This Creative Life artwork

This Creative Life

117 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 56 ratings

Author Sara Zarr reads between the lines of the writing life in interview episodes as well as solo minisodes, with a focus on the practical and psychological aspects of writing and publishing, the creative process, and the strange landscape where art meets commerce. Past guests include filmmaker Scott Derrickson, author Malinda Lo, and literary agent Michael Bourret.

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Episodes

Ep 65: Bestselling Author Courtney Summers

October 04, 2020 23:07 - 1 hour - 62.6 MB

Two writers. An obsession with cult narratives. A love of chickpeas. Sara and Courtney Summers (Sadie, All the Rage, the forthcoming The Project) talk about Courtney's backstory as a high school dropout who had her first book published in her early twenties, how to think strategically about writing without compromising your creative compass, and being driven by the desire to capture a moment, a feeling, a vibe in our novels. Also, our personalities. Pre-Order The Project

Ep 64: Author Rita Williams-Garcia

August 07, 2020 20:49 - 1 hour - 65 MB

The wisdom that comes with over thirty years in this business and at this craft is priceless--Rita is generous with it here, from aspects of craft (like looking for "points of ignition within the reader") to those of identity (like quitting her day job after 25 years because "I really needed to be the author that I was on my bio").   We get a glimpse into twenty-two year-old Rita who wrote her debut Blue Tights (1987) and asked a disinterested publishing machine, "Why isn't my culture, ...

Ep 63: Author! Actor! Showman! Lance Rubin

July 10, 2020 20:34 - 54 minutes - 37.8 MB

Lance Rubin is the multi-talented author of three novels, co-writer of the Off-Broadway show Broadway Bounty Hunter, and performer of all sorts. In this episode, we talk about his evolution from community theater kid to writer, creative partnership with a life partner, perfectionism, death, and hope. His latest book is Crying Laughing. Find all the show notes at: patreon.com/thiscreativelife

Ep 62: Writer & Graphic Memoirist Maggie Thrash

June 23, 2020 23:59 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MB

Maggie Thrash is the author and artist of two "graphic memoirs" (memoirs in graphic novel form): 2015's Honor Girl and the recent followup, Lost Soul, Be At Peace, as well as several others works including a self-revealing web comic, Cure for Desire. Maggie and Sara talk about life online, the concept of "learn by doing," and coming out to the world (and also her parents) in her debut book. We also talk about our childhoods and how they shaped us, for better and worse. All the show notes a...

Ep 61: Author Liara Tamani

June 08, 2020 23:58 - 51 minutes - 47 MB

Liara Tamani recently wrote at Time.com: "Growing up, I was a good girl. I never got in trouble. I did what I was told. ... I’d become a master at taming, hiding and cutting out the parts of myself that weren’t compatible with the person other people wanted me to be: the rebellious, curious and sexy parts; the questioning and fearless parts. The free parts."   Liara and I dig into good girl syndrome in life and in publishing, what growing up with the threat of hell hanging over you in ...

Ep 60: Author Debbi Michiko Florence

May 31, 2020 23:02 - 53 minutes - 74 MB

Debbi Michiko Florence made a long term commitment to the writing life almost 20 years ago--when she didn't know just how long it would turn out to be. Her story is an inspiring one made of hard work, stubbornness, and friendship. I hope you enjoy. Find all the show notes at patreon.com/thiscreativelife

Ep 59: Writer/Director Scott Teems

May 21, 2020 19:32 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MB

Scott Teems is a writer-director working in TV and film, making his own independent features while also taking gigs scriptwriting for studios. We get into both his latest feature, THE QUARRY (from Lionsgate, starring Michael Shannon and Shea Whigham), as well as the documentary HOLBROOK/TWAIN, a film that means a lot to me, personally. We talk about Scott's process, the importance of a writer's life not being only about writing, and so much more.    Full show notes at patreon.com/thisc...

Ep 58: Author Jasmine Guillory

May 08, 2020 02:25 - 46 minutes - 64 MB

You may think Jasmine Guillory came out of nowhere and saw overnight success with her 2018 hit contemporary romance novel, The Wedding Date, not to mention its follow-up best sellers. But Jasmine's writing story goes back a lot farther. Sara and Jasmine talk about that as well as the power of commitment, how to find mentors and models, and staying one step ahead of anxiety and procrastination. Watch for Jasmine's next book, Party of Two, coming out in June! Visit the This Creative Life P...

