Episode 109 – How to Deal with Overwhelm

In this week’s episode, Mariëlle and Lucinda talk about overwhelm and how they (try to) deal with it.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • The differences between dealing with overwhelm at the day job and in your writing life
  • The importance of to-do lists and prioritising the items on said list
  • That Lucinda and Mariëlle relate to time differently, and how they both end up overwhelmed by it
  • Mariëlle having found her limit when it comes to the length of her to-do lists
  • How they both handle wanting to do to much at the same time
  • Why it’s necessary to remind yourself why you’ve put an item on your to-do list to begin with

You can find Marielle’s upcoming Kickstarter campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mswordsmith/tarotforentrepreneurs

Episode 108 – The one where Lucinda and Mariëlle try to talk about fear

The topic picked for this week’s episode was ‘fears around being unique’. As you will hear, this turned out to be a particularly hard topic to talk about—both Lucinda and Marielle kept circling the topic, talking about anything and everything related to this particular fear without actually facing the topic directly 😉

You can find Marielle’s upcoming Kickstarter campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mswordsmith/tarotforentrepreneurs

Episode 107 – How to Keep Going

In this week’s episode, Mariëlle and Lucinda talk about how to keep going when the going gets tough.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • Lucinda’s been struggling to prioritise her writing time – but talking about it reminded her how much she loves writing, and how much it is a part of her
  • Mariëlle’s currently in the ‘no one’s waiting for this’ phase of both her novel and non-fiction project, and she realised while recording just how deep-seated her imposter syndrome really is
  • That habits can be both a blessing and a curse, and that we need to remain somewhat flexible around them.

You can find Marielle’s upcoming Kickstarter campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mswordsmith/tarotforentrepreneurs

Episode 105 – Finding the Courage to Collaborate

In this week’s episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about their experiences (and fears!) around collaborating with others.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • Mariëlle’s fears around collaboration and where she thinks these may be coming from
  • That Lucinda has been very ‘lucky’ in her picking of collaborators because she’s never had a bad experience
  • Collaborating with friends
  • The importance of making sure you gel with someone before you start collaborating
  • Why making up contracts, even when collaborating with a friend, can be highly useful
  • That, sometimes, you just have to take the chance and see where you end up

During the recording, Mariëlle kept feeling she was talking in circles, but right after we stopped recording, she had a major revelation about her current fear around collaboration and where it came from exactly! It goes to show that, sometimes, you just need to talk through something, prod at it from different angles, to arrive at that vital aha! moment 😉

 

Episode 104 – How to Deal with being Stuck

In this week’s episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about being stuck and how they get out of it.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • Before you act on your being stuck, it’s always good to try to figure out WHY it is you’re stuck—how did you get here?
  • That while Mariëlle’s writing lots these days, and is definitely not stuck on her current project, she has to admit she’s actually a little stuck on her other project, which is why she put it in a drawer for now and allows herself to focus on her current WIP
  • When Lucinda gets stuck, she steps away from the computer and allows herself to get messy by writing long-hand, which activates a different part of the brain than typing on a keyboard does
  • That, when all else fails, a new notebook might do the trick, since the breath of fresh air that new notebooks bring along might help you in finding a different perspective (in case you needed another excuse to get yourself a new notebook 😉 )

Episode 103 – Levelling up as a Writer

In this week’s episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about levelling up as a writer, and whether or not they’re ready for that.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • Lately, Lucinda’s focus has been less on the writing and more on other aspects of her life, and that’s OK.
  • After recognising and then working through some deep-seated patterns in her life, Mariëlle feels about ready to seriously level up and do the things she knows she’s here to do.
  • That you can’t see your writing life as separate from the rest of your life, and that what happens regarding the one automatically affects the other.
  • How, in Lucinda’s case, her personal transformation might very well affect her writing in the long run.
  • That not all things might happen for a reason, but that doesn’t mean we cannot give them at least some level of purpose after the fact.

 

 

 

Episode 102 – Steady Bravery

After pulling the Knight of Swords for this episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about steady bravery and what that means for their creative lives.

That was the intention, at least. They ended up talking about a LOT more than just that.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • Tarotly speaking, 2023 is the year of the Chariot, which means it’s the perfect year to move forwards with your goal.
  • How the Knight of Swords fits the Chariot perfectly, since they both warn against pushing forward too hard and ending up burned out and hurt.
  • What bravery means exactly, and that it can mean something different for everyone.
  • Whether we need that nasty little voice in side our heads to get us moving or whether there’s another reason for ‘lazy’ or avoidant behaviour.
  • Where Lucinda’s fear around social media might be coming from.
  • Why learning how to properly rest terrifies Mariëlle like nothing else.

 

Mariëlle also promised to dig up a link to Derek Murphy’s talk on how to create an author brand, which he gave in Edinburgh, but it’s unfortunately not available online.

 

Episode 101 – Surrender

During this first episode of the new year, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about:

  • Some of the things they wish to surrender to over 2023
  • Mariëlle’s wish to surrender to her creative flow more by creating the necessary space in her usually rigid planning
  • Lucinda’s wish to surrender to the things she has no control over to begin with
  • How being in survival mode affects one’s creativity
  • Taking the easy road over taking the hard road, and whether that has everything to do with perspective
  • That going with the flow sounds easier than it is

Episode 100 – Learning from the Past

During the 100th episode of the podcast, Lucinda and Mariëlle reflect on what they’ve learned about their writerly selfs over the past year and what they want to move towards during 2023.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • Lucinda becoming more accepting about how she’s forced to keep returning to the drawing board each time she thinks she figured out her ideal system for writing.
  • Lucinda’s realisation that she wants to stop looking for shortcuts in life.
  • That this is the perfect time of year to reflect on what shortcuts we’ve been trying to take this year and why.
  • How Lucinda learned to take her time when it comes to writing, which takes the pressure off.
  • Mariëlle realising that, if she doesn’t make space for her creative energy to flow, she becomes like a pressure cooker ready to blow.
  • Mariëlle trying to balance her regained trust that her creativity will always come back—if with a vengeance—with her intention to build in more space for that creativity to keep flowing all year round.
  • How what we go through on a personal level has a profound impact on our creativity, since both are located in the second chakra, our emotional well.

For our first episode of the new year, we will be talking about what we would like to (try to) surrender to during 2023. What are some of the things you’d like to surrender to in the year to come?

Moleskine PRO Planner 2023: https://www.moleskine.com/en-gr/shop/planners/pro-collection/pro-planner-2023-black-8056598851038.html