Chasing Creative

Do you get excited about a new creative project, then give up halfway through? Or maybe you don't think your idea is good enough to even get started? What if you get all the way to the end of a project but can't quite push through to the finish line? We all have individual struggles with actually completing a creative project. Today, Ashley and Abbie are hashing out some of the most common creative pitfalls and how you can troubleshoot them.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Magic Lessons podcast

Start by Jon Acuff

Finish by Jon Acuff

Essentialism by Greg KcKeown

How to Set Goals Like a Normal Person from the Lazy Genius Collective

The Lazy Genius Finds Her Purpose

Toggl time tracker

I Know How She Does It by Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam’s time log

The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

The Girls by Emma Cline

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs

"Two dying memoirists wrote bestsellers about their final days. Then their spouses fell in love."

Reading People by Anne Bogel

Inkwells and Images

Facebook: @inkwellsandimages

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

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Ashley Brooks Writes blog

Brooks Editorial blog

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Twitter: @brookseditorial

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Life is full of those little things that have to get done but that can really drag us down. If we let them, they’ll steal our time and our energy away from the creative pursuits that are important to us. Today, we’re chatting about all those small things that drag us down and our best tips for dealing with them so we can get back to our fun creative projects.

Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach

A Simplified Life by Emily Ley

Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Inkwells and Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

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Brooks Editorial blog

Ashley Brooks Writes

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

We’re all trying to make room for our creative projects in our already full lives, so how do we approach trying new types of creativity? Do we even? Ashley and Abbigail chat about the types of creativity they’ve tried in the past, things they’ve picked up, loved, hated, and put down, and what new things they’d like to try someday soon.

You can now support Chasing Creative on Patreon!

Mini Book Club

Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts by Ryan Holiday

Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach

Personal Blog: Ashley Brooks Writes

Business Website: Brooks Editorial

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

Website: Inkwells and Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

We're not huge fans of structured creative goals, but we do like building creative habits into our daily lives. In this episode, we're sharing how we cultivate creative habits and the tactics that do and don't work for us.

Jennie's new book, Happy Journal, Happy Life, is a fun, low-pressure way to add a creative habit to your day in 10 minutes or less. Happy Journal, Happy Life can ignite your creative energy, boost your gratitude, and bring the joy back to journaling.

Get Happy Journal, Happy Life in paperback!

Get Happy Journal, Happy Life for your Kindle!

Click here to learn more about Jennie and the wonderful work she's doing to encourage everyday creativity.

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

Powersheets from Cultivate What Matters

Ashley's post on Reading Deeply in 2018

Habit Streak app

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist

Inkwells and Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

Facebook: @inkwellsandimages

Pinterest: @abbigailekriebs

Ashley Brooks Writes

Brooks Editorial

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

What counts as "real" creativity? Join Ashley and Abbigail as they explore the definition of creativity and how to define it in your own life.

"But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.” ― Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

"The discipline of creation, be it to paint, compose, write, is an effort towards wholeness.” ― Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

“If you are worried that your art is a waste of time, perhaps you need to redefine success in art. Are you becoming more fully yourself?” ― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways

“ . . . being an artist has something to do with being brave enough to move toward what makes you come alive.” ― Emily P. Freeman, A Million Little Ways

"Creativity should be an everyday experience." ― Erwin McManus, The Artisan Soul

Modern Mrs. Darcy blog post on the eight-line edit: "The Eight Uncomfortable Lines I Want to Cut from Books I'm Reading These Days"

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

Inkwells and Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

Facebook: @inkwellsandimages

Pinterest: @abbigailekriebs

Brooks Editorial

Ashley Brooks Writes

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

Setting creative goals can be a whole lot of fun -- but meeting them is often a whole different story. Ashley and Abbigail chat about what their creative goals are for 2018 and how they plan to measure and track them. There’s a lot of discussion on what makes a creative goal a good one and how to choose goals when you’re just not sure what your year is going to look like.

You can now support Chasing Creative on Patreon!

Good Stuff We Talked About

Lara Casey’s Powersheets - the 2018 set is sold out, but there are still some 6-month sets left at the time of this episode airing.

