I have really loved spending time with you on your YouTube channel and on your Substack. You’re great! I love your vulnerability, your encouragement, and your enormous courage to do the things so many of us want to do. I am a 58 year old writer, homeschooler of 2 high school students, wife to a wonderful man who is a stroke survivor. We are in the process of moving and I have been experiencing overwhelm for so long that it’s become my daily norm. I love my life, and where God is taking my family. I just wish I could leap over that hurdle of getting my newsletter going. I have so many ideas! My kids are digital artists and I know as a family we could create some great kids’ books, amongst other things.
As far as YouTube is concerned, I use it for information and self-help, further education for my kids, and sometimes just for entertainment.
Hi Carol. Thank you so much. It sounds like life is really full on at the moment for you! When we moved house I took time off from writing as I just couldn't cope with the overwhelm. Maybe work towards your newsletter once you're settled and just keep writing down your ideas for the time being. Good luck with the move! x
Hi Helen and just briefly to introduce myself …(as someone from New Zealand ).. after immersing in The Artists Way , it seems I completely “ lost my way” with a breast cancer diagnosis, surgery , chemo , radiation etc .. now 12 months later I’m ready to be inspired again and pick up a pen and my journal . Having been a diary or journal writer for years , I’m so surprised at myself for having lost “ the creative art “, so to speak .. but I can admit to having listened to many audio books and novels … and learnt so much along the way of being so out of control of my body and life .and of others kindness and generosity ..But hey , 12 months later I am Super active and fit again … trying not to take like too seriously and avoiding stress !!!! C’est moi !!!
Hi Helen! It seems that my age bracket went missing 🙈🙈 I’m 32! I love your behind-the-scenes of being a writer and how honestly you write about burnout. It helped me quite a lot in defining what rules of this game (newsletter on Substack and blogging in wider terms) I’m setting for myself now that I’m starting out. I looove the older masterclasses you shared, i.e. behind-the-scenes of Substack, etc. I also love your journal-related content. I enjoyed read-alongs too. Thank you for your perseverance, honesty, and creative expression! 🤗
I have finished a memoir after working on it for 50 years. Now I'm ready to publish and I have to decide whether to self-publish for family or try to reach a wider audience in some format. I'm looking for ideas. You were recommended to me by a friend. I have also self-published a book for family that I wrote during Covid. I have another one, a historical fiction based on family history, in the cooker. All ideas are welcome.
I found your YouTube when I was looking for guidance on writing for my Substack (I’m a confident artist but not as a writer). Your content is really excellent quality and I love your aesthetic. Thanks for all you do for our creative community! ☺️
I am a blogger, and Iook on youtube for writing inspiration, process ideas, etc. as motivation for my blog's short essays (1200 to 1800/post). I love your posts on IG, youtube, and this newsletter. I am much older than you, but have identified with the struggles you've shared.
I started following you on Substack because you have the same name as my grandmother (from Dundee) who married a man from Manchester (Harry Redfern) and finally moved to Canada. The fact that you are a writer intrigued me and caused me to wonder if my love of writing might coalesce into something if I could learn from you.
I have produced a book of my mother’s letters written to her mother while she was living in Nigeria. I’ve kept journals ever since I first read the Artist’s Way in the 1990s. They are all in bins under my bed! I think they’d be useful material for a novel if I could figure out how to use them.
I have an idea for a project (novel? nonfiction?) about one of my ancestors who was ‘received’ into an asylum in Scotland in the 1860s. I’ve done all the genealogical research about her and found the admission details online. Life has been getting in the way (deaths, grieving and executor responsibilities). And now I feel like I have space and time to dedicate to writing. All (!) I need to do is set a routine time every day to write if only I could begin.
Hi Linda - I love we have my name in common! Harry Redfern from Manchester. I wonder if we go back far enough there’s a link!
Can I offer some unasked for advice? You say you need to set a routine time in order to begin. But that might be putting too much pressure on it and yourself. Maybe, when you have a spare five minutes do something then. A few lines in a notebook, some ideas or a vague outline. Just do it without thinking. And just do it for a few minutes. That’s all. And then you’ve taken that difficult first step and removed all the pressure. X
I have really loved spending time with you on your YouTube channel and on your Substack. You’re great! I love your vulnerability, your encouragement, and your enormous courage to do the things so many of us want to do. I am a 58 year old writer, homeschooler of 2 high school students, wife to a wonderful man who is a stroke survivor. We are in the process of moving and I have been experiencing overwhelm for so long that it’s become my daily norm. I love my life, and where God is taking my family. I just wish I could leap over that hurdle of getting my newsletter going. I have so many ideas! My kids are digital artists and I know as a family we could create some great kids’ books, amongst other things.
