeah. Yeah. I think another sort of takeaway for me from your
story is that there are so many different avenues for pursuing one particular type of creativity
(30:08):
that, you know, you might love writing, but doesn't necessarily mean you need to be an author.
You've done, you've done, I mean, you've been an author as well, but you've done so many different
things that there are so many cool avenues if you're just a bit creative about how you approach it.
Absolutely. And I do as far as creativity, and I've been thinking about that as I listen to your
(30:31):
podcast. And I love the expansive definition of it because when I am creating my company and building
the writing contest, it feels like a very creative act. So sometimes I'll get caught up in my head
of why haven't I published more books or, you know, why doesn't my writing career look like
(30:52):
somebody else's? And then I just remember I'm creating this company and this contest and this
world around me and this team of beautiful, supportive people that is so, so wonderful and so
life-giving. Yes. Yes. Oh, thank you. I definitely love it when people take this more broader view
(31:15):
of what creativity is and it's not necessarily just the artistic endeavours. I think being a
business owner is an incredibly creative act because you're having to come up with solutions and do
things for the first time and think a little bit laterally and with thousands of hats all the time.
(31:36):
Yes. Yeah, you don't just have to be pumping out books to be creative.
Yeah. Right. Absolutely. And if you can delegate stuff too, but if you're the one creating all
the copy for your website or for me drafting the contracts for the people I hire or the winners
(31:56):
who win the contest, it's, I was like, I really am writing a lot. It's just not showing up as
another book in the world. But yeah. Yeah. And do each of those different tasks, do they give you
different levels of creative boost or do you think they're all relatively equal?
No, they do. And one thing that I love a ton is my blog because writing has always been almost
(32:25):
like a thinking process for me. I'm very extroverted and so if I'm kind of struggling with or noodling
over something in my creative life and I sit down and say, okay, I'm going to write a blog post about
it, it helps me process my thoughts and refine them. And then, you know, so I feel better inside
(32:46):
myself. And then I send it out to my email list. And I'm at the point where I'm getting responses
back from people, something that it inspired in them or a way they connected with it. And
it just, it feels so fun and so good. It's again, that community element that all comes together.
Ah, yes. I think creativity is such a nice connector. I love that people are reading it and
(33:12):
then feeling so compelled that they have to come back to you with their own reflections and experience
of it. That is super, super cool. Yeah. Yes, absolutely. It's funny too because now I've moved
my blog over onto my website. And the way it's set up is if you want to leave a comment, you have to
like sign up and create an account specifically on the website, which I find kind of annoying, but
(33:38):
you know, whatever. And what's amazing though is some people do, like they are so interested by
whatever piece I put out that they're willing to go. And even I think why I'm annoying about it is
because I had to create a separate account, even though I was the one who wrote the blog. And I
was like, okay, this is silly, but whatever, we're going to work through it. And so it's always like,
(34:01):
I appreciate that little pain point that people have gone through to reach out that way instead
of just responding to the email when I send out the blog. But yeah, it's fun. It's fun to see.
Yeah, that's very special. And I just, in the back of my mind, I just keep having that
statement that you said at the beginning about law being this combative, what winner, loser.
(34:27):
But this situation that you're in now, you've created this beautiful connective experience
where everyone is winners and everyone is building each other up. And it's just so different.
It's so different. It's so different. And then I'm like, this is what I was looking for. This is
(34:48):
that uplifting and encouragement piece. And it's just received so much better in the world too,
than trying to fit into that itchy dress and adhere to that professional standard and law.
