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 

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  [email protected]  

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

During this episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about their ‘failures’ and what wonderful things these actually brought them.Here are some of the topics that came up:* That, just because something didn’t go the way you wanted, it doesn’t mean it didn’t go actually the way you needed* How our sense of success and how we measure it is intricately related to our patience levels* How Lucinda’s first novel wasn’t what she’d wanted it to be, but it did bring her onto this writing journey and that’s a wonderful thing in itself* How, a week after the launch of her Kickstarter campaign, Mariëlle found a way to shift her perspective to focus less on the private goal she’d set for herself and more on all the awesome stuff that has happened and that she achieved because of the campaign.Mariëlle’s campaign ends on the 9th of November. If you’re curious to see what her campaign looks like and how it’s doing, check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mswordsmith/grow-your-creative-mindset  

During this episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about curiosity and why and when to follow it.Here are some of the topics that came up:* Mariëlle’s upcoming Kickstarter campaign and how she’s gotten swept up in her growing expectations.* Lucinda’s exploring new genres as she’s contemplating writing with her husband.* How our (changing) expectations affect how we do things and how much fun we’re having while doing them.* That learning something isn’t for you can be considered a success too.* The importance of being and staying aware of what you wanted to achieve when you started a new project and why, and why you need to keep reminding yourself what piqued your curiosity in the first place.

During this episode, Lucinda asks Mariëlle all about her upcoming Kickstarter campaign.Here are some of the topics that came up:What Kickstarter is and how it can work for writers (fiction and non-fiction)* For whom Kickstarter is, potentially, a great platform to sell books and find a new audience* The risks involved in using Kickstarter as a platform* Different ways to go about your campaign, and different things you could offer as bonus perks* How Kickstarter pushes you to get extra creative Mariëlle campaign goes live on the 10th of October. You can follow it here if you’re curious to see what her campaign looks like and how it’s going to turn out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mswordsmith/grow-your-creative-mindset

In this episode Mariëlle and Lucinda talk about the Fear of Missing Out FOMO. The decision to attend a writing conference is not always as easy as it seems. Mariëlle  and Lucinda share their experiences  and challenges of whether or not to attend conferences.

During this episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk openly about the mistakes they’ve made on their writing journeys.Here are some of the topics that came up:* It’s always good to ask yourself who’s responsible for the mistakes you make.* The time and money Lucinda and Mariëlle have spent on things that ended up not serving them.* You’ll never stop making mistakes, but, with time, it gets easier to deal with them.* Don’t try to run before you can walk.* Self-awareness helps an awful lot when deciding what is and isn’t for you.

In this episode Mariëlle and Lucinda talk about what qualities makes writing meaningful.

In this episode, Lucinda and Mariëlle talk about:* How Mariëlle figured out what kept her back from plotting her next writing project.* How both Lucinda’s and Mariëlle’s creativity shuts down when they start telling themselves ‘This is how it SHOULD be done.’* Making the two parts of your brain cooperate and tricking your fear into thinking you’ve got it all under control.* How Mariëlle uses tarot in her writing.* How Lucinda is writing again, but her struggles with prioritising keep her from writing every day again, which we’ll talk about during our next episode.