As far as YouTube is concerned, I use it for information and self-help, further education for my kids, and sometimes just for entertainment.
Hi Carol. Thank you so much. It sounds like life is really full on at the moment for you! When we moved house I took time off from writing as I just couldn't cope with the overwhelm. Maybe work towards your newsletter once you're settled and just keep writing down your ideas for the time being. Good luck with the move! x
I’m a lot older, 75 , but through Susannah Conway then the Artists Way… have connected . Thank you Helen
Hi Jo. Thank you so much for being here 🧡
Hi Helen and just briefly to introduce myself …(as someone from New Zealand ).. after immersing in The Artists Way , it seems I completely “ lost my way” with a breast cancer diagnosis, surgery , chemo , radiation etc .. now 12 months later I’m ready to be inspired again and pick up a pen and my journal . Having been a diary or journal writer for years , I’m so surprised at myself for having lost “ the creative art “, so to speak .. but I can admit to having listened to many audio books and novels … and learnt so much along the way of being so out of control of my body and life .and of others kindness and generosity ..But hey , 12 months later I am Super active and fit again … trying not to take like too seriously and avoiding stress !!!! C’est moi !!!
Hi Helen! It seems that my age bracket went missing 🙈🙈 I’m 32! I love your behind-the-scenes of being a writer and how honestly you write about burnout. It helped me quite a lot in defining what rules of this game (newsletter on Substack and blogging in wider terms) I’m setting for myself now that I’m starting out. I looove the older masterclasses you shared, i.e. behind-the-scenes of Substack, etc. I also love your journal-related content. I enjoyed read-alongs too. Thank you for your perseverance, honesty, and creative expression! 🤗
Haha, the first one should have been to 35 not 25! 🙄🤣 So you’re in the first one! Thank you for your responses x
I have finished a memoir after working on it for 50 years. Now I'm ready to publish and I have to decide whether to self-publish for family or try to reach a wider audience in some format. I'm looking for ideas. You were recommended to me by a friend. I have also self-published a book for family that I wrote during Covid. I have another one, a historical fiction based on family history, in the cooker. All ideas are welcome.
Wow, Christine. You've done so much. What would you prefer to do with your memoir?
I run the gamut on YouTube videos, no particular favorite from music to travel videos to how to videos.
Thanks, Stephen.
I found your YouTube when I was looking for guidance on writing for my Substack (I’m a confident artist but not as a writer). Your content is really excellent quality and I love your aesthetic. Thanks for all you do for our creative community! ☺️
Claire, what a lovely comment, thank you so much.
I am a blogger, and Iook on youtube for writing inspiration, process ideas, etc. as motivation for my blog's short essays (1200 to 1800/post). I love your posts on IG, youtube, and this newsletter. I am much older than you, but have identified with the struggles you've shared.
I started following you on Substack because you have the same name as my grandmother (from Dundee) who married a man from Manchester (Harry Redfern) and finally moved to Canada. The fact that you are a writer intrigued me and caused me to wonder if my love of writing might coalesce into something if I could learn from you.
I have produced a book of my mother’s letters written to her mother while she was living in Nigeria. I’ve kept journals ever since I first read the Artist’s Way in the 1990s. They are all in bins under my bed! I think they’d be useful material for a novel if I could figure out how to use them.
I have an idea for a project (novel? nonfiction?) about one of my ancestors who was ‘received’ into an asylum in Scotland in the 1860s. I’ve done all the genealogical research about her and found the admission details online. Life has been getting in the way (deaths, grieving and executor responsibilities). And now I feel like I have space and time to dedicate to writing. All (!) I need to do is set a routine time every day to write if only I could begin.
Hi Linda - I love we have my name in common! Harry Redfern from Manchester. I wonder if we go back far enough there’s a link!
Can I offer some unasked for advice? You say you need to set a routine time in order to begin. But that might be putting too much pressure on it and yourself. Maybe, when you have a spare five minutes do something then. A few lines in a notebook, some ideas or a vague outline. Just do it without thinking. And just do it for a few minutes. That’s all. And then you’ve taken that difficult first step and removed all the pressure. X
Thank you - I tend to think I need yo put pressure on myself instead of letting it flow!
I think a lot of us do. I definitely do!
Hi Linda. Yes, I think the struggles are quite common but not many talk about it so we think it's just us. Thank you for being here.