The fun thing about my blog is it got voted as one of the, I think it's 70 best positivity blogs
(35:15):
by FeedSpot. And so it's recognized because it's so heartfelt and so vulnerable. And it is. It's
not about tearing anybody down. I don't care whether you come away from first place in the
writing contest or are in the out in the initial round, we're going to celebrate you. And we're
(35:40):
going to celebrate your piece and celebrate all the effort and exactly where you are on your
writing journey. So that's been a really powerful piece for me. I just love that. I love that so
much. And what's next for you? You've got, you've had this insane journey, seven or eight years
into your writing journey. What's next for you? Yeah, so it's funny because I was so gung ho last
(36:07):
fall, I was getting ready to just start publishing again. I was like, okay, there's not that I need
to, but I just have all these ideas. I was working on like six different stories and I was getting
ready to publish and kind of got to the point where I ended up having a bad experience with a
(36:28):
publisher and it kind of spun me around where I realized rather than aiming to publish more and
more and more, I want to pull back that creativity for my own self again and just be a little kid
in a sandbox. And so every Tuesday, I write just for myself and probably some of them I will share
with people. Maybe it'll be traditional book type things that I share it or maybe it'll be a little
(36:53):
PDF I send out to my email list or sell on my website. But I just want to have fun and not
take myself too seriously anymore and just be prolific about it. I know that's a bit of a long
answer, but so that's my writing piece. And then for the contest, we just hired three new judges
(37:14):
to come on. So I'm excited to announce those to our community shortly and we'll have our first
intro meeting for all the new judges to come together later this week. And then we wrap up
the next contest ends on April 30th. So it's going to be good. That's great. I love that you've given
(37:37):
both a personal answer and your professional answer and that you're continually thinking about
that creative energy and what is best for you. That's super awesome. And what I'll do is I'll
actually pop the links to your competition and to your website in our show notes for this episode.
So if anyone is keen to get involved because it is an international competition,
(38:00):
and yeah, you definitely can get involved in that. And thank you so much for joining me,
Amber. It's been wonderful. And I want to say thanks to everyone who has tuned into creativity
uncovered today. I really hope this episode has inspired you to follow your guards and give yourself
permission to follow your creativity. And as always, I hope that it helps you summon your
(38:26):
own creativity the next time that you need it. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
And for all the listeners who want to check out and see what we're doing in our little world,
I have a special link for you, which is tadpolepress.com/uncovered. And that'll take you in to see
(38:47):
where our community writing events are and see our contest and read my blog if you're interested.
Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you.
Thanks so much. I'll pop that link in our show notes as well. Okay, till next time. Take care.
(39:17):
Bye.
If you've made it this far, a huge thank you for your support and tuning into today's episode.
Creativity (39:38):
Uncovered has been lovingly recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi people,
and we pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. This podcast has been produced by my
amazing team here at Crisp Communications and the music you just heard was composed by James Gatling.
(39:58):
If you liked this episode, please do share it around and help us on our mission to unlock
more creativity in this world. You can also hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any new episode
releases.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
[MUSIC]
There is something so interesting about creativity that it can often get pushed to the side in our lives.
But when things start to go a little awry, it's in our nature to try and seek it out again.
(00:22):
And I'm really intrigued to see what that is. And I think that this has happened with my guest today.
[MUSIC]
Hi and welcome to Creativity (00:30):
Uncovered. My name is Abi Gatling and I'm on a journey to uncover
how everyday people find inspiration, get invented and open their imagination. Basically,
I want to find out how people find creative solutions and then how they use that at home,
work, play and everything in between. And my goal for this podcast is that by the end of it,
(00:57):
you'll be armed with a whole suite of tried and tested ways to summon creativity the next time that you need it.
[MUSIC]
Now today I'm speaking with Amber Byers who's an attorney turned award-winning
author. And I'm very excited about this chat. Welcome Amber.
(01:18):
Hello, welcome Abi and thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.
Yes, me too. And Amber's actually calling in from Colorado.
I am. I also realized I just welcomed you to your own show. So I don't know if everybody's done that before but...
Very friendly. I like it.
(01:39):
Yeah.
Yeah. So Amber, I'm really intrigued by your story because you are someone who sought out creativity
when your career life was just not serving you as best as it could. And you had this massive,
massive career change from being an attorney to now being an author and an editor and a writing
(02:03):
coach and hosting a competition. And it seems like a really radical change. So I'd love to start
about to talk about your life as an attorney and what shifted you away from that?
Yeah, absolutely. So I would say it's been a process of listening to my intuition. And
(02:28):
there's been many years where I ignored my intuition. I knew from the very first semester
of law school that law was not a good fit for me. It's primarily an adversarial system where
two sides are fighting and one side is inherently set up to lose. And I'm so much more collaborative.
