The Habit

Meredith McDaniel is the author of In Want + Plenty: Waking Up to God's Provision in a Land of Longing. She's also a licensed professional counselor. Jonathan and Meredith discuss the deep connections between counseling and storytelling, the importance of bodily liturgies for a writer, and learning to give no more or less than what we have to give.

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Memoirist and humorist Harrison Scott Key is the author of Congratulations, Who Are You Again? and The World's Largest Man, which won the Thurber Prize for humor. In this episode, Jonathan and Harrison discuss the difference between anecdote and memoir, the value of not knowing everything about your own stories, and the link between memoir-writing and therapy.

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Jonathan and Andrew discuss the relationships between creativity and loneliness, the problem of ambition, and the paradox of the age-old search for originality.

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A veteran of the publishing business, Don Pape is publisher at NavPress. In this episode, Jonathan and Don discuss all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into publishing a book, how Don got into the business himself, and the many curious intersections of creativity and industry.

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S. D. (Sam) Smith is the author of the much-loved Green Ember series. In this episode, Jonathan and Sam explore storytelling as an act of love and service, a magic trick, and an occasion for practicing true humility.

Sam is currently offering a free audiobook of The Green Ember, the first book in his series.

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Chris Wall is a film producer in Nashville. He was at Big Idea Productions for eleven years, working on VeggieTales and 3-2-1 Penguins! and other projects. More recently, he produced the Wingfeather Saga short film and the Slugs & Bugs Show. In this episode, Jonathan and Chris discuss the making of the Slugs & Bugs Show and the many collaborative situations Chris has found himself in over the course of his career.

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Christie Purifoy is the author of Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace. She says, "I believe that life, in all its pain and beauty and mystery, is a journey of love. Writing keeps my eyes wide-open to this astonishing reality."

In this episode, Jonathan and Christie discuss the analogy between writing and gardening, how to name and and rename "weeds," and what it means to extend hospitality to your reader.

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Tish Harrison Warren is an Anglican priest and the author of Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, winner of Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award for Spiritual Formation. She is joined by Doug McKelvey, author of Every Moment Holy.

In this episode, Jonathan Rogers talks with Tish and Doug about what Tish means by the word "ordinary," the power of liturgical rhythms to quietly transform our daily lives, and personal liturgies surrounding the practice of writing.

Writers who make Tish want to write:

• Flannery O'Connor
• Annie Dillard
• Scott Cairns
• C. S. Lewis
• Rich Mullins
• Eugene Peterson
• Anne Patchett

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Ron Block is a banjo player and a long-time member of Alison Kraus's band, Union Station. He is also an amateur theologian, a George MacDonald aficionado, and the star of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (he's the banjo player in this scene).

In this episode, Jonathan Rogers and Ron Block discuss the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, the "try-harder cycle," and how to turn that negative cycle into a positive cycle that liberates our creativity rather than suffocating it.

Writers who make Ron want to write:

• C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia)
• George MacDonald 

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JJ Heller's songs remind people that they are loved. She and her husband Dave have been writing together since before they were married. Lately they have taken up a new discipline: On the first Friday of every month, they release a new song to the various digital platforms.

In this episode, Jonathan talks with JJ and Dave Heller about the quest of finding one’s voice, anxiety, the tension between wanting to be impressive and wanting to make something that lasts, and the liberating gift of collaboration.

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