Ep 57: Inside (and Outside) Baseball with Amy Spalding

April 24, 2020 01:59 - 1 hour - 63.6 MB

Guys, Amy and I got IN. TO. IT. From publicity to the alleged good ol' days of YA publishing to answering tough questions from listeners like: conquering that ONE THING you are obsessed with but also might be holding you back, and how to make writing sustainable when you grow to hate it a little.   This is a deep dive - if you don't want to hear about publishing business stuff, we start talking more about the creative side and take the calls about halfway through.   - Amy Spalding - ...

Ep 56: Jeff Garvin Midisode & The Lightness of Hands

April 14, 2020 01:15 - 39 minutes - 36.4 MB

Episode backstory: I saw Jeff Garvin's second book is out this week, and I called him up to talk about it! I thought this might be a mini-sode but we ended up talking longer than mini but not as long as maxi, so I'm officially declaring this the first midi-sode of the reboot. Jeff and I get into Joseph Campbell vs. Robert McKee, creative reinvention, and an author's right to be private about the personal experiences that go into a book.   Content warning: about 22-ish minutes in, we ta...

Ep 55: Katie Cotugno and Sara Have New Books!

April 07, 2020 06:30 - 1 hour - 55.7 MB

In this loose and chatty episode, Katie Cotugno and I pour a drink and talk about our April 7 book releases into a world in which everything is canceled. Given that we have no uncanceled book events, we take some time to talk both process and content of Rules for Being a Girl (co-written by Katie with Candace Bushnell) and Goodbye from Nowhere (by your host, Sara Zarr).    We dig into the fictional appeal of inappropriate relationships, what we're reading now, and how we're getting thr...

Ep 54: Writer & Teacher Daniel Bowman, Jr.

March 31, 2020 21:24 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MB

Sara talks with Dan Bowman, Jr., about writing, teaching, and about being #ActuallyAutistic. Watch for Notes from the Spectrum next year and stick around to the end of the episode to hear Dan read a poem. For the full show notes, go to patreon.com/ThisCreativeLife

Author and Teacher Brandy Colbert - Ep 53

March 22, 2020 01:32 - 58 minutes - 53.2 MB

Sara talks to author Brandy Colbert (The Only Black Girls in Town) about writing, career envy, mortality, and the Real Housewives. For the full show notes, go to patreon.com/ThisCreativeLife

This Creative Life: the Reboot! - Ep 52

March 13, 2020 00:21 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MB

Sara picks up where she left off in 2015 and explains why she's back and where the podcast is going. 

Documentarian and Adoptee Advocate Angela Tucker - Ep 51

December 28, 2015 21:59 - 35 minutes - 16.2 MB

"Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world's deep need." Frederick Buechner said that, and it's a quote I thought of when prepping to talk to Angela Tucker, the subject of the documentary Closure and the woman behind The Adopted Life, a blog and forthcoming episodes/mini-documentaries for that blog. A self-described private person and introvert, Angela has made her story public and herself vulnerable in the interest of educating people about transracial adoption and build...

Daniel Kraus - Ep 50

December 15, 2015 03:36 - 58 minutes - 28.3 MB

50! Episode 50! I'm so happy to celebrate this milestone with my guest Daniel Kraus, whose most recent book, The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Books for 2015 shortly after we recorded this conversation. It's a meaty one, this conversation, from what it means to finish a project twenty years in the making, to the desire to divorce yourself from the reception of your work--if that's even possible--to building a career as a weekend novelist. We ...

Jeanne Murray Walker and Ambition - Ep 49

December 03, 2015 00:00 - 41 minutes - 18.5 MB

Jeanne Murray Walker is a poet, playwright, memoirist, and teacher. Most recently, she co-edited with Luci Shaw a book of essays on the topic of ambition by members of the Chrysostom Society. We talked about her experience as an ambitious young woman in the era of the "mythical character" of Betty Crocker, ambition and motherhood, and the problems of ambition without direction or models of what to do with it. My own relationship with ambition is quite fraught in ways that might warrant a seq...

Corey Ann Haydu and Adult Children of Alcoholics - Ep 48

November 19, 2015 16:36 - 57 minutes - 66 MB

In this Very Special Episode of This Creative Life, Corey Ann Haydu and I talk about being adult children of alcoholics and how that can play out in both the creative and business sides of our careers, in positive and negative ways. As we mention in the conversation, the symptoms or traits we go over can also come from growing up in environments without substance abuse--for example families that are very rigid, perfectionistic, dealing with mental health issues, homes with raging/anger, fami...