(02:49):
And so just little things like that that started to chip away at my soul. And you just push it aside
and continue until it finally you're like, "Who's life am I living if I'm not living mine?"
You know, so it just continued to build up and eventually it always what's tricky is you can
(03:15):
tell yourself in your mind, "This makes sense. This is a logical decision. Being an attorney
is very respectable." And yet so while I knew it was this gorgeous, sleek, black dress that looks
great on other people, when I put it on myself, it just didn't fit right. And it itched on the
(03:39):
shoulders and kind of pinched on the hips. And just you try to go with it for a while. And
eventually again, it just comes back to what is it that brings me joy and what is it that
lights me up inside? And that's when I kind of knew I needed to make a shift toward that because
(04:00):
I had left my joy so far behind years before. Wow. Oh my gosh, that was such a cool description for
that about the dress because I think a lot of the time, you know, when you say, "Oh, this is not
for me." A lot of people go, "Well, it is for me. Like, is there something wrong with me enjoying
(04:21):
being an attorney, being a lawyer, being, you know, whatever my career path is." But actually,
it's not one size fits all. It's good for you, does not fit them. And so what was like,
you slowly sort of realizing that you had no joy or this wasn't spouting your joy in your career,
what was the actual turning point for you that made you go, "Okay, I need to change something."
(04:44):
So it had been building for a long time and I had been looking for a way out and also I had no idea
what else can I do. I still have so many student loans from law school. I'm in so much debt just
over my education. What on earth am I going to, how do I move out of this? So while all of that was
(05:09):
necessary for the process, the turning point came when I got laid off from my law firm and it actually
felt like relief to me. And as awful as it was to wake up the next day and realize I don't have a job,
I was really grateful that I had unemployment and I had a little cushion of time to figure it out.
And the one thing that I always went back to was I'm a writer. So why am I not focusing on writing?
(05:36):
So that period when I was transitioning, I just started writing a book and then I very quickly
realized I love this. I can do this. And so then it became how do I support myself financially
in this type of writing because of course I'd written legal motions and memoranda and whatever,
(05:58):
but to write creatively for fun was a whole different animal. So it just was a switch into
how can I make this work and then all the lessons that come after that. So yeah.
Wow. It's kind of like the golden handcuffs when you're in this career.
(06:21):
You're earning good money. There's no particular one reason for leaving. And sometimes you have this
being like being made redundant or you kind of need that to actually shift you out of that space.
That is so interesting. And so yeah, is there much other many parallels or any translations between
(06:44):
writing for legal reasons and writing a book?
Yeah, absolutely. And one of the sweetest things somebody in my old writer's group told me when
I showed up was your legal writing experience is really going to benefit you in this new career.
And it was sort of this gift to realize, oh, I'm not entirely starting over. I have a great
(07:11):
vocabulary. I have a great understanding of literature and the English language and how
words fit together and what makes things stand out. And so it was just tying it back into
kind of my original interest from being a kid of this is reading and writing and creativity and
(07:36):
just thinking about things that come up in books. Like all that curiosity, I was just tapping back
into that and neat curiosity a little bit again. So it felt really good.
Yeah. So you were a bit of a writer as a kid and you explored that and did you
I was.
(07:57):
Did you stop while you were working or did you try and keep it?
Yeah. So my mom told me that I started reading the words in picture books instead of looking
at pictures when I was three. And so I've always been a huge avid reader, but very young child,
probably elementary school. I remember I think for when I was eight that Christmas,
(08:23):
I just printed out my first story that I had published on those old computer printers and
sent it to my family as their gift from me. And so then it just kind of evolved into I would
write short stories. I've saved some of them and uncovered some and some of them are just
(08:46):
really adorable and some of them are totally wacky and I didn't really question it. There was one
I wrote that I just was looking at recently when I pulled my writing stuff out of my drawer
and it was all about Yarlow, the yo-yo who encountered a bully. And I was like, where
did I even come up with that idea? But I just went with it and I loved it. So yeah, I've always
(09:12):
been creating even since a young age. That's so good. And so then was it just that was your first
choice when you were made redundant? You thought immediately writing or did you try and sell a
couple of other things? No, that was always the thing. Anytime I was at a crossroads in life,
(09:36):
it was, I'm a writer. I mean, that's just kind of the essential identity that I had. And so,
well, what does that mean? What kind of things am I going to write? Am I going to publish them?
