Creative, Actually Podcast

On today’s episode, creativity coach and strengths-focused editor Julia Gandrud joins Elizabeth to discuss how the Enneagram can help writers get to know themselves better and help them write complex characters perfect for different genres. She describes each type’s motivations and fears and how stress and growth patterns can deepen character creation across genres.

About Julia Gandrud:

Julia Gandrud is a writer, artist, creativity coach, and strengths-focused editor. She’s also a local ambassador for the Editorial Freelance Association. Lately, she’s been more of an executive functioning and accountability coach, because creatives need community. She believes life is best when we support creativity, learning, and connection. She has an MFA in Film from the San Francisco Art Institute (R.I.P.) and an MA in Art Education from Rhode Island College. She’s an Enneagram Coach, Fictionary Certified Editor, a member of the EFA, and a speculative fiction writer. She edits with all genres, with specializations in mystery, speculative fiction, queer romance, memoir, and academic writing.

Chapters & Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Julia Gandrud

00:55 Why Editing Chose Her

01:23 Story Patterns And Structure

04:04 Learning To Edit Formally

06:23 Enneagram Writing Substack

09:14 What Enneagram Really Is

11:25 Gut Triad Types 8 9 1

13:13 Heart Triad Types 2 3 4

15:58 Head Triad Types 5 6 7

20:23 Host Finds Their Type

22:30 Using Enneagram For Characters

24:38 Tests Versus Self Inquiry

28:42 Julia Identifies As Nine

29:41 Writing Blind Spots And Conflict

31:45 Villains And Gray Morality

33:12 Wings And Type Stability

34:22 Coaching And Where To Find Her

35:27 Final Thanks And Goodbye

Links:

Website

Substack

Art Website

Instagram

Free Enneagram Test

Additional analysis and examples of types

Did you know that I work with amazing creatives from all over the world? If you are working on a project and you would like a mentor, coach, editor, or work through any stucks, I have plenty of ways to meet your needs and at every price point.

I’d love to help you reach your goals!

Check out what I can do for you! > Work with me

Brandi Badgett shares her transformation on Creative, Actually from a passionate reader into a successful editor and author. She discusses her early love for books, writing endeavors, and how after raising five small children, the Resident Evil community rekindled her writing aspirations.

Brandi elaborates on her creative process, the importance of story structure, and using tools like Pro Writing Aid and Fictionary, where she eventually became an instructor. She reflects on writing her YA gamer romance and highlights the challenges of writing middles in stories. Brandi also touches upon the supportive yet competitive nature of the writing community, and being mindful of ever-changing market trends.

About Brandi Badgett:

I am a wife and mother of five beautiful children. My husband is a rocket scientist, so we live in Alabama, just outside of Rocket City. I’m a lifelong bibliophile and learner which means my home is covered in books.

I am a senior at BYU-Idaho, working on a degree in Family and Marriage Studies. The things I have learned in classes and reading studies have influenced my life greatly, and I hope to share the knowledge with others.

I’ve played with writing since I was young, but when it came to a novel—I always got stuck until I landed upon Fictionary. Between the knowledge of story I learned there and the kindness of the community, I stayed for years and became a Certified StoryCoach Editor and Instructor.

I also write fiction under my pen name Leigh Romero.

Chapters & Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:26 Brandi's Journey to Becoming an Author

03:25 Rediscovering Resident Evil and Writing Inspiration

06:53 The Writing Process and Tools

08:57 Fictionary and the Editing Journey

19:47 Understanding Story Structure and Middles

25:49 Writing Different Genres and Personal Insights

30:15 Pitching, Querying, and Market Trends

33:01 Conclusion and Contact Information

Links:

Brandi’s Author Website

Brandi’s Facebook

Editing by Brandi

Discover Fictionary’s tools for your book!

Did you know that I work with amazing creatives from all over the world? If you are working on a project and you would like a mentor, coach, editor, or work through any stucks, I have plenty of ways to meet your needs and at every price point.

I’d love to help you reach your goals!

Check out what I can do for you! > Work with me

Perfumer, sociologist, author, and editor Angie Andriot sits down with Elizabeth Carter on the second episode of Creative, Actually. Angie’s an Indiana-based perfumer, the cozy mystery author of Fragrance of Forgotten Truth, and a Fictionary instructor/editor.

As a PhD holding sociologist, she shares interesting takes on character-building that may help you understand your characters better. She also shares ideas on what to do when your characters ‘act out’ (and why they do) and a clever trick to get your characters back on track that you’ll love.

She also breaks down how Fictionary’s tools help make building your story structure, pacing, and genre beats easier, compares letting your writing ‘sit’ to perfume maceration, credits dreams for story sparks, and offers a brilliant strategy to quickly refill your creative well.

