Category: Episode

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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 😉

 

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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 😉 )

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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.

 

 

 

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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.

 

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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

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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

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Episode 99 – Embracing your Inner Weirdo

During this episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about how embracing your weird is a good thing and how to incorporate it into your writing.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • How writing to market can seriously limit your inner weirdo from shining through
  • That staying true to yourself is an incredibly hard journey—but so worth it
  • Our characters need their quirks to stand out and be likeable, so why not embrace our own?
  • That indie-publishing should mean freedom, yet there’s an awful lot of talk about what one should and shouldn’t do
  • That there are better ways to make money, easier day jobs, than not writing what you love

 

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Episode 98 – Using Tarot in Writing

Mariëlle explains the potential use of tarot cards in writing. She describes how to use tarots to identify and deal with blocks to the writing process, as well as, how to use the cards to plot a novel or develop characters.

We asked the cards the following questions:

What do we need to consider about the direction the podcast should go?

What do we know about the direction we are heading?

What don’t we know about this direction?

What do we need to consider about this direction?

What else do you need to be aware of with this project?

Listen to the podcast to discover the answers.

Any questions, contact Mariëlle at  marielle@mswordsmith.nl  

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Episode 97 – Juggling Multiple Projects

During this episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about the multiple (creative) projects they are juggling and how that affects Lucinda’s writing and Mariëlle’s sanity.

Here are some of the topics that came up:

  • Lucinda talks about the multiple projects she juggles in life generally, which all impact her writing
  • Mariëlle talks about the many nonfiction projects she currently has deadlines for, which kind of has her admit she’s been pushing it too far
  • How Mariëlle has grown over the years in that she’s gotten better at saying ‘No’ to things that simply don’t resonate with her
  • That not all (day) jobs and responsibilities are created equally and that they all affect what we are able to take on extra differently

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