Being a writer is generally a pretty lonely business. I’ve spent thousands of hours bent over a script, revising first drafts, or just staring at the blank page wondering if I should give up and become a programmer instead. I
Oscar Wilde in ‘Portrait of An Artist’ remained young forever while the portrait of himself aged instead. Well, it didn’t work for me, as my paintings remain young and fresh and my face is lined with a thousand wrinkles. When
In the pit of my stomach, knotted together with anxiety and fear and a whole hoard of other emotions lays the anger I keep trying and failing to get rid of. My hands that remain curled into a fist, a
You’ve heard of people who find their calling late in life, like the 92-year-old woman who discovered a gift for painting portraits, or the great-grandpa who took up the banjo on his 80th birthday. I didn’t have to wait quite
It is easier to become a victim of self-doubt than of failure. It was a trap that I had fallen into when I was in my mid twenties and in a state of depression that I would never get to
It all started with a dream. I grew up doing musical theatre. Let me rephrase that. I grew up thinking my life was a musical. Call it the “theatre bug”, call me a “drama queen” or a great big ham
Living as a creative is hard. And the non-creative world doesn’t get that. They see creativity as a fun, exciting, childish thing. And don’t get me wrong, it totally can be. But it is also something that sets us apart
Last Friday I attended an event at the Vancouver Writer’s Fest called ‘Belonging.’ The event featured four writers (and their memoirs): Brian Bett, Charles Demers, Camilla Gibb, and Michael V. Smith. At the end of this entry, you can find
![“Copywriting pays the bills, but humour writing? That brings me to life” – [the book that changed my life]](https://i2.wp.com/creativelifestyleblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Screen-Shot-2015-10-08-at-10.34.57-AM.png?resize=325%2C239 "“Copywriting pays the bills, but humour writing? That brings me to life” – [the book that changed my life]")
My Creative Muse Is from … New Jersey? (A Reflection on ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabeth Gilbert) by Lisa A. Beach When I think of people who inspire creativity, I instinctively look to deceased greats in their field, like Georgia O’Keeffe,
My Cup of Coffee With Fear by Diana Carson-Walker I was talking to a friend of mine a few months ago, and I found myself trying to explain my (apparently) deep-seated anxiety that rears its head all day long. Generally,