About Angie Andriot:

Angie has a PhD in Sociology from Purdue University. Her area of specialty was Self & Identity Theory. She spent 12 years as an adjunct sociology professor and eight years as a sociologist of religion. Before that, she was an elementary art teacher.

Angie is a certified Fictionary story coach and developmental editor. A certified Author Accelerator book coach and a certified spiritual director.

As an editor her specialty is speculative fiction. She loves all things fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. When you work with her, you get a wholehearted advocate for your writing. As your editor, she will nurture your unique voice, guide you to uncover the essence of your story, and help you craft a fantastic novel.

Chapters & Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Angie Andriot

01:18 From PhD to Perfumery

02:39 Pandemic to First Fiction

03:52 A Cozy Opening Read

04:52 Using Sociology for Characters

07:32 Character First, Plot Later

09:17 Fixing Character Gaps

10:25 Guided Character Meditation

11:45 Creative Flow Moments

12:43 Writing with Fictionary

16:50 Cozy Meets Horror

18:57 Genre Beats and Tropes

22:53 Fictionary for Editors

24:02 Parallels Between Creating Perfume and Writing a Novel

26:37 Dreams as Story Seeds

29:32 Ways to Fill Your Creative Well

31:41 Links and Book Coaching

33:21 Thanks and Wrap

Links:

Enchanted Owl Edits

Iris Applewood

Vetiver Aromatics Perfumery

Fictionary

Did you know that I work with amazing creatives from all over the world? If you are working on a project and you would like a mentor, coach, editor, or work through any stucks, I have plenty of ways to meet your needs and at every price point.

I’d love to help you reach your goals!

Check out what I can do for you! > Work with me

In the first conversation of Creative, Actually, Elizabeth Carter chats with retired ER nurse and author Jo Taylor about discovering her love of writing while completing an English degree to make a career pivot, and how decades in healthcare shaped her understanding of human nature.

They discuss her award-winning 1970s-set novel Margaret of Thibodaux, her Substack Characteristically Speaking, and her use of genealogy and real letters to research historical fiction.

Taylor shares craft advice focused on small, embodied character details and explains her character-first “pantser” process, developmental editing with Fictionary, and her experience reaching nearly one million Kindle page reads amid uncertain Amazon marketing and a Substack bookstore listing.

About Jo Taylor:

Jo Taylor is an obstreperous, retired ER Nurse who is likely an obstreperous writer too.

She grew up with three stepmothers—not at the same time—an experience that sharpened her ear for family dynamics, quiet tensions, and the complicated ways people love one another.

She's lived on a boat and traced her genealogy back to the year 310, all while collecting the lived details that find their way onto the page. She's been married for 35 years, and she loves to base hero characters on her husband—a hero in real life.

Her writing is character-driven, emotionally attentive, and rooted in the small moments that reveal larger truths about grief, resilience, and belonging.

Her first book, Postcards: Collected Poems and Short Stories, was released in July 2024. Her debut novel, Margaret of Thibodaux, published in March 2025, marks her first full-length work of literary fiction. Her next novel is Mimi and Maurice, a historical fiction based on true events, due to be published in June, 2026.

Chapters & Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Jo Taylor & ‘Margaret of Thibodaux’

00:49 Finding Writing Through an English Degree (and Falling in Love with It)

01:31 Observing Human Nature Without Writing ‘Hospital Novels’

03:41 Premonitions, ‘Woo,’ and Sharing Stories on Substack

05:13 Army Brat Life, Autobiographical Threads & Choosing Louisiana

08:45 Genealogy as a Writer’s Secret Weapon (and a Family Link to Martha Graham)

10:42 Writing for Anyone Who Remembers Growing Up in the 1970’s

11:46 Building Your Character With Small Details, Embarrassment, and Emotion

17:13 Pantser vs Plotter, Editing Boundaries, and Writing Good People

21:15 Fictionary, Developmental Editing, and Why Other Methods Felt Artificial

24:36 One Million Page Reads, and Using Fictionary on Margaret of Thibodaux

27:29 Ads, Substack, and Algorithms

30:18 Creativity Through Physicality - Change Your Body, Change Your Brain

33:35 Getting Unstuck With Small Shift That Bring Big Breakthroughs 

36:30 AI, Information vs. Wisdom, and Why Human Stories Still Matter

41:07 Lived Experience Is the Material

44:19 Final Thoughts, and Where to Find the Author

Links:

Jo’s Substack Characteristically Speaking

Jo’s Author Website

Margaret of Thibodaux novel on Amazon

Twitter

Instagram

Fictionary

Fleur Hull Substack Bookstore

Did you know that I work with amazing creatives from all over the world? If you are working on a project and you would like a mentor, coach, editor, or work through any stucks, I have plenty of ways to meet your needs and at every price point.

I’d love to help you reach your goals!

Check out what I can do for you! > Work with me