Episode 206:

The Prepped and Polished Podcast is an educational and inspirational show that offers tutoring and test prep tips as well as interviews with celebrities and leaders in education. It is hosted by Alexis Avila, founder of Prepped and Polished LLC, a tutoring and test prep firm for K-college.

On today's episode of the Prepped and Polished Podcast,

Alexis Avila talks with to Jon Pearson. Jon Pearson is an artist, writer, speaker, educator, and creativity guru. He has written over three hundred short stories and has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes. He writes now for the same reason he played with his food as a kid – to make the world a better place. Jon also was a cartoonist for the Oakland Tribune, an extra for the New York Metropolitan Opera, a classroom teacher, a college professor, and is now a coach and consultant who has taught creative thinking and learning techniques to more than one million people around the world. Secretly, though, Jon is still eight years old and believes that courage, caring, and creativity will save the world!

Jon gives us tips on how to get out of your own head and make your creative writing pieces more creative and meaningful.

What is creative writing about? Creative writing is more about imagination than writing. Writing isn’t just saying something but seeing stuff. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, don’t care what other think of you, and be brave, go deeper. If you just write you will get better.

Can you make a living out of it? You can make a living out of being a creative person. You can write, speak, do art and sell things based upon your imagination.

Misconception about writing? You don’t have to be a writer with a capital “W” to be a writer. Just write.

How can parents help? Parents should read to their kids! Jon’s parents used to read to Jon a lot. Don’t put a lot of pressure on your kids and encourage kids to use their imagination. It’s ok to write poorly at first, the key is to practice writing consistently.

How to overcome writer’s block? There is no such thing as writer’s block. If you feel like there is such a thing, remember it will pass, get comfortable in it and write some garbage and don’t care if it’s bad, the writing will get better eventually.

Don’t try to write perfectly to overcome writer’s block. Write to find out who you really are in great detail.

Jon’s tips for teens:

1. Believe in yourself no matter what!

2. if you want to land on your feet, have fun and be of service

3. Pleasure, mastery, values. Make a list under each category. And then write about these things on your list!

4. Have fun, writing should be fun, it’s not easy but make it fun.

For another related conversation, check out my podcast Episode 52 with Bonnie Singer on How to Overcome Writing Challenges.

For More Information Visit: preppedandpolished.com.

Enjoy, Thanks for Listening and remember at The Prepped and Polished Podcast, We Empower You to Take Control of Your Education!