Courage to Create

On this episode of The Porchlight, Bethany interviews her friend and fellow author, Lynne Kelly. As a former special education teacher and now a sign-language interpreter, Lynne has always loved words. She also loves animals, and they have been the catalyst for her debut middle grade novel, CHAINED, as well as her latest book, SONG FOR A WHALE, which Publishers Weekly called "a finely crafted novel." Lynne lives near Houston, Texas with her adorable dog, Holly. You can find Lynne online at lynnekellybooks.com and on Twitter @lynnekelly. During the interview, Bethany and Lynne discuss the importance of feeling heard and the longing for connection and community that is a universal feeling and also one of the themes of SONG FOR A WHALE. To help all children feel seen and heard, Lynn does school visits and has spoken at both schools for hearing children and those for the deaf community, who have been delighted to see themselves represented in Iris, the main character in Lynne's book. To make sure her novel was authentic, Lynne worked with two sensitivity readers who helped her best convey the deaf experience. One of these readers also came up with the book's fitting tag line, "Make waves about something." In the episode, Lynne also discusses how she works with her agent, Molly O'Neill, and the background that led them to one another. Bethany and Lynne delve into the benefits of critique groups and the importance of fostering relationships with other industry professionals at conferences and workshops. Enjoy this episode of The Porchlight today!

In this brand new episode of The Porchlight's popular installmentCourage to Create,author Bethany Hegedus talks about the F word. Yes you read me correctly. The dreaded F word: Failure. We've all been there, whether it be a rejection or a bad review or any of the other small failures we encounter in our daily lives as humans, failure is inevitable. But it is not fatal, nor is it final.

"Success is not final, failureis not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchil

Using this quote as a catalyst for the episode, Bethany Hegedus, discusses some of the many private and public failures writers and creatives come face to face with. We're often searching for 'stamps of approval' in order to feel validate in our work. But what happens when that need for validation gets in the way of the work itself? When the endless stream of stamps of approval takes away the joy that writing brought you in the first place.

That is when we need to take a step back and reflect on our many successes, be thankful that we have something that brings us joy, and continue nurturing and protecting our passion, rather than worry about future failure.

In this brand new episode of The Porchlight, Bethany Hegedus interviews friend and local Austin author Lindsay Leslie whose debut picture book, THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS, has one of the finest first page turns ever according to a review from Booklist. Lindsay was a journalism major who worked as a public relations executive, but it wasn't until she found her way into the world of children's literature that she felt safe and at home. She began telling bedtime stories to her children and realized she wanted to write stories as well. In fact, the inspiration for THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS came from her son's messy room when she stepped on a picture book and feared she'd broken its spine. During the episode, Bethany and Lindsay discuss all the picture book rules and when and how to break them. Lindsay talks about her love of meta picture books and how they allow such a deep connection with readers by pulling them in to be participants in the story. Creation gives Lindsay courage, and writing helps her handle anxiety. Her hope is that her stories will also help readers handle anxiety, which she says is only one of our feelings and not one that deserves the grand stage. Also, she tells listeners the story of how she first got a book contract offer via a Twitter pitch contest and got an agent second, which flips the usual pattern of things on its head. Tune in today to this funny and inspiring episode of The Porchlight. For more about Lindsay and her work, go to https://lindsayleslie.com/

In this season 3 finale of The Porchlight Podcast, Bethany Hegedus caps off her newest series Courage to Create with an episode on

In this inspiring episode Bethany asks listeners to define what meaning, happiness, and purpose looks like in their own lives. How can we gift ourselves these assets on a regular basis? Is our life purpose directly related to our relative happiness? How many times do we as artists put ourselves last, when what we really need to be doing is nourishing the soul that we may better nurture others and our craft.

Throughout the Courage to Create series Bethany has led us through the difficulties and upsets that are all too present in our field, light we can reward ourselves during this difficult (and life long!) journey.

Complete with personality quizzes, NYT articles, inspiring Facebook posts and more, this Courage to Create episode pulls from the every day to show writers how we can infuse meaning, purpose, and most importantly, happiness into our writer lives.

If you'd like to learn more about your "Sparktype" take the quiz here!

Fourth grade teacher and author Rob Sanders joins Bethany for this inspiring episode of The Porchlight where they discuss everything from Rob's literary life to the importance of inclusion, social justice, and perseverance. Rob is the author of eight picture books, including PRIDE, PEACEFUL FIGHTS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS, RODZILLA, and the forthcoming STONEWALL, which allows readers to learn about the rich and dynamic history of the Stonewall Inn and its role in the gay civil rights movement.

Rob is a Florida resident who met Bethany when he took one of her online classes at The Writing Barn, where he now teaches as well. As someone who loves to leap into new ventures, Rob discusses how he started writing nonfiction and how he seeks to explore new forms, genres, and styles in his work. He believes that the best way to help kids become social justice advocates for themselves and others is to talk to them about all topics and history in an age appropriate way because kids are talking among themselves and need to know the facts.

Rob strives to show both his readers and his students how civil rights progress we have gained initially still has to be maintained, and this is one of many reasons he is passionate about writing stories of diversity and inclusion. Bethany and Rob also discuss their mutual love of teaching and what they learn from their students, both adults and children. For more information about Rob and his work, visit his website at https://www.robsanderswrites.com/

In episode six of Courage to Create, Bethany talks about how to become what writer Elizabeth Gilbert calls a deeply disciplined half-ass. Our own inner critic and perfectionism can stop us from even getting started with our writing.