How am I going to publish them? Then you kind of get caught up into where I'm at now is I have
(09:57):
been doing this for, I think seven or almost eight years since I left the law. And when I switched
and said, this is my full-time focus, this is my career now, I also inadvertently invited in this
sense of seriousness into my work. Not so much pressure, a little bit of that, but more so of
(10:24):
this writing has to mean something. Because I'm either going to create it and share it on my blog
or share it with my email list or it's going to be published or I'm going to submit it to a
literary magazine or something has to come of this instead of just, I'm just going to play around
with stories and kind of have this image of myself as a kid in my sandbox playing in the sand.
(10:48):
I was like, that's what I want to do. I just want to play around with words and not take
myself too seriously. So, that's-
Yeah. So, did that change how you felt towards writing from, initially, you were just, I guess,
playing with it just to try and get a bit more joy in your life, but then you really quickly
(11:10):
switched to trying to make it a full-time living, I guess, the financial pressure of
having to find another job, I guess you didn't want to go back to law. But did that change how
you felt about it? I know you said it was like, not necessarily pressure, but did that take some
of the joy out of it or was it still there? So, I think it slowly shifted. So, the first few years,
(11:34):
I wrote, it took about two years for me to write and publish my first book. And that book did really
well. It won a gold medal for moving children's book awards. And-
Wow, isn't that-
Thank you. And it was such a sense of completion and a sense of validation, like, okay, I'm on the
(11:54):
right path. But after that, then you're like, now what do I do? I'm an award-winning author. I
either need to write another book that's going to do equally well or better, or then the pandemic hit
and things kind of stalled for a little while. But I was still, what I had done financially to
(12:15):
support my career was started to take on editing clients and writing coaching clients and hosting
a writing retreat and all things kind of circling around writing. And then I was realized, okay,
being an entrepreneur, owning my own business, developing all of these processes and all of
(12:38):
the marketing for all these different things I'm doing, this can eclipse my writing too.
So, it's a really interesting balance because when you're creating, nobody is paying you for that
instantly for the most part. So, it became this interesting balance of-
and also the two different sides of your brain, going into that kind of artsy, free-flowing
(13:05):
phase and then the accomplishment, let's check this off as an entrepreneur and figuring out how
do I balance both of those in a way that respects both sides of my brain and allows me to be the
artist that I am while still running a successful company. So, yeah. Yeah, that's true. Having to
(13:27):
switch between the two sides rather than really to stay in that creative space.
Yeah. But that's interesting. I suppose either the necessary steps you had to take so you didn't
have to go back and look for another law job. Exactly. A few years in, I retired my law license
(13:50):
because in order to practice law, to continue once you get your license, you have to take
continuing legal education classes and pay a fee even if you're inactive and I got to the
point where I thought there's not- I cannot imagine a job that I would want to go back to
the law for. So, it felt good to let it go and I love being an entrepreneur. I love the clients
(14:17):
that I work with. I love having the connection with the community that when I reach out to and
just this spring, I also kind of refocused the areas that I work on and thought I'm going in
so many different directions and trying to grow so many different ways at once that I really need
(14:37):
to narrow it down and what I chose was my own writing and my writing contest which is the
Tadpole Press 100 Word Writing Contest that I host and judge. So, it gave a sense of calm
and more of a balance between the two which feels great. Yes, absolutely. You can't be pulled in
(15:00):
so many directions. Now, you're writing competition, that seems really interesting. At what point did
that come in your journey and tell me a little bit more about it. Yeah. So, I had hosted two
in-person writing retreats leading up to the pandemic and part of the retreat was they were
(15:24):
just short three-day retreats and for anybody who attended, they got to submit a short piece,
100 words or less and then they were due on Saturday night. I would take them home, read them,
announce the winners the next day. So, it was easy enough to incorporate into that.
