Around the Writer’s Table

In our last episode, we delved into one of the crucial phases of the creative journey, assessing and acknowledging. This stage involves not only evaluating specific pieces of our creative work, but also reflecting on ourselves and our creative lives as a whole. It's about understanding our growth, recognizing areas for improvement, and acknowledging the progress we've made so far. As we explore the different phases of the Creativit...

In this insightful episode, we journey further into the Creativity Quest with Gina Hogan Edwards, diving into the critical stage of assessing and acknowledging. We explore this often-overlooked phase, where the true voices of creative individuals begin to show up and discuss how the Creativity Quest isn't linear and how the stages of assessing and acknowledging lead to a deeper understanding of oneself as a writer. We reflect on ou...

In this ad hoc episode, KimBoo and Melody hold down the fort while Gina is dealing with some unplanned traveling up north (well, "north" for Florida, which in this case means her homeland of North Carolina). Circumstances being what they are, we go into a deep dive on grief, trauma, stress, and (you guessed it!) creativity. We talk about ways of being compassionate to ourselves while also being true to our creative nature. When Mel...

In this episode we dive into the essence of the creative quest - from emulating and mirroring your favorite authors to eventually finding your unique voice as a writer. We discuss how learning from the masters and those we admire is not about copying their work but about absorbing skills and identifying the qualities we desire in our own writing. We also touch on the potential pitfalls of comparison, the fear of never being able to...

In our latest episode titled "The Creativity Quest: Emulating and Mirroring," we dive into the intricacies of the creative journey. This process is far from linear. As artists, we move through various stages, sometimes repeating or skipping others, based on our unique challenges and successes. Our focus for today is the stage of emulating and mirroring.

Have you ever been so profoundly moved by a book that you thought, "I want to w...

In this episode, we dived deeper into the season of fall, which represents a vital stage in the Creativity Quest, in the form of Release (ref. ep 20!) and its significance in both the natural and creative world. The fascinating correlation lies in the necessity of letting go, both in nature's fall, as plants shed their leaves, and in the writing process, as we release unnecessary clutter to allow new ideas to flow. Like trees letti...

In this episode, we deep-dive into the topic of the creative process and the challenges it poses for writers like us. We expand on Gina's Creativity Quest, introducing the next step in the process: the concept of "Releasing," and its impact on our writing journeys.

Gina kicks off the discussion with a description of how the former step, "Carrying Inner Disquiet" (see episode 19) directly leads to "Releasing" in a healthy creative p...

On this insightful episode, we delve into the first stage of the Creativity Quest: the stage of 'Inner Disquiet'. This phase, although not necessarily the first one you experience, is marked by an uncomfortable longing for self-expression, which can sometimes last for years. Gina  shares her personal experiences with this phase both as a writer and as a creativity coach working with other writers, and discusses  her time in the cor...

We are launching a new series as we enter the second year of the podcast! We're so glad to have all our listeners on this journey with us as we explore new ways to help writers embrace their creativity and conscious living. 

Gina does most of the heavy lifting in this episode. She introduces her Creativity Quest framework by providing an overview of how it is designed to help writers plan, unplan, and get unstuck throughout the wri...

In this episode of Around the Writer's Table, my co-hosts Gina, Melody, and I discuss planning versus pantsing in the new-project creation process. We explore how different writers approach their work, whether by meticulously outlining and planning or by writing spontaneously and "flying by the seat of their pants." We emphasize the importance of discovering one's own writing style and being open to experimentation.

Gina shares her...

On this episode, Melody, Gina, and KimBoo discuss the importance of editing in writing. Whether you're a professional writer or a hobbyist, working with an editor can help elevate your work to the next level. Gina breaks down the four different stages of editing - developmental editing, content editing, line editing, and copy editing - and explain what each one entails. We also give tips on how to clarify what kind of editing servi...

Winter is coming to an end here in North Florida where the three of us live, but it is a season that can affect writers any time of the year! This second part on winter in our Seasons of Writing series we dive deep into the imbalances that can happen in this part of the cycle, including immobilization, detachment, hyper-criticism, and impulsivity. Gina talks about how immobilization has affected her ability to progress with her aut...

Welcome to Around the Writer's Table 1st Year Anniversary Episode! We started this podcast in February of last year, and the airing of this episode marks a full turn of the seasons! We started with spring and slowly worked our way through the five seasons as explained in Melody's book, Soul of the Seasons, in ways that relate to writers and the creative process.

Rounding out the year, we start with part one of "Winter," a time quie...

The daring trio continue our discussion about critique as an important tool in a writer's toolbox! Once you've gone as far as you can with a manuscript, what do you do next?In this episode we discuss the next step in the process, when you've moved past alpha readers and early critique groups and are ready for beta readers and professional editors. 

If you are wondering how to find and vet beta readers, how to set expectations, and ...

It often feels dangerous to offer our work up to others for critique and feedback. It requires a lot of vulnerability, but is a crucial part of the writing process as it is required to improve our work. In this episode, Gina, Melody, and KimBoo talk about letting go at a lot of levels: letting go of attachments to what we write, letting go of words, letting go of expectations, letting go of the creation process, and more. Sometimes...

We're back with part two of our overview of Fall (autumn) as a season for writers. It's a challenging time because even though we're at the point of completion of a project, there is grief to deal with (listen to ep.10 for more on that!) and the mental mindset needed to deal with getting ready to receive. Receive what, you ask? Criticism, feedback, and even new ideas to start spring with!

In this part of our series, we discuss how ...

Welcome to Fall! Here where we live in Florida it's just barely dipping down below 70°F degrees, but that's cool enough for us! In this episode we start to talk about Fall as a "season for writers," symbolic of the emotions, triumphs and hurdles we experience working on our stories. 

This is the first of a two-part series where we cover the balances and imbalances of the Fall season (see our worksheet on our website for a full list...

In this episode, Melody, Gina, and KimBoo really dig deep into what it means to be in the writing season of "Harvest." Coming off of several episodes focusing on burnout, this time we talk about the feelings that rise to surface when we have "harvested" all of our hard work. It's a time of rough drafts, beta readers, early feedback and...insecurities!

What does a balanced harvest season for writers look like? How can we practice se...

The second part of our exploration of burnout covers a lot of ground, but is focused on ways to find balance in your creative life in order to combat (or simply avoid!) burnout. Melody, A Scout continues her exploration of the season of Summer as a metaphor and spiritual tool for finding that balance, while Gina Hogan Edwards delves into how such things as perfectionism and imposter syndrome contribute to creative burnout. KimBoo t...