Follow Your Curiosity: You didn’t lose your creative spark. You were taught to leave it behind.

My guest this week is Simon Guerrier, a writer and producer who has written numerous books related to Doctor Who, produced five documentaries for BBC radio, and more than 70 audio plays for Big Finish Productions, as well as comics and short stories. He also chairs the Books Committee for the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. Simon talks with me about how he got his start in writing and producing—including just what a producer does—the value of negotiating arrangements that work in everyone’s best interest, the impact of new tools like ChatGPT on creative careers and the creative process, his new book about television pioneer David Whitaker, and more. 

Read this week's article, on what Ella Fitzgerald can teach us on rolling with what life hands us, here.

Want to Reignite Your Creative Spark? Contact me here.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

08:07 Simon arrived at university alone, connected with English tutor, talked sci-fi.

13:37 Received unexpected validation, leading to pursuing Doctor Who novel submission.

19:18 Advert to management led to diverse projects.

24:36 Producers oversee production, manage money, and ensure payments.

28:44 Beryl Vertue valued fair, lasting relationships over winning in negotiation.

37:09 AI has many uses, but may miss the point of creativity.

43:45 Negative atmosphere on Twitter overwhelms real conversations and connections.

49:49 Connecting with people on Twitter leads to opportunities and potential.

51:14 Choosing joy and creativity over anger and self-doubt.

01:00:41 Teaching and learning through doing and mentoring entry-level positions.

01:05:28 Fascination with AI in science fiction and cautionary tales.

01:08:25 Following the threads of the freelance life.

Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute, and it really helps me reach new listeners. Thanks!

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in Doctor Who and writing.

This is one of the simplest tips, but one of the hardest to do, with ourselves most of all. Here's why we should give it a try anyway.

Could you leave a review? It's really easy, and it helps SO much. Thanks!

Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!

Read this week's post: Get in Trouble

• Engage with your creative dreams with ease and joy

Book a free 30-minute coaching call with me! Here's what we'll do:

• You'll tell me about your creative dreams 

My guest this week is Dominic Glynn, a prolific composer for film and television. Dominic got his start working on Doctor Who, and has provided music for titles as diverse as Red Dwarf and The Simpsons. Dominic tells me how his career began in the mid-80s as a self-taught musician, how incidental music works, what it’s like to write for an orchestra, and more. 

Read this week's article, on why you should make bad art, here.

Want to Reignite Your Creative Spark? Contact me here.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction.

04:55 Member of band transitioned to solo career.

06:25 In the 80s, got obsessed with affordable synthesizers.

10:22 Confidently sought job with Doctor Who in 1984.

13:24 Affordable technology enabled music production from home.

18:27 Editing music reel with time-coded leader tape.

22:00 Working on music synchronization for VHS episodes.

24:50 Luck played a part in minimal changes.

27:40 Excessive music in TV/films can ruin impact.

30:31 Music can enhance storytelling in low-budget productions.

32:41 Cartoon character's appearance affected by budget constraints.

35:50 Electronic music lover disappointed in orchestral shift.

41:31 Doctor Who's evolution from theater to cinema.

44:00 Creating music similar to popular soundtracks for music libraries.

45:29 Unexpectedly finding music in beloved TV shows.

51:06 Creating music that emulates the 50s-60s hits.

54:24 Composer entrusts scoring to orchestra, marvels at musicians' skill.

Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute.

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in Doctor Who and music.

Last month, I invited you to give yourself Permission to Play. I had so much fun meeting some of you, and seeing what came out of those workshops, that I've decided to keep doing them.

This month, I'm inviting you to get together with me to Make Bad Art. I know that sounds backwards, maybe even crazy, but I promise there's a method to my madness!

In two minutes, I'm letting you behind the curtain on this "backwards" idea, and if that's not enough to convince you, you can read more about the power of making bad art here.

Give yourself this powerful gift by joining us on Sunday, June 9 at 1pm New York time here. Or join us on Saturday, June 15 at 4pm New York time here. It's totally free, and you're welcome to bring a friend if you like (just have them register, too, so I have an accurate head count)! If you have any questions, please get in touch!

See you there!

Every last one of us got through school, and probably work, by knowing the answers most—if not all—of the time. Is that actually necessary? NOPE. And it can even hinder your creative process. I'll tell you why in this short episode.

Could you leave a review? It's really easy, and it helps SO much. Thanks!

Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!

Read this week's post: What tech has taken from us, and how to get it back.