Author Brendan Reichs - Ep 47

November 11, 2015 22:37 - 42 minutes - 19.3 MB

Have you ever thought about co-writing some books with your mom? No? Well, if your experience could be anything like Brendan Reichs', maybe you should. Brendan is the co-author with Kathy Reichs of the Virals series--five books and a collection of novellas. What started as a way out of a horrible job became a career in something he's good at and enjoys, and he's now transitioning into solo novels. In this episode, we talk about collaboration, outlining, optimal placement of dry-erase boards,...

Author Justine Larbalestier - Ep 46

November 01, 2015 00:31 - 46 minutes - 21.7 MB

Justine Larbalestier is the author of half a dozen books for young adults in addition to her broader body of work writing and editing. Her most recent novel is RAZORHURST. In this episode we talk about how she got from academia to YA publishing, the pros and cons of the globalization of literature, repetitive stress injury and ergonomics, diversity in publishing (see: the lack thereof), and how her husband's optimism helped her make the leap to full-time writing.  I give a big swearing warn...

John Corey Whaley – This Creative Life ep 45

September 04, 2015 21:23 - 35 minutes - 16.7 MB

    Charlie Kaufman and Sufjan Stevens, inspiration vs. discipline, being “Corey” vs. being “author John Corey Whaley”, the upside of being a process-hacker, the difference between normal jobs and writing, imposter syndrome, movies, identity crises, and why we write and the fear of losing it. Yes, John Corey Whaley and I covered it all [&hellip

Author Alex Sanchez – This Creative Life ep 44

August 21, 2015 19:52 - 34 minutes - 15.6 MB

At long last, it’s the end of summer hiatus! We kick off this new batch of episodes with Alex Sanchez, award-winning author of numerous books for young adults, including Rainbow Boys and its sequels, Bait, So Hard to Say, The God Box, and Boyfriends with Girlfriends. Alex has been in this biz for fifteen years [&hellip

Author Jennifer E. Smith – This Creative Life ep 43

June 08, 2015 21:31 - 31 minutes - 14.5 MB

  Another podcast already? What? It’s true! I wanted to get one more episode in the can before I took off for some travel, and though I considered making it a scheduled post in a week or so I thought–why withhold? We all like instant gratification, so in that spirit I offer this conversation with Jennifer [&hellip

Author Varian Johnson – This Creative Life ep 42

June 04, 2015 18:02 - 39 minutes - 19 MB

    Varian Johnson and I go back to the era of listservs, LiveJournal, and Nokia flip phones. He’s the author of four novels for young readers–most recently The Great Greene Heist–and one on the way. In this conversation we talk about Varian’s ten years as a published author and how he has weathered the disappointments [&hellip

Author Coe Booth – This Creative Life ep 41

May 20, 2015 17:43 - 36 minutes - 17.4 MB

Coe Booth was one of the first YA writers I met when I started mingling with authors as a soon-to-be-published newbie. (I believe our first conversation was about Estelle Getty being alive or dead–she was alive, at the time.) After we met I read her debut novel, TYRELL, and absolutely loved it. Since then, she’s [&hellip

Literary Agent Michael Bourret – This Creative Life ep 40

May 11, 2015 19:00 - 37 minutes - 17.1 MB

I’ve known Michael Bourret (that’s pronounced with a hard T, by the way) for over a decade now, yet even I learned some new things about him in this episode. For example, that I’m not the only one who thought you could only break into publishing if you had a trust fund, and that the book [&hellip

Author Gayle Forman – This Creative Life ep 39

April 23, 2015 18:31 - 34 minutes - 16.3 MB

Gayle Forman is the author of seven novels, a book-length work of nonfiction, and many many magazine pieces. I knew that the day she and I could finally work out our schedules to get her on the podcast would be a good one. Here, you’ll find some real talk about writing and wanting, the importance [&hellip

TCL Archives: Malinda Lo (Ep 38, 2015)

March 26, 2015 21:43 - 30 minutes - 14.3 MB

Next week, Malinda Lo returns to the podcast to talk about the effect the success of Last Night at the Telegraph Club on her writing and career. Here's our conversation from the 2015 archives for additional context. Her next book, A Scatter of Light, is out October 4th! Get the This Creative Life newsletter & show notes The This Creative Life book is available now in ebook, paperback, and audio.