(15:44):
And when the pandemic hit and I realized, okay, in-person retreats are on pause,
what can I put online? What can I take international? And that's where I thought the contest piece
could be applicable to everybody. And I put that online just as a separate
thing. I stopped hosting retreats entirely and it just exploded. And I think the first one was
(16:12):
November of 2021 that was online and that one received over 500 entries from I think 33 different
countries. And I was like, "Ooh, this is fun." And you get to see so many writers from all over the
(16:32):
world. So, it's been really cool to see it grow. Our last iteration was last November. So, it's
every April 30th and November 30th. And that the last one we had over 1500 entries from,
I believe, 68 different countries. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. But what's interesting to me
(16:56):
about this is that firstly, there's this interest in writing that is obviously firing your passion
at the moment. But it's not just writing, it's everything that goes around the writing. I think
that is really interesting. But I think also the second thing that's really intriguing to me about
what you're talking about is that when I think of writing and being an author, it seems like quite
(17:20):
a solitary pursuit. But all of the things that you're doing, you mentioned your writer's group,
this competition, the retreats, everything seems to be really collective and part of a community.
It's interesting how you've married those two up. Was that an intentional thing?
(17:42):
I think at the beginning, it was less intentional, but just something that I kind of was drawn toward.
And then it was, I think last summer that I noticed in my own self, my energy lags so much more when
I'm doing things on my own, whether it's being an entrepreneur or being a writer or whatever.
(18:04):
And then as soon as I surround myself with a supportive team and bring people together in
that sense of community, then I'm like, okay, now we're going someplace and just everybody's
energy comes up. And so I realized community is such a crucial element that I need in my own life
(18:25):
and my own journey as a writer and an entrepreneur. So that's when we started hosting community
writing events for the contest. So instead of, most people will wait until right before the
deadline to submit. But we said, if you come to just a short half hour Zoom event where we'll have
some quiet writing time, and there's also bonuses of either the judges talking about what they're
(18:49):
looking for in the pieces, or we'll play a game of bingo and the winner will get free feedback on
their piece or whatever the event is, you get to come together in community. And those events also
include one entry into the contest. So it's just a fun way to remind people we're not doing this
(19:15):
alone. And true, not everybody is going to win the contest, but it's about so much more than that.
So it's about bringing people together and celebrating each and every writer who submits in
our contest and celebrating where they are in the writing journey and supporting and encouraging
everybody, which just feels lovely. Yeah. Yeah. Do you think that was shaped by
(19:40):
you being part of a writing group very early on, realizing that that support network is
really important for your writing? Yeah, I do. I think it, I mean, again, like so it wasn't so much
intentional at the beginning, but it was a recognition within me of this is what I'm drawn
(20:06):
to, and this is how I succeed. And to be fair, the idea for the community writings wasn't mine.
It was actually an idea that came from one of my, the marketing manager I was working with at the
time as a way to, you know, kind of spread out the timing of the entries and encourage people to
enter earlier on in the contest and just a way to keep up the excitement and get to know the judges.
(20:31):
And so again, it's when we come together, like I wouldn't have thought of that on my own. And it
was just this idea that she came up with and was like, well, why don't we try this? And I was like,
oh, that's brilliant. So it's, it's like just how energy multiplies when you bring people together
in a way, then more so than when I'm on my own, I just start to get slower and slower in my work
(20:57):
and start questioning everything. And it's just no good for anybody.
Yeah, I think that sort of reflection is, it's so important because, you know,
to be sustainable in your creativity, you need to know what brings you energy and what takes
you away and what inspires you and what doesn't and being able to tap into that, especially if
(21:21):
you're doing it for your career. I mean, I certainly know that every day in my marketing agency,
I'm expected to have idea after idea after idea for all different businesses. But,
you know, unless I'm filling my creative cup, I just, you get depleted so quickly. So it's,
it's so important to be able to reflect on that. Absolutely. It is. It's huge. And it's,
(21:47):
it's again, kind of knowing yourself and listening into, you know, like obviously,
when I started out in the law, I very clearly recognized this is not for me. And I just kept
going. But to be in a place where I can hear myself and realize, oh, I'm so much more successful
(22:07):
when I'm surrounded by people who are supportive and whose energy excites me, then as an entrepreneur,
I can, you know, switch on a dime and say, this is what I'm going to do. And it's, it's so beautiful.
