Around the Writer’s Table

On this insightful episode, we delve into the first stage of the Creative Cycle: 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 corporate world when she felt an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction stemming from her unfulfilled desire to write. Melody and KimBoo share how they experience 'Inner Disquiet', leading to an enlightening discussion on recognizing this stage as a crucial precursor to creative growth. Melody likens it to the germination stage of a seed - a quiet but vital phase where the real magic happens below the surface, and how it relates to the season of Winter in traditional five-season medicine. Tune in to explore this vital aspect of the creative journey and gain insights that can help you navigate your own path!

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 Cycle framework by providing an overview of how it is designed to help writers plan, unplan, and get unstuck throughout the writing process. Future episodes will have us digging into each step in the cycle in depth. Melody brings in how the different stages of the Creativity Cycle relate to the Seasons for Writers and ways that we can use both perspectives to become clearer about how we engage with our work. KimBoo, meanwhile, complains about all the ideas she has for stories she wants to write! Please visit the Around the Writer's Table website to access the downloadable guide to the Creativity Cycle and the transcript for this episode.

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 experience of transitioning from a planner to a pantser and how it helped her embrace her creative freedom. She also highlights the importance of balancing planning and spontaneity in the writing process, mentioning, "There are so many ways to approach it, and the best thing you can do is to be willing to experiment and find what works best for you." I discuss the obstacles I faced when trying to plan my stories and how I eventually discovered that planning can be both a friend and a hindrance. I underscore the importance of planning on one's own terms rather than following someone else's instructions. Melody talks about the role of a writing coach in helping writers find the right balance in their creative process, noting the value of pushing one's boundaries and trying new approaches to writing. We also touch on the topic of our next episode, which will delve into Gina's creative cycle and its connection to the seasons of the writing process. We encourage listeners to join us as we continue exploring the different stages of creativity and finding a balance between planning and pantsing in their writing journey. Overall, this episode serves as a valuable resource for writers seeking insights and guidance on finding their own unique writing process and striking the right balance between planning and spontaneity.

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 services an editor provides before hiring them, and why proofreading is crucial for any polished final product. KimBoo explains why traditional publishers may not be providing the same level of editing services as before, and Melody talks about her long journey through different editors until finally working with Gina to produce her book, Soul of the Seasons.

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 author career, while KimBoo recounts how impulsivity and impatience ruined one of her first published books (which has since been pulled, rewritten, and republished!). Melody explains how the element of water is associated with winter and how that relationship of elements can help you balance your own writing life! Remember to stop by our website to download the worksheet for the season of winter, and please leave us a comment or question while you are there!

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 quiet "underground" creation, conservation, contemplation, and sometimes even grief. We talk about putting stories "under the mattress" and what it means to trust your intuition. Join us for this very special series! Please visit our website to get access to the downloadable worksheet mentioned in the podcast!

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 what to do with the feedback you get, then this is the episode for you! This carries on from part 2 in episode 12, which recommend listening to as well. Please visit our website at www.aroundthewriterstable.com to access the free download we are offering with this episode as well as a full transcript.

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 that means "kill your darlings," sometimes (if you are KimBoo!) it is about adding and embellishing the story and letting go of impatience. The important part of critiquing is knowing where you are at as a writer, knowing how to take a break, and finding the balance of what works for you. This episode goes in depth on how to find a supportive critique group, what an alpha reader is, and how to find the right people to help you critique your writing. It is the first part of a series of episodes focused on editing and critiquing, and we start with a look at the early stage of editing, either when a draft is freshly done (or not even quite done yet!). Visit our website at https://www.aroundthewriterstable.com in order to access the downloadable worksheet(s) referenced in this episode!

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 to declutter your brain and your ego so you can clarify the discernment you need to for the tasks ahead. You will need to be ready to decide what to keep and what to let go off, and learn to value your own authority over your stories. It's a challenging time but the Writer's Table Collective is here to help you out!

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!) and discuss the core emotion of this season: grief. It usually manifests in the writing process as we let go of our work, either for editing or publishing, and not just the story itself but the process of creating it. It's not all grim and terrible, in fact it is necessary as you move into a place of finding and nurturing the "seeds" for your next story project!

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 self-care when our worries are driving the bus? Can we share our excitement without slamming the door on our creativity? Join us as we talk about "writers who aren't writing," healthy ways to rest from writing, and ways to nurture the creativity we both love and, sometimes, fear! Be sure to visit our website to download a helpful worksheet that provides more information and an empowering creative exercise!

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 talks about the importance of community as she has experienced it in fanfiction circles. Whatever your current situation is, we hope this episode will give you some guidance or at least will help you feel less alone in your creative journey! Please visit our website to find the downloadable worksheets mentioned in the podcast.