Bethany discusses how we can overcome this and stop our stopping when we are scared. She encourages listeners to forget about perfect and focus on the good, realistic, possible, and fun. Perfectionism keeps us from feeling joy in our work, and Bethany gives tips on how we can find a middle ground and a balance between perfectionism and keeping our work hidden away in our own heads or in the drawers of our desks.

With references to authors Anne Lamott and Elizabeth Gilbert and how they are fiercely themselves, Bethany encourages us all to learn the art and humor of becoming our own deeply disciplined half-ass and finding joy in our work.

In episode 41 of The Porchlight, Marcie Colleen charms us with her wit and heart, both of which are larger than life. Marcie holds a bachelor's degree in Education of English and Language Arts from Oswego State University and a master's degree in Educational Theater from New York University. She is the author of THE SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS chapter book series with Macmillan/Imprint, as well as her debut picture book, LOVE, TRIANGLE, illustrated by Bob Shea (Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins), and PENGUINAUT!, illustrated by Emma Yarlett and published by Scholastic in 2018. Marcie creates highly acclaimed Teacher's Guides that align picture books and middle grade novels with the Common Core and state mandated standards. She is the Education Consultant for Picture Book Month and the Curriculum Developer for Time Traveler Tours & Tales. Marcie is also a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops and teaches online at The Writing Barn, Kidlit Writing School, and other venues. During Marcie's interview with host Bethany Hegedus, they discuss the random places ideas can come from and the sometimes difficult process of finding the right title. Marcie details a story of how she listened to too many voices of critique and had to find her way back to her own vision after writing 39 drafts of PENGUINAUT. They give a shout out to author and 12X12 founder Julie Hedlund, featured on episode 20 of The Porchlight, for introducing them online. Marcie also discusses the joy she finds in puns and wordplay and how she uses both in her work. She also believes she was called to teaching and giving back by empowering new writers no matter how green they are because she seeks to lift people up the way she herself was lifted up by her mentors, which include Alvina Ling. Get ready to laugh and be inspired by Marcie Colleen, and find out more about her at http://www.thisismarciecolleen.com.

The dark night of the soul. As writers, we've all been there. We've all had those moments where we feel like our work is not good enough. Will never be good enough. That we are not good enough. In Courage to Create episode #5, Bethany Hegedus walks us through this dark night and leads us back out.

January feels like a fresh start, a new page, a time to move forward. But if you're experiencing a crisis of faith in your work and/or yourself, moving forward can feel impossible. Bethany delves into the hurt of rejections, the shame we often feel, and how we tend to turn that into wondering why we're not good enough and fearing we never will be.

She uses inspiring quotes and vignettes from Anne Lamott and Flannery O'Connor, both successful authors who have been through dark nights of their own. Bethany also reads a letter from one of her Write. Submit. Support. students and encourages listeners to send her their own letters detailing what they say to themselves when they're in a place of doubt and despair.

Most significantly, Bethany guides listeners back into the light and shows us how we can overcome our own dark nights and keep moving forward in our literary lives. You won't want to miss this inspiring episode of The Porchlight.

On this episode of The Porchlight we flip the script and interview Matthew Winner, Librarian and Podcast Host of All The Wonders, a podcast that we here at The Writing Barn hold near and dear to us. We just knew we had to interview Matthew for The Porchlight. Listen to this in-person interview at The Writing Barn during our Picture Book Intensive (for which Matthew was faculty).

Today's Porchlight guest is elementary school librarian, author, and host and creator of The Children's Book Podcast (formerly All the Wonders), Matthew Winner. He is the author of ASHA WENT WALKING, a webcomic for young readers, and in 2013, Matthew was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker.

Matthew and Bethany discuss the origins of his podcast and how he's just recorded his 469th episode! Matthew details the evolution of his podcast over the years and how he's come to use it as a platform for marginalized voices so that all children feel heard and seen. He believes books should serve as both mirrors and windows and talks about why this is so important. Matthew also discusses how he finds guests for his podcast and who his dream interviews are.

Join Bethany and Matthew for an open, honest, and inspiring conversation on this episode of The Porchlight. And find out all about Matthew and his work at: http://www.matthewcwinner.com

All The Wonders is a home for readers to discover new books and to experience the stories they love in wondrous ways. It is an entertainment channel, a variety show, and a modern library all wrapped up into one digital home. Be sure to subscribe!

In episode four of The Porchlight's new Courage to Create series with Bethany Hegedus, Bethany talks about the power of believing stories and books into being. Courage is a crucial component of that belief, and Bethany discusses how you can find your own courage to create and why she chose to give the series that title. She comments on finding time for your work and saving energy for your creativity even while living your daily life filled with job, family, and friends. Bethany explains how boredom can be a major feeder for creativity and how in our busy lives, we often need to schedule boredom so we have time for long walks and unplugging and focusing on our work. Also, Bethany and The Writing Barn want to hear from you, our listeners and students! How can we help you live your best literary life? Where are you feeling courage these days? Where are you feeling fear? Comment on any of our social media and start a dialogue with us about your literary life. Remember, we are navigating this creative journey together!