So I don't, yeah, I'm just really grateful to be in a place where I can respond to the things that
(22:30):
fill me up rather than continuously put myself out there in ways that deplete me.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. It's got to have the in and the out, you know what I mean?
And this, this is such an interesting story to me because, you know, you just mentioned again that
you knew that pretty early on that law wasn't for you, but you were going down this path. And then
(22:54):
you got to a point where I got to in my career as well, where you're like, I'm too far into it,
I'm earning too much money, I can't go back to the beginning again. It's all too difficult to switch
it all up. And that stopped me for a long time until I had my, you know, moment as well. But
there are, there are so many other people who listen to this podcast who are in a similar
(23:15):
situation, you know, they might be burnt out or they might be feeling like they're just not on
the path that's serving them. Reflecting back on your journey, do you have any advice or tips for
people who are feeling like that and want to take that leap but just a little bit too scared?
Yes, absolutely. And what I would recommend is actually something I got from my last business
(23:40):
coach I worked with. And she called it the body compass, where if you have this decision to make
or you have this vision that you're going for, or maybe you don't have any idea what you think
or what you should do, but you kind of envision one option at a time and just close your eyes,
(24:02):
go internal, and then just scan your body for what does it feel like when you step into this,
this one option. And your body most likely is going to respond with the answer. So that can be,
if it's not a good fit, it might be, you know, your shoulders hunch or a clenching in the pit
(24:26):
of your stomach or just a feeling of darkness and constrictedness. Whereas, you know, so then you
get that information, you can say thank you and, you know, clear it all out. And then you envision
the second option, do the same thing, close your eyes, scan your body and vision it what you're
picturing. And if it feels good and aligns, then your body might lift up a little bit. There might
(24:52):
be a smile on your face, it might feel lighter or brighter, you know, so it could be colors or
textures or whatever. But when you listen to what your body says, our body and especially our gut,
which is where a lot of emotions are processed, can give us the answer. And if we just listen to
(25:14):
that, it's going to let us know when you get off track, you know, and you can go a long ways off
track. Like I was at the point in law where I was like, if I continue down this path, I'm going to
be one of those attorneys who has a heart attack at their desk when they're 50. And I'm like, okay,
we got to reel it back, you know, but then you find your joy and your body responds and let's go of
(25:39):
that dis-ease and discomfort. So that was a long answer. No, but it's so true. I mean, being able
to tune into your body cues is really important. But I love the idea of the body compass, just
looking at the intertwine, help you make that decision. But for me, certainly, I knew the
(26:06):
decision I needed to make that decision, I actually just couldn't jump at that point.
And was it fear holding you back or do you know what it was?
I think so much of it is that it's about earning and providing for your family that you're like,
I can't really start from the beginning because I can't take that pick up. My lifestyle has
(26:28):
inflated so much that I need to maintain this. But then you've got to compromise. Like for me,
I got to the point where I was like, what is more important, financial security or my health and
happiness? And then once you prioritize yourself, and you know, I realized like, no, actually,
I only get one life. Why am I wasting it doing this? That was the turning point for me when I
(26:50):
just realized I'm at rock bottom. I need to do something else. Otherwise, yeah, I'm going to
also have a heart attack or stress or whatever else. So die before you get to jump.
Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's also kind of, you have to get to the point where you're open to
considering other options, because you can get kind of tunnel vision on, well, this is what I'm
(27:16):
doing. So this is the only way that I can do it. But yeah, it's, it reminds me too, it's a little
bit of a tangent. But just who you surround yourself with, because if you're surrounding people who
look fabulous in that itchy black sleek dress, you're going to be trying to cram yourself into
(27:38):
it longer and saying, well, what works beautifully for them? Why is it not working for me? But if
you surround yourself too with people who are in the industry you want to get into or who have the
lifestyle or the new work industry or whatever it is you're trying to jump into, that becomes a new
normal. And so then you're like, well, I can't, I can't do any more excuses because obviously
(28:04):
all these people are following their dreams. And I think that was actually what led me into writing
was one of my childhood friends just bam came out as a self published author and had started
publishing book after book after book and she was doing so great and so successful. And I was like,
wait, hold up, you can just go do that? Like it sometimes takes somebody chasing after their
(28:28):
own dreams before you get that fire under your own butt to be like, I got to go get mine. Like,
what have I been doing all this time? Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. If you see it, you can be it. Is
that that's the saying, is that right? It's inspired by others around you who are already
forging that path gives you the aspiration. But also what a great resource to have to bounce ideas
(28:54):
off and just give you a bit of encouragement. I think that's really important. Absolutely.
It's like encouragement and permission. Sometimes we feel like we just need somebody to give us
permission to go do the things that we know will benefit us. Yes. Yeah. I do feel like there's so
(29:14):
much guilt in making a radical change, especially to something that you really like to do and
something that's fun. Creative things are fun generally. And you know, you give up like a
boring, stable, well-paying job for something really kind of fun and frivolous. It seems like
a really guilty act to do. So I love the ideas about, yeah, giving yourself permission to do that.
(29:38):
Yeah. Absolutely. And that we own our own permission. We can give that to ourselves. We don't have to
wait for somebody to come in and, you know, call us out and say, here's your permission. Now go,
go be the best version of yourself. Yeah. Yeah. I think another sort of takeaway for me from your
story is that there are so many different avenues for pursuing one particular type of creativity
(30:08):
that, you know, you might love writing, but doesn't necessarily mean you need to be an author.
You've done, you've done, I mean, you've been an author as well, but you've done so many different
things that there are so many cool avenues if you're just a bit creative about how you approach it.
Absolutely. And I do as far as creativity, and I've been thinking about that as I listen to your
(30:31):
podcast. And I love the expansive definition of it because when I am creating my company and building
the writing contest, it feels like a very creative act. So sometimes I'll get caught up in my head
of why haven't I published more books or, you know, why doesn't my writing career look like
(30:52):
somebody else's? And then I just remember I'm creating this company and this contest and this
world around me and this team of beautiful, supportive people that is so, so wonderful and so
life-giving. Yes. Yes. Oh, thank you. I definitely love it when people take this more broader view
(31:15):
of what creativity is and it's not necessarily just the artistic endeavours. I think being a
business owner is an incredibly creative act because you're having to come up with solutions and do
things for the first time and think a little bit laterally and with thousands of hats all the time.
(31:36):
Yes. Yeah, you don't just have to be pumping out books to be creative.
Yeah. Right. Absolutely. And if you can delegate stuff too, but if you're the one creating all
the copy for your website or for me drafting the contracts for the people I hire or the winners
(31:56):
who win the contest, it's, I was like, I really am writing a lot. It's just not showing up as
another book in the world. But yeah. Yeah. And do each of those different tasks, do they give you
different levels of creative boost or do you think they're all relatively equal?
No, they do. And one thing that I love a ton is my blog because writing has always been almost
(32:25):
like a thinking process for me. I'm very extroverted and so if I'm kind of struggling with or noodling
over something in my creative life and I sit down and say, okay, I'm going to write a blog post about
it, it helps me process my thoughts and refine them. And then, you know, so I feel better inside
(32:46):
myself. And then I send it out to my email list. And I'm at the point where I'm getting responses
back from people, something that it inspired in them or a way they connected with it. And
it just, it feels so fun and so good. It's again, that community element that all comes together.