• Engage with your creative dreams with ease and joy

Book a free 30-minute coaching call with me! Here's what we'll do:

• You'll tell me about your creative dreams 

Ellen Kaplan is an actress, writer, and director, and professor emerita of acting and directing at Smith College. She performs and directs internationally, in places like Pakistan, China, Israel, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Puerto Rico, and she recently edited the new book Theater Responds to Social Trauma: Chasing the Demons. Ellen joins me to talk about her work in and out of the classroom, dealing with “the shoulds,” how easy it is to get in our own way, why we are each a culture unto ourselves, what we’ve each learned from our students, and more. 

Read this week's article, on how Apple accidentally told the truth about technology and creativity, here.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction

03:15 Self-discovery through teaching experiences

08:42 Importance of humility, listening, and respect

12:27 Cultural differences observed while teaching ESL

18:15 Embracing individuality in students

22:30 Influence of "should" on decision-making

28:05 Pressure of being an expert vs. staying open to learning

34:14 Value of revision in the creative process

38:50 Saying yes in improv and life

44:35 Creating healing spaces through storytelling

48:52 Career serendipity and intrinsic experiences

54:18 Commodification's impact on creativity

58:23 Kitsugi and the beauty of imperfections

01:03:41 Ellen's work in conflict zones and peace efforts

01:09:56 Improvisational recalculating of identity and work

Want to Reignite Your Creative Spark? Contact me here.

Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode and in it, tell us about a time when you got in your own way.

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in theatre.

We're all told that we have to finish the things we start. But is that true? NOPE. I'll tell you why in this short episode.

Could you leave a review? It's really easy, and it helps SO much. Thanks!

Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!

Read this week's post: What tech has taken from us, and how to get it back.

• Engage with your creative dreams with ease and joy

Book a free 30-minute coaching call with me! Here's what we'll do:

• You'll tell me about your creative dreams 

I've been under the weather, so here's an interview worth revisiting. I'll be back next time with a brand-new conversation!

Author Rahna Reiko Rizzuto wrote the way many of us do as a child and teen, but didn’t truly turn to writing until she discovered, at the age of 30, that her Japanese-American mother, and her family, had been stripped of everything and put in an internment camp during World War II. The book she produced in her quest to understand these events, Why She Left Us, won the National Book Award. Her two subsequent books, Hiroshima in the Morning and Shadow Child, continue to explore themes of war, race, and historical blindness. Reiko also teaches writing; we met when she became my first faculty advisor in the Goddard College MFA program in 2007. We talk about Reiko’s start as a writer, including that pivotal discovery and the quest to learn more, her time in Japan just before and after 9/11 as she sought to learn from survivors of the Hiroshima bombing—and how 9/11 changed their willingness to speak—and how she taught herself to write and teaches her students those same techniques.

Episode breakdown:

[00:00:00] Introduction

[00:02:45] Family of writers encouraged reading, faced criticism.

[00:10:50] Multiracial Hawaiian culture with loose boundaries.

[00:15:19] Uncovering the family's history in the Japanese internment.

[00:23:33] Discovering the art of crafting a book.

[00:28:33] Learning from students' questions.

[00:37:37] Writing to convey human consequences of historical events.

[00:40:32] Nonfiction book about survivors of atomic bomb.

[00:48:58] Passion for teaching and nurturing writers' stories.

[00:56:07] Best job, supportive colleagues, successful publication.

[01:03:09] Caregiving, love, loss, hoarding: a personal journey.

[01:06:48] Open the portal, practice showing up.

Please leave a review and in it, tell us about how discovering a part of your history changed you.

Want more? Here are some handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in writing and publishing.

Check out the show notes at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Threads and BlueSky!

If you'd like weekly updates, plus a chance to see where my curiosity is leading me, check out my new (free!) Substack newsletter.

When was the last time you let yourself play? Why are you holding yourself back?

In less than four minutes, I'm sharing the biggest creative problem I see in the world, why it's so damn heartbreaking, and why I want to help you bust out of it--for free. (Hint: it's also a big part of why I started this podcast.)

Give yourself permission to play on May 5 here. Or join us on May 11 here. It's totally free, and you're welcome to bring a friend if you like (just have them register, too, so I have an accurate head count)!

See you there!

It's so easy to keep doing the same thing, or even to actively avoid taking the unknown path. The courageous option is usually the one with the bigger payoff, though. I look at the difference in this short episode.

Join me for a free "Permission to Play" workshop on May 5, 2024 (repeated on May 11, 2024) at 1pm eastern! It’s easy for adults to forget that it’s okay to play, and that lack of play can keep us stuck! Join us for approximately 90 minutes so you can reconnect with your playful inner kid and feel your creative energy flowing again.

Register: May 5 or May 11

Could you leave a review? It's really easy, and it helps SO much. Thanks!

Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!

Read this week's poem, which is called One Step.