The Stories Between Us

Why do I keep writing? When all of my greatest writing dreams and goals remain unfulfilled, why not call it a day and spend my time on something else...like curling, perhaps?

Today Maile and I talk about a weekend spent with some of our favorite writer friends and how it feels to realize the first 30,000 words of a novel in progress aren't right (and facing a complete restart). We drill down into why we keep writing, even when our greatest hopes and dreams go unfulfilled.

If you're wondering why you keep writing, why you keep creating, or if you're feeling discouraged about the creative journey you're on, this one's for you.

How does a poet become a poet? Here is one of the many roads available, and it's shared by extraordinary poet Malcolm Guite: deciding to be a poet as a young man, then becoming a teacher, then a priest, where for seven years he didn't write poetry. Then burnout. And a bishop who told him to take a sabbatical.

We offer this episode with huge thanks to Square Halo Books. This was recorded in front of a live audience at their recent conference, where Malcolm Guite was the keynote speaker.

Also, our online writing community at The Stories Between Us is now open for registration from 2/20 - 2/26! And it's free to join. Just head HERE to find out more.

Episode photo by Lancia Smith.

Today we talk with Jen Pollock Michel about our experience of time: the anxieties, the passing of it, the keeping of it, and so much more. In a world and a life where time feels like a scarce resource, how can we find peace in the time we're given? Is productivity really the only grid for the good life?

Find out more about Jen Pollock Michel and her new book, In Good Time, over at her website.

Why do we stop asking questions? What's the relationship between curiosity and silence?

Lore Wilbert is one of the most thoughtful writers I know. Today, she talks about the importance of asking (and receiving) honest questions, her relationship with social media, and how she's changed as a writer since her first book.

Lore Wilburt's most recent book, A Curious Faith, invites readers to go beyond pat answers and embrace curiosity, rather than certainty, as a hallmark of authentic faith.

Recently, when Shawn shared his concerns with Maile, that he would never be able to write the book he wanted to write, that it was beginning to feel like all of life was just him practicing writing...she got really honest and told him what she felt was his greatest weakness as a writer.

And they're still married.

Today, we're talking about the voices in our head and how they can sometimes keep us from creating what we're meant to create.

Maile also gives a little update on her manuscript, which is out on submission.

Today we talk with editor Stephanie Smith about what it means to "tell it slant" and why the strategy is so important for creative folks as we go about making our stuff. We also talk about her experience of having a pandemic baby and how motherhood has impacted her creativity (hint: it has to do with perfectionism).

You can sign up for Stephanie Smith's incredibly helpful and insightful Slantletter HERE.

Today Lisa-Jo talks about the complexity of writing memoir when the story centers around the people who we love. We find it remarkable, how our parents resurface in us, the lives we live, and the ways we are. Finally, we work through six of Lisa-Jo's favorite memoirs and what these writers have done so well in the writing of their beginnings.

The five:

Sean Dietrich's Will the Circle Be UnbrokenMichelle Zauner's Crying in H-MartAnn Voskamp's WaymakerTony Woodleaf's Somewhere More HolyJessica Willis Fisher's Unspeakable Tara Westover's Educated

After a series of heartbreaking losses, Amanda Held Opelt set aside the book she was working on and instead delved into the world of grief. She had been to war zones, Ebola hotspots, and the aftermath of significant tragedies . . . but with her own tragedy, she realized she was just a beginner, a novice, when it came to grief. Today she shares with us how she explored her grief in a real and human way while writing her book, A Hole in the World.

Do you know the #1 Christmas movie according to Rotten Tomatoes?

Today we're talking about the wildly varying tastes found in the world, how this fact should be encouraging to us as creatives, and how the difference between faithful lives and distracted lives will make all the difference in the long run.

If you need a jolt of encouragement, this podcast is for you. Today we're talking with author Mitali Perkins about empty-nesting, the grief and opportunity that comes with change, and a few of the practices that contribute to her creativity. Why are intergenerational friendships important? And what does the Litany of Humility have to do with writing?