The Get to Work Book by Elise Joy - Abbie uses this for all her planning.

The Day Designer by Whitney English - Ashley has used this in the past.

Mini Book Club

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton - There’s an updated review of this in our January 15th episode on what counts as creativity. Ashley’s short review: don’t read it!

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Personal Blog: Ashley Brooks Writes

Business Website: Brooks Editorial

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

Website: Inkwells & Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

This episode is all about books! We're chatting about how reading helps (and hinders) our creative lives, the books that have made an impact on our creativity, and the ups and downs of setting reading goals.

Deep Work by Cal Newport

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna

Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren

Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother by Beth Ann Fennelly

The Magic Lessons podcast with Elizabeth Gilbert

If This, Then That (IFTTT) recipe for saving Goodreads book reviews to Evernote

How to Bullet Journal at the Lazy Genius Collective

The Lazy Genius Bullet Journals on the Lazy Genius podcast

Austin Kleon's "I will not finish books I don't like"

Modern Mrs. Darcy blog

What Should I Read Next? podcast

What's Your Reading Personality? quiz from Modern Mrs. Darcy

What's Your Reading Personality? quiz from Oprah

NYT Book Review podcast

Greenlight Bookstore Radio Hour (Abbie's favorite episodes are Emily St. John Mandel and Elizabeth Gilbert)

The Simple Show podcast

@bookedandready on Instagram

Ashley's Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1864876-ashley-brooks

Abbie's Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/20016618-abbigail-e-kriebs

Website: Inkwells and Images

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Pinterest: @abbigailekriebs

Facebook: @inkwellsandimages

Brooks Editorial

Ashley Brooks Writes

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

Every one of us dreams about having the perfect creative space: it’s got tons of natural light, elegantly potted plants, clear surfaces, and all of our tools within arm’s reach. This is far from reality for most of us, contrary to what Instagram would have you think. Ashley and Abbigail share what their real creative spaces look like, how they could make them better, and tips and tricks you may not have thought of to help you claim your creative space as your own and make it work for you instead of against you.

You can now support Chasing Creative on Patreon!

Good Stuff We Talked About

Ashley’s cousin, Nikki, is also a creative person! We interviewed her in season one.

Mini Book Club

Recipes for A Beautiful Life by Rebecca Barry

Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Personal Blog: Ashley Brooks Writes

Business Website: Brooks Editorial

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

Website: Inkwells and Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

Facebook: @Inkwellsandimages

Today's episode is all about creative wins: what we consider a win in our own lives, why it's so important to acknowledge our accomplishments (big and small), and our favorite ways to celebrate creative wins.

Hello There, Friend

Chasing Creative episode: Sharing Your Creativity

Chasing Creative episode: Make a Mini Creative Retreat with Jennie Moraitis

Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers

The House by the River by Lena Manta

Inkwells and Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

Facebook: @inkwellsandimages

Brooks Editorial

Personal blog: Ashley Brooks Writes

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

It’s hard to work on your own creative projects. You have to find the time, the energy, and the motivation -- and those three rarely live on the same planet for most of us these days. One way to convince yourself -- or maybe trick yourself -- to prioritize your own work and make progress on your creative goals is to join a creative challenge. Ashley and Abbigail discuss the creative challenges that they are aware of, how they’ve helped them on their creative goals, and which ones they’d do again.

You can now support Chasing Creative on Patreon!

Good Stuff We Talked About

Rachel Dawson’s episode

Jennie Moraitis’s episode

Elise Blaha Cripe’s episode

Coffee and Crumbs episode on memory making

1 Second Everyday app

Quiz from Gretchen Rubin on the 4 Tendencies

2030Make Challenge

100 Days Challenge

Write 31 Days challenge

NaNoWriMo

Mini Book Club

From Sand & Ash by Amy Harmon

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

Personal Blog: Ashley Brooks Writes

Business Website: Brooks Editorial

Twitter: @brookseditorial

Instagram: @brookseditorial

Pinterest: @brookseditorial

Website: Inkwells and Images

Twitter: @abbigailekriebs

Instagram: @abbigailekriebs

Facebook: @Inkwellsandimages