Healing the heart-broken artist, with Nina Hart #podcast
I just listened to Episode 6 of A Path To Call Your Own podcast, and I love it!
Poet and life coach Matthew Foley interviewed a fellow Gateless Writing instructor, Nina Hart, founder of Writing From The Top Of Your Head, about "healing the heartbroken artist." Both reside here in Asheville, NC.
The podcast episode delves into Nina’s life and childhood as an artist, writer, and performer, and those stories show how the expectations of society—the outer critic—can do damage to the hopes and dreams of a writer or creative person.
Nina and I are both trained in the Gateless Writing methodology. She shared how it shines a light on the writer’s inner genius, giving appropriate and safe feedback. Which is so encouraging to a beginning writer.
You can’t play and be fearful at the same time, Nina says.
We writers want to play in the world and characters we create. We want to have fun with the process and be invigorated by our creativity.
Having a critique group that tears apart your manuscript—especially if the ms is not fully formed—deprives the story we are trying to tell with the oxygen it needs to express itself as we envisioned it.
Someone who asks for “brutally honest” feedback is either of two types of people. One’s a rare breed who has the fortitude and tools to take it all on, and the other is a naive writer who won’t know how to handle any negative feedback and may end up throwing away their dreams of completing or publishing a manuscript.
Matthew and I are on the same wavelength in how we approach working with writers. The brutally honest approach usually means getting feedback from someone who doesn't ask these important questions of the writer beforehand:
What is your goal with this manuscript?
What do you want to accomplish?
What is your vision for how this plays out?
What does success look like to you?
All similar questions that get to the heart of what’s driving the writer. Matthew says he wants to “discover” the work and get to know the intentions of the poet. Nina and I do the same through that Gateless process.
As a book editor and publishing consultant, and inspired by the Gateless Writing methodology, I work with my writers to craft the best possible manuscript we can.
We can set up a time to chat about getting your manuscript on the path to publishing. I’ll ask questions to see if I would be the best person to help you.
If not, then I know a couple of cool creatives here in town who I can recommend.
More info from Matthew Foley on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/mattinthemtns/posts/10103394067179174