Author Malinda Lo – This Creative Life ep 38

March 26, 2015 21:43 - 30 minutes - 14.3 MB

We’re back, and with a vengeance! In this first TCL episode of 2015 (a wee bit late, I admit), I had the great pleasure of talking to Malinda Lo, author of young adult novels and co-founder of the Diversity in YA project. We covered a lot of ground here, including some of Malinda’s fascinating family [&hellip

Listener Q&A II: Electric Boogaloo – with Matt Kirby – This Creative Life ep 37

December 08, 2014 19:07 - 38 minutes - 17.9 MB

Wow, you guys really came through with some great questions! Thank you so much, and my apologies that we couldn’t get to them all. We did cover a fair amount of ground, though, including book production timelines, revision, how not to be awkward at parties, and how to stay sane (always a crucial topic). Special thanks [&hellip

Bestselling Author E. Lockhart – This Creative Life ep 36

September 13, 2014 20:49 - 34 minutes - 11.4 MB

E. Lockhart is the author of nine–nine!–novels for young adults, a host of other books under the name Emily Jenkins, and short and collaborative projects. Her 2008 release–The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks–was given a National Book Award Finalist medal and a Printz Honor. She chaired the Young People’s Lit National Book Award judging committee [&hellip

Bestselling Author Jenny Han – This Creative Life ep 35

August 01, 2014 20:44 - 28 minutes - 9.41 MB

Jenny Han is the New York Times bestselling author of books for young adults and younger readers, and an all-around cool lady. In our conversation we covered work habits, the relationship with readers, her collaborations with Siobhan Vivian, and–if you know Jenny this is not a surprise–Leo DiCaprio. A fun fact that got edited out [&hellip

Author Nova Ren Suma – This Creative Life ep 34

July 14, 2014 22:15 - 30 minutes - 9.17 MB

“When I was writing The Walls Around Us, I decided to be simply and only myself. … I wasn’t writing for recognition. I wasn’t writing for commercial success, or should I say ‘success’ because the idea of that changes with every new hoop I jump through.” So writes Nova Ren Suma on the blog post [&hellip

Critic Alissa Wilkinson – This Creative Life ep 33

July 01, 2014 15:15 - 35 minutes - 11.3 MB

Not that I’ll ever tire of talking to novelists, but it was a nice change-up for this episode to have a chat with Alissa Wilkinson–critic and lover of pop culture; and editor and writer of film reviews, Mad Men recaps, and essays about art and art-making. What Alissa may not know is how much I [&hellip

Author Stephanie Kuehn – This Creative Life ep 32

June 16, 2014 14:46 - 30 minutes - 9.93 MB

After a six-month hiatus from doing the podcast, I am happy to be back! Thanks for your enthusiasm and support. I’m very pleased to have Stephanie Kuehn as my first guest in 2014. Stephanie is the author of the 2014 Morris Award winning Charm & Strange (now in paperback), and the forthcoming Complicit (June 24), [&hellip

Bryan Bliss & Kate Bassett – This Creative Life ep 31

December 19, 2013 19:41 - 34 minutes - 11.1 MB

It’s a This Creative Life first! My guests are two authors who are still a year out or more from the publication of their first books. I’ve been eager to do a show like this to remind us all that working writers don’t spring up overnight from nowhere. Not that you thought that, but it’s [&hellip

Author David McGlynn – This Creative Life ep 30

December 05, 2013 01:00 - 36 minutes - 11.6 MB

David McGlynn is the author of the Utah Book Award winning story collection The End of the Straight and Narrow; the riveting memoir about faith and swimming and loss, A Door in the Ocean; and numerous stories and essays published in places like Alaska Quarterly Review, Image, and Shenandoah, and work selected for Best American [&hellip

Author Jo Knowles – This Creative Life ep 29

November 18, 2013 23:06 - 34 minutes - 11.2 MB

In this episode, the lovely and talented Jo Knowles talks with me about emotional truth vs. “what really happened,” The Chocolate War, when we will start to feel like real authors, and the tragic decline and fall of roller discos. Jo is the author of five novels, her most recent being Living with Jackie Chan, [&hellip

Author Steve Brezenoff – This Creative Life ep 28

November 01, 2013 19:07 - 31 minutes - 9.54 MB

Steve Brezenoff started his career with dozens of writer-for-hire chapter books, and never though he’d wind up writing young adult realism. He says he “did it all wrong,” and YA just seemed to be what was in him wanting to come out. In this episode, Steve takes us through his scene-based process for the forthcoming [&hellip

