Novelist Notions: Writing, Creativity, and Personal Growth

When the Mind's Weather Shapes the Words on the Page  Introduction There's a conversation that doesn't happen often enough in creative circles, one that gets whispered about in hushed tones or buried beneath performative productivity posts on social media. It's the uncomfortable truth about the relationship between mental health and creative output—how our emotional landscape directly influences what we create, when we create it, and whether we create at all. As someone who has wrestled with depression, anxiety, and the general chaos that comes with being human, I've learned that my mental health and my writing are not separate entities. They're deeply intertwined, each one influencing the other in ways both profound and subtle. In this piece, I want to pull back the curtain on this relationship. I'll share my own experiences with how mental health has shaped my creative journey, explore the complex dance between suffering and art, and discuss what I've ...

How Reclaiming My Reading Habit Enriched My Words and My Well-being Introduction I do a lot of writing, including articles such as this one where I talk about writing, books, and how those things interact to create a positive effect on my mental health. Though it is widely talked about in the writing community, I still think the relationship between reading and writing is underrated, underappreciated, and underutilized. In a world dominated by screens and instantaneous connection, the genuine cozy feeling of sitting back in a comfortable chair and sinking your mind into a well-crafted novel or a thought-provoking essay feels like a lost art. Yet, as I’ve recently rediscovered, renewing the long-lost love of reading to which we writers are often predisposed can spark some profound changes not just in our writing but also our thinking and our approach to life’s nuances.  In today’s installment, I’ll take you through the multifaceted importance of reading. I’ll place a particular focu...

Balancing Privacy and Visibility in the Digital Age For many writers—including this one—the act of writing is as much an intimate and private act as it is expressive. We are observant, quiet thinkers. Stephen King once referred to writers as the “secret agents of the arts.” While some people like being among other people, and sometimes the center of attention, we feel most comfortable working behind closed doors and away from all the noise of the outside world. In today’s digital climate, however, that is becoming more difficult to do. As much as we’d rather avoid it, social media has slowly become a tool we can’t succeed without. As much as we’d rather avoid it, social media, when used correctly, can empower and expose us as writers, offering opportunities which were previously unheard of. With this opportunity, however, comes exposure and a level of public engagement that for some, like myself, can feel uncomfortable or even overwhelming. Social Media: The Necessary Evil It’s no secr...

A Rocky Beginning: The Unexpected Hurdle When I think of a family vacation during Wisconsin's summer, especially one I'd been looking forward to all year to this point, I think of picturesque sunsets, family campfires, and time spent alone in my solo cabin that I don't get at home. I think of time spent fishing, though I don't get as much enjoyment from that as I did as a younger man. What I don't think of, especially as an adult who I'd like to think is pretty good with money, is an unfortunate clerical error that threatened to derail my entire stay before it got started. The mix-up involved a misunderstanding regarding billing. Foolishly, I thought we’d pay when we left as we’d done at other places in the past, So I had taken most of the cash I had in my bank account and put it toward my credit card that I’d planned to use to pay for the trip. To my unfortunate surprise, the proprietor wanted up-front payment---which, in hindsiight, I should have been prepared...

Why I Chose to Pursue a Year-Round