Ah, yes. I think creativity is such a nice connector. I love that people are reading it and
(33:12):
then feeling so compelled that they have to come back to you with their own reflections and experience
of it. That is super, super cool. Yeah. Yes, absolutely. It's funny too because now I've moved
my blog over onto my website. And the way it's set up is if you want to leave a comment, you have to
like sign up and create an account specifically on the website, which I find kind of annoying, but
(33:38):
you know, whatever. And what's amazing though is some people do, like they are so interested by
whatever piece I put out that they're willing to go. And even I think why I'm annoying about it is
because I had to create a separate account, even though I was the one who wrote the blog. And I
was like, okay, this is silly, but whatever, we're going to work through it. And so it's always like,
(34:01):
I appreciate that little pain point that people have gone through to reach out that way instead
of just responding to the email when I send out the blog. But yeah, it's fun. It's fun to see.
Yeah, that's very special. And I just, in the back of my mind, I just keep having that
statement that you said at the beginning about law being this combative, what winner, loser.
(34:27):
But this situation that you're in now, you've created this beautiful connective experience
where everyone is winners and everyone is building each other up. And it's just so different.
It's so different. It's so different. And then I'm like, this is what I was looking for. This is
(34:48):
that uplifting and encouragement piece. And it's just received so much better in the world too,
than trying to fit into that itchy dress and adhere to that professional standard and law.
The fun thing about my blog is it got voted as one of the, I think it's 70 best positivity blogs
(35:15):
by FeedSpot. And so it's recognized because it's so heartfelt and so vulnerable. And it is. It's
not about tearing anybody down. I don't care whether you come away from first place in the
writing contest or are in the out in the initial round, we're going to celebrate you. And we're
(35:40):
going to celebrate your piece and celebrate all the effort and exactly where you are on your
writing journey. So that's been a really powerful piece for me. I just love that. I love that so
much. And what's next for you? You've got, you've had this insane journey, seven or eight years
into your writing journey. What's next for you? Yeah, so it's funny because I was so gung ho last
(36:07):
fall, I was getting ready to just start publishing again. I was like, okay, there's not that I need
to, but I just have all these ideas. I was working on like six different stories and I was getting
ready to publish and kind of got to the point where I ended up having a bad experience with a
(36:28):
publisher and it kind of spun me around where I realized rather than aiming to publish more and
more and more, I want to pull back that creativity for my own self again and just be a little kid
in a sandbox. And so every Tuesday, I write just for myself and probably some of them I will share
with people. Maybe it'll be traditional book type things that I share it or maybe it'll be a little
(36:53):
PDF I send out to my email list or sell on my website. But I just want to have fun and not
take myself too seriously anymore and just be prolific about it. I know that's a bit of a long
answer, but so that's my writing piece. And then for the contest, we just hired three new judges
(37:14):
to come on. So I'm excited to announce those to our community shortly and we'll have our first
intro meeting for all the new judges to come together later this week. And then we wrap up
the next contest ends on April 30th. So it's going to be good. That's great. I love that you've given
(37:37):
both a personal answer and your professional answer and that you're continually thinking about
that creative energy and what is best for you. That's super awesome. And what I'll do is I'll
actually pop the links to your competition and to your website in our show notes for this episode.
So if anyone is keen to get involved because it is an international competition,
(38:00):
and yeah, you definitely can get involved in that. And thank you so much for joining me,
Amber. It's been wonderful. And I want to say thanks to everyone who has tuned into creativity
uncovered today. I really hope this episode has inspired you to follow your guards and give yourself
permission to follow your creativity. And as always, I hope that it helps you summon your
(38:26):
own creativity the next time that you need it. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
And for all the listeners who want to check out and see what we're doing in our little world,
I have a special link for you, which is tadpolepress.com/uncovered. And that'll take you in to see
(38:47):
where our community writing events are and see our contest and read my blog if you're interested.
Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you.
Thanks so much. I'll pop that link in our show notes as well. Okay, till next time. Take care.
(39:17):
Bye.
If you've made it this far, a huge thank you for your support and tuning into today's episode.
Creativity (39:38):
Uncovered has been lovingly recorded on the land of the Kabi Kabi people,
and we pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. This podcast has been produced by my
amazing team here at Crisp Communications and the music you just heard was composed by James Gatling.
(39:58):
If you liked this episode, please do share it around and help us on our mission to unlock
more creativity in this world. You can also hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any new episode
releases.
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