Find Your Voice: How to Write When You're Not a Writer

There's no getting around it: over time, we change.
 
As the world shifts and as you change with it, you might find that your creativity is what grounds you to yourself and what connects you to others too.

This episode, Ally sits down with singer and songwriter Audrey Assad. She ask her about creativity as healing, her journey with writing, and her evolution as a creative person. The conversation touches on her fundamentalist background,  what actually helps her write (this will surprise you), and a song that means something special to her.

What is clear from the conversation is this: creativity provides a way to be authentic to ourselves and to tap into something universal, throughout the constant change which is our lives.

audreyassad.com

Do you feel like you're living in an unstable world? (We sure do!)

Today's guest,  poet and a creative coach Mark McGuinness, outlines how we can find stability and assurance in our own creativity. Listen to this conversation to learn:

• how to use the unpredictability we live in to our advantage
• what to do instead of picking up your phone
• why to "forget the career ladder"
• what falling in love with your writing does for you as a person

Find Mark on the internet in these places:

• Mark's website
• Mark's 21st Century Creative podcast,
• Mark's books for creatives
•  Mark's free 21st Century Creative Foundation Course
• Twitter: @markmcguinness
• Medium: @mark_mcguinness

Mothers notoriously have no time in the day and no grace for themselves. Bunmi Laditan, writer and mother living in Quebec, Canada, does it differently.

On today's episode, she shares about what a writing practice has meant for her, as a mother. She calls writing her nonjudgmental friend and encourages all writers (and mothers) that they are not alone. 

Bunmi and Ally have a heartfelt conversation about motherhood, the writing life, and what it means to know we are not alone.

bunmiladitan.com

Blog: The Honest Toddler

Books:

• Dear God: Honest Prayers to a God Who Listens 
• Dear Mother 
• Confessions of a Domestic Failure

Twitter: @honesttoddler
IG: @honesttoddler
FB: @BunmiKLaditan

Join the Dear God book club

In the face of collective, systemic problems—where does one start?

Poet, entrepreneur, tech hybrid investor John Lee Gaston White has a suggestion: start with yourself.

John is working on a book on what it’s like to be Black in America and how trauma is passed down through generations.  Recorded on the day of the insurrection at the US Capitol, Ally and John discuss what "finding your voice" means in light of current events. 

Sometimes we get what we want in life ... and it's not what we imagined. 

Despite the fact that there were a lot of glamorous elements to her work in Hollywood, Alex Hudgens found herself feeling more and more distant from her true self the longer she worked in television—unsure of the difference between what she truly wanted versus what she was told she should want—until finally she couldn’t stand it anymore.

Alex is an actress, a writer, a badass business woman, an advocate for mental health, a personal coach, a former host for Access Hollywood, a two-time Emmy nominated multimedia journalist… and so much more.

Contrary to what popular opinion might suggest, Alex left behind the glamorous life in the spotlight to see if she could get back in contact with something that mattered much more to her than the success she always thought she wanted.

Since then, she’s spent the past few years taking back her voice. 

alexhudgens.com, @a_hudge 

spurrsocial.com, @spurrsocial  

hybridhouseproductions.com, @hybridhouseproductions

Do you feel like you matter? Like—really matter? 

If you do feel like you matter, how do you know? 

Today’s guest is a man who argues that one way to know that we matter—really know—is to do a thing that we tell you to do all the time: it’s to write. But not just write. It’s to have a daily practice of creativity (like writing) that brings you back to this conclusion everyday: I matter. My words matter. 

Dr. Eric Maisel, the author of over 50 books, renowned coach to creatives, a columnist for Psychology Today and mental health advocate. His latest book The Power of Daily Practice teaches artists and creative people how to overcome blockages so they can finally meet their goals. 

So if you’re sure you’re an artist or a writer but you keep thinking to yourself that you don’t have the “discipline” to follow-through on your creative dreams, you aren’t going to want to miss what Eric has to share with you today. Maybe more discipline isn’t what you need at all. As for what you do need… well, let’s get into the conversation. 

ericmaisel.com/books

Most people go their whole lives without ever actually saying what's on their hearts. Yet we all have something we want to say. What's getting in our way?

It's launch week for Allison Fallon's book, The Power of Writing It Down: a Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life. Listen as we interview our very own author, Allison Fallon, on what this book means to her.

thepowerofwritingitdown.com
Looking for more? Listen to our episode Is Everyone Really a Writer? 

In this final episode of our special podcast series called The Power of Writing it Down, I talk with my friend and someone you probably have heard about — her name is Ruthie Lindsey. This episode is the perfect capstone to what we’ve been talking about…

• Why writing is so hard but powerful
• How writing can act like therapy and reframe our experiences — even traumatic ones
• How writing has a tangible impact on our lives — and can make us feel more empowered
• Who gets to be a writer and how they actually get writing done 

Ruthie puts all these pieces together as she shares her incredible and powerful personal story of using writing as a tool to heal from chronic pain (check out her book about her story here). She also shares a simple writing practice that you can use right away to put this tool to work for you in your personal life.

This conversation doesn't end here, on the podcast. Order Allison Fallon's latest book, The Power of Writing It Down!

Maybe you want to write — but life gets in the way. You’re busy, you’re tired. You don’t have a cabin in the woods. How do all of these people actually get writing done?

This is the fifth episode of a special series that’s all about the power of a writing process to create positive change in your personal life. We’re covering topics like why writing can be so challenging, what’s happening in your brain when you write, why writing is therapeutic, what it costs us when voices are silenced, and what a regular practice of writing looks like in real life.

The best part? This conversation doesn't end here, on the podcast. Order Allison Fallon's latest book, The Power of Writing It Down, for more on how a regular practice of writing can change your life. 

Who gets to be a writer? It’s a question so many people ask themselves. 

On today’s episode, I chat with some voices you’ll recognize, including Science Mike and therapist Elyse Snipes as well as a new voice: Rafik Wahbi, whose program with hip hop writing helped men in jail feel a sense of empowerment over their own stories. We talk about the voices we’ve silenced and the importance of diversifying the content we consume. 

If you have ever felt like your story isn’t represented in books and articles—or maybe you’ve worried that your story isn’t all that different or interesting, you’re not going to want to miss this episode. 

We need you. Your voice matters. Today’s guests will remind you why. 

This is the fourth episode of a special series that’s all about the power of a writing process to create positive change in your personal life. We’re covering topics like why writing can be so challenging, what’s happening in your brain when you write, why writing is therapeutic, what it costs us when voices are silenced, and what a regular practice of writing looks like in real life.

The best part? This conversation doesn't end here, on the podcast. Order Allison Fallon's latest book, The Power of Writing It Down, for more on how a regular practice of writing can change your life.