Burnout turned out to be such a huge topic that we had to break it into two parts! This podcast is focused on what burnout is and is not, how we recognize it, and how it affects our lives. Gina is back from a social media “diet” and self-styled retreat she gifted herself in July, and talks with Melody about how this fits into the “summer” modality of the Five Seasons of Writing (based on Melody’s book about five element theory, Soul of the Seasons). Meanwhile KimBoo grapples with not being able to write, and how that can lead to shame and frustration. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed and are having trouble connecting with your creativity, we invite you to listen to this episode! We go deep but laugh at our own follies and hopefully can make you feel less alone! Please visit out website for the downloadable worksheet mentioned in the podcast! Resources mention: Sketchbook Skool

Melody, Gina, and KimBoo return to the Five Spirit Medicine paradigm from Melody's book, Soul of the Seasons, with an look at what it means for writers and other creatives to be feeling the heat of summer! (We live in Florida, we're allowed to make jokes about how hot it is!) Summer as a creative experience can happen anytime during the calendrical year, and represents a specific time in the cycle of creation. In summer, visions are brought to fruition, we work on developing and maturing projects we've started, we prune here and feed there as we commit to finishing what we are working on. It is a time of revision and reaching out to our community for support and encouragement. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, and invite you to join us in exploring what it means to come up against what KimBoo has labeled "The Two Chapter Problem." Links and Resources: Hot Mic with Houston and Hogan podcast (Spotify link) Summer Worksheet (downloadable at our podcast website) Transcripts available at our website.

Writers (and other creatives) often think of boundaries as negative things — restrictions that hold us back from actualizing our creative visions! But that is not always true, and in fact is often the opposite of true. In this episode, Gina, Melody, and KimBoo talk about the good and the bad of setting boundaries, and the different kinds of boundaries a writer sets sometimes without even realizing it! Is an outline a boundary? Yes! Is setting aside writing time and telling your family not to disturb you a boundary? Yes! Is using specific writing tools a boundary? YES! You will be surprised to discover the boundaries you already use as a writer, and might even find some new ones that help you explore your creativity in new ways! Thanks for joining us Around the Writer's Table! Please visit this podcast's page at our website and leave us a comment, ask a question, or suggest ideas for future podcasts!

This episode starts our new series, Seasons of Writing! We will be exploring the writing process through the lens of the Five Seasons matrix as taught by Melody, A Scout in her book, Soul of the Seasons. Our first stop is spring, a time to find or remember our visions, define healthy boundaries, and make quality decisions about moving forward with our writing projects! More than just a simple metaphor, the five seasons teach us about the value of attuning to our own natural rhythms and life cycles as well as the world around us: “The seasons of the earth are a matrix that connects every living thing on our planet. These seasons reveal to us the story of true community, where each element and living being shares an intimate connection to each other and, in turn, is our connection with the world. Time and time again, evidence reveals that changing just one element of a system, even a tiny one, changes the entire system. So, this is the essence of community: That which affects one, affects all." Visit the Around the Writer's Table website for downloadable worksheets that you can use to help illuminate your own writing process!

This episode is the final entry in our "meet your hosts!" triptych, featuring an interview with Melody, a Scout, who is the author of the book, Soul of the Seasons: Creating Balance, Resilience, and Connection by Tapping the Wisdom of the Natural World. She took nine years to write and edit this book, which she started during her time training with her plant spirit teacher, Eliot Cowan. Melody shares with us a bit of her journey to becoming a published author and a lot about how the concepts of the five seasons and plant medicine intertwine with learning to live a creative live. "Expectations are premeditated resentments." ~ Robert Ohotto [Transcript available on our website, Around the Writer's Table]

Welcome to the SECOND(!!!) episode of Around the Writer’s Table: Conversations on Craft, Creativity, and Conscious Living! Next up in our journey of interviews with the hosts of the podcast, Gina and Melody put the screws to KimBoo York aka the Author Alchemist (you can tell that KimBoo is the one writing this description!) and find out more than they ever knew to ask about motivation, inspiration, fanfiction, writing while traumatized, neuroatypical brains, and more! Join the fun and listen in as KimBoo rambles on a lot about seeing Star Wars: A New Hope in the theater when she was a kid. As discussed (at length!) in this episode, here is the link to Archive of Our Own (AO3), the fanfiction archive built and run by fans!

Welcome to the first episode of Around the Writer's Table: Conversations on Craft, Creativity, and Conscious Living! We're really excited to kick this off. We're starting with an interview with one of our own: Gina Hogan Edwards! Writer, editor, creativity coach, and WomanSpeak Leader! We cover a lot of ground in this episode, jumping off from talking about Gina's long career as a professional writer and editor to issues such as dealing with your inner editor and how to approach long-term writing projects. Join us! ~ Melody, Gina, and KimBoo