This Creative Life
117 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 56 ratingsAuthor 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
Author & Video Game Designer Andrew Auseon – This Creative Life Ep 17
January 15, 2013 14:05 - 34 minutes - 9.8 MBAndrew Auseon and I first made contact back in 2005 or 2006, when his debut novel, Funny Little Monkey, was out and I’d just sold Story of a Girl. Though we’ve known each other online for nearly eight years, the day we had our This Creative Life conversation was the first time we’d actually talked. He’s [&hellip
Jeffrey Overstreet & Anne Doe Overstreet – This Creative Life Ep 16
January 04, 2013 21:29 - 37 minutes - 10.7 MBIn this episode of This Creative Life, I’m thrilled to bring you a conversation with Jeffrey Overstreet and Anne Doe Overstreet, who are a talented and inspiring pair. I’ve known them for years and have always deeply admired the life they’ve built for themselves, in which creativity is integrated into all aspects and is perhaps, [&hellip
Bestselling Author Ally Condie (also: A Year of Podcasting) – This Creative Life Ep 15
December 17, 2012 14:23 - 28 minutes - 8.04 MBIn January 2011, I gave a talk called “Crafting a Creative Life” at the SCBWI-NY conference. I talked about the long journey of an artist’s life and all of the things that might trap us or freeze us along the way–the practical things like time and money and bad backs, as well as the psychological [&hellip
Staying Productive Through the Holidays – This Creative Life ep 14
December 02, 2012 00:13 - 11 minutes - 6.6 MBIt’s a very special holiday episode! Like when Juliana Hatfield played an angel on My So-Called Life, and by the way I just looked that up and Jason Katims co-wrote that episode, which blows the mind of this fan of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood and ANYWAY – – the podcast is back, and off [&hellip
Screenwriter & Director Scott Derrickson – This Creative Life ep 13
November 01, 2012 13:21 - 46 minutes - 13 MBWhat do these things have in common: Biola University, the Chicago Film Critics Association’s Top 100 Scariest Films ever made, GK Chesterton, Ethan Hawke, lawn work, and Walker Percy? Well, maybe there’s a lot there for anyone who wants to try, but for our purposes I’m talking about screenwriter and director Scott Derrickson. His most [&hellip
Author Matthew Quick – This Creative Life ep 12
October 14, 2012 16:10 - 36 minutes - 10.3 MBNo one can teach you to be you, and that’s the one thing you have as a writer. So saith Matthew Quick, author of two books for young adults and two books for adults (one yet unpublished but forthcoming), including The Silver Linings Playbook, which has been made into a major motion picture directed by [&hellip
Comic Book Hero Gene Luen Yang – This Creative Life ep 11
October 01, 2012 15:14 - 31 minutes - 8.87 MBIn this edition of This Creative Life, hear about my plan to start all over in life with a new identity! But seriously folks! I hope you enjoy my conversation with Gene Luen Yang as much as I did. He’s a National Book Award finalist, Printz winner, two-time Eisner Award winner, and all-around terrific person. [&hellip
Author A.S. King – This Creative Life ep 10
September 17, 2012 18:00 - 29 minutes - 8.41 MBA.S. (Amy) King and I have a good chat about getting to know our characters, why we don’t read most of our reviews, and that beautiful moment when we no longer hate our books. Sadly, Amy’s stories of raising chickens and my hilarious “rare poultry” jokes wound up on the cutting room floor due to [&hellip
Film Critic Scott Renshaw – This Creative Life ep 9
September 03, 2012 15:15 - 29 minutes - 16.7 MBThe podcast is back for a fall season of new episodes and conversations – hooray! In this one, I talk with Scott Renshaw of the Salt Lake City Weekly about the art of criticism, how he gets it done, and why. Scott says there’s no genre where you can’t find excellence, and that “you have [&hellip
Round Table on Community – This Creative Life ep 8
July 02, 2012 18:22 - 25 minutes - 14.5 MBTCL Ep 8 – Round Table on Community (click this link to play – or follow iTunes link below to subscribe) In this episode of This Creative Life, I talk with local writer friends Bree Despain, Brodi Ashton, Kim Reid, and Heather Dixon about writing groups and writing community – the good, the bad, and the [&hellip
Author Siobhan Vivian – This Creative Life ep 7
June 15, 2012 16:27 - 29 minutes - 16.4 MBTCP Ep 7 – Siobhan Vivian The creative challenges Siobhan Vivian faced while writing her fourth novel, The List, in her words, nearly broke her. In this episode, Sara and Siobhan talk about risk-taking, self-doubt, and pushing ourselves to try to write the book we think we can’t. (Click on the link above to listen [&hellip
Author Emily Wing Smith – This Creative Life ep 6
June 01, 2012 14:15 - 28 minutes - 15.6 MBThis Creative Life – Episode 6 – Emily Wing Smith Author Emily Wing Smith was hit by a car when she was 12, and that still affects her writing process today. Sara and Emily chat about writing with physical challenges, and how to deal with the associated discouragement. Show notes: Emily’s web site | Emily [&hellip
Listener Q&A – This Creative Life ep 5
May 02, 2012 00:15 - 27 minutes - 15.7 MBYou asked, Sara answered. Thoughts on knowing when a book is finished, “legitimate distractions”, and writing about God. TCL Ep 5 – Listener Q&A – You can now subscribe though iTunes. If you like the podcast, feel free to leave a rating or review in the iTunes directory. Somehow, episode 1 has disappeared. Woe. I [&hellip
Cartoonist/Author/Illustrator Mark Pett – This Creative Life ep 4
April 16, 2012 16:05 - 33 minutes - 19 MBTCL Ep 4 – Mark Pett Mark Pett and Sara talk about perfectionism, learning to let go, and self-management, among other things. — Show Notes: A page from Mark’s sketch/idea book Mark’s website | Mark on Twitter | See Mark Pett and Gary Rubenstein perform The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes at the National Book [&hellip
Author Antony John – This Creative Life ep 3
April 02, 2012 14:30 - 31 minutes - 17.2 MBSara and YA author Antony John discuss the pros and cons of selling a project on proposal, how much industry info is too much, and what happens when you’re sick of your book… — My guest this episode is Antony John, the author of the YA novels Five Flavors of Dumb and Thou Shalt Not [&hellip
Author Stephanie Perkins – This Creative Life ep 2
March 15, 2012 02:34 - 30 minutes - 16.6 MBBestselling YA novelist Stephanie Perkins chats with Sara about second-book mistakes and rediscovering the love… — Whoa, Nellie, I’ve actually done this two whole times now! Episode 2 is without music, to save myself some editing time. Also, as you will hear, I am not yet a precision editor, especially when my time is limited. [&hellip
Author Tara Altebrando – This Creative Life ep 1
March 01, 2012 16:06 - 29 minutes - 16.6 MBTara Altebrando on “just doing it”, the writing life with two young kids, and thinking about audience… — My very first guest for the very first episode of This Creative Life is Tara Altebrando, author, friend, collaborator. We talked about how our collaboration came to be, how she gets it all done with two small [&hellip