Who is witnessing your work? That’s the question that’s been on my mind for the last few months. Who is there to provide accountability, encouragement, support and to reflect back what they’re seeing about how you show up for your creative work while you’re in process, not just once you’ve finished and released a project?

This episode focuses on ways others can witness your work, whether that’s as accountability partners, someone you can share your process reflections with, or someone you can share parts of your drafts-in-progress, not for constructive feedback, but just to have it received and held and heard.

I also talk about ways you can witness your own work through process or story journals, as well as the thing that’s provided me the most motivation to finish a draft.

Resources:

Witnessing the Work blog post - https://www.heatherdebling.ca/post/witnessing-the-work

Watch Me Work - Suzan-Lori Parks - https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2122/watch-me-work/

Watch Me Work with Suzan-Lori Parks at The Public Theatre (2014) - https://youtu.be/_jQ-WZxxwJE

“Redeemed” - interview with Cheryl Strayed - https://www.guernicamag.com/redeemed/

Firefly Creative Writing - https://fireflycreativewriting.com/

Caroline Donahue - https://www.carolinedonahue.com/

Some Lines A Day, 5 Year Book - https://www.leuchtturm1917.ca/some-lines-a-day-5-year-book-medium-a5-powder.html

Alexander Chee on How to Write a Novel - https://countercraft.substack.com/p/alexander-chee-on-how-to-write-a

Credits

Titter Snowbird by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).

Last month marked a significant anniversary for one of my creative projects: it had been a decade since the workshop production of my play The Maple Leaves at SpringWorks.

Part of my intention with the podcast was to reflect on some of my creative works and what the process was like and the key things I learned and took forward into future creative projects, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to do exactly that for The Maple Leaves.

In this episode, I share:

Resources

The Dumbells - Canadian Encyclopedia (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-dumbells-emc⁠)

Soldiers of Song by Jason Wilson (https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Books/S/Soldiers-of-Song)

Gada Jane, writer, director, and intuitive (https://www.gadajaneintuitive.com)

Liz Kimball, creativity catalyst, writer, coach, and speaker (https://lizkimball.com)

“Green-Light Revolution: Your Creative Life on Your Terms” - Brooke Warner (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a0w4KgWyP8)

“The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life” in This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (http://www.annpatchett.com/books)

SpringWorks (https://www.springworksfestival.ca)

Learn more about my writing and how I support other writers:

Website: www.heatherdebling.ca

Instagram: @heatherdebling

In this episode, I explore encasement and how the protective layers you keep around yourself or your writing can be necessary at certain stages of your creative process, but also how you can—when ready—begin writing about conflict and emotions in a more embodied way.

I share some strategies to take care of yourself when writing more about more challenging subject matter or crisis scenes, as well as reflect on what I see as the core of my work: writing about impossible necessities.

Footnotes:

The Art of Radical Vulnerability, a talk by Reema Zaman

Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway

“Count Your Blessings (Or a Guide for the Modern Anchoress”) - The New Quarterly, Issue 156

Colum McCann Interview: Do What is Most Difficult - Louisiana Channel

Website: www.heatherdebling.ca

Instagram: @heatherdebling

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