This week I'm talking with Sarah Montana, a screenwriter, speaker, writer, and–fun fact!--trained opera singer. Sarah has written multiple movies for the Hallmark Channel, including Rescuing Christmas, Love to the Rescue, and A New Year's Resolution. Her TEDx talk, “The real risk of forgiveness and why it's worth it” is one of my favorite TED talks of all time.

If you’ve listened to Sarah’s TED talk, you’ll know that her mother and brother were killed during a home break-in when she was 22. We don’t discuss it directly, but know that fact will help you know what Sarah means when she refers to ‘trauma.’

In this episode, we mostly stay focused on the practicalities of Sarah’s work–how she came to be doing it, how she stays connected to her work specifically and creativity in general, and how she gets her work done.

Why being in a non-creative period is the perfect time to expose yourself to things that are nothing like your work, like “fairies falling in love and fighting in wars.”

And why, when the ideas ARE coming, it’s a great time to consume things that are in the same realm as your work to help you not be so “creative and in the sky”

How she learned not to force the work

The genius of having a “good day plan” and a “bad day plan”

The things that help Sarah stay in a good place

OK, this alternative to meal planning is FIRE

Her daily approach to sitting down and doing work

How to tell when your brain needs a break

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