Author Sarah Dessen – This Creative Life ep 27

October 15, 2013 15:24 - 34 minutes - 11.2 MB

Does she really need an introduction? Okay, just in case: Sarah Dessen is a Good Morning America superfan, tweeter extraordinaire, deviled egg aficionado and, oh yeah, the author of eleven bestselling novels. She and I recently met on the cybernets to talk about her writing life and career. We discussed how publishing has changed since [&hellip

Author & Filmmaker Nina LaCour – This Creative Life ep 26

October 01, 2013 15:13 - 32 minutes - 10.7 MB

My guest this episode is Nina LaCour, author of HOLD STILL and THE DISENCHANTMENTS, and producer/writer/director of the forthcoming movie, HOLD STILL, based on her novel (as you may have guessed). Listen in to Nina and I talking about how and why she Kickstarted the movie, our experiences as novelists figuring out how to write [&hellip

Author Matt de la Pena – This Creative Life ep 25

September 14, 2013 21:24 - 29 minutes - 9.43 MB

25! 25! 25 episodes of the podcast. Day-um. That went by kind of fast. Thanks so much for helping me make this a success, and for your patience during summer hiatus. Your reward is this conversation with Matt de la Peña, author of four novels for young adults (and a 5th coming very soon), one [&hellip

This Creative Life season finale! Dealing with Change

June 11, 2013 17:39 - 10 minutes - 4.65 MB

The winds of change never stop a-blowin’. How do we deal? By being flexible, letting go, staying optimistic. In this episode of This Creative Life, I talk briefly about how this works and why it matters. No season-ending cliffhangers, no car crashes, no major cast changes, I promise. And then I’m sending the TCL production [&hellip

Author/Screenwriter/YouTuber T. Michael Martin – This Creative Life ep 23

May 01, 2013 15:48 - 32 minutes - 10.3 MB

Debut novelist Mike Martin in conversation with me (and you) about being the writer you are, gestating in the gap, and reasons to not read about yourself online. We talk about how my fifth novel, THE LUCY VARIATIONS, and his first,  THE END GAMES, have a shared history as well as a shared release date [&hellip

Author/Performer Aaron Hartzler – This Creative Life ep 22

April 15, 2013 15:05 - 34 minutes - 9.44 MB

Oh my oh my. I think I say this every time, but it’s yet another all-time favorite episode. Aaron Hartzler and I talk about his new memoir, RAPTURE PRACTICE, which led us to topics such as: the power of personal stories, why the advice “write like your parents are dead” doesn’t work for everyone, the [&hellip

Author Bennett Madison – This Creative Life ep 21

March 15, 2013 19:05 - 37 minutes - 11.6 MB

Author Bennett Madison (The Blonde of the Joke) and I discuss his forthcoming book September Girls, among many other things. Such as: trusting your readers, what to do with the feedback of your peers or editors in the revision process, and the futility of trying to capture the ineffable–and why it still matters. Also his [&hellip

Part 2: Listener Q&A with Co-host Matthew J. Kirby – This Creative Life Ep 20

March 03, 2013 00:04 - 41 minutes - 18.4 MB

And here is part 2 of the epic Listener Q&A, 2013 edition. Author Matthew J. (Matt) Kirby and I field your excellent questions about the writing life and process. See here for part one and the episode’s home post, complete with show notes and links. As always, the easiest way to get new episodes and [&hellip

Part I: Listener Q&A with Co-host Matthew J. Kirby – This Creative Life Ep 20

March 01, 2013 23:57 - 34 minutes - 11.5 MB

It’s an extremely epic episode of This Creative Life, so epic that I had to split the audio file into two parts. Because of the way my feed works, I believe I need to make this into two separate blog posts. This one contains part one. It’s a Listener Q&A episode! I haven’t done one in [&hellip

Author Sara Ryan – This Creative Life ep 19

February 15, 2013 22:40 - 29 minutes - 14.2 MB

In this episode of This Creative Life, I had the pleasure of sitting directly across from – live! in person! – friend and writer Sara Ryan, in my very own house. We talked about writing space and writing pace, the process of writing a graphic novel, how she feels about being known as an “LGBT [&hellip

Author & Teacher Robert Clark – This Creative Life Ep 18

February 01, 2013 15:00 - 36 minutes - 10.2 MB

In which Robert Clark – Edgar Award Winner, Guggenheim Fellow, novelist, essayist, and “nonfictionista” – and I have a good meaty talk about writing, including a healthy dose of the craft and process stuff I love. Robert talks about how he hatches a book, his transition from nonfiction to fiction at the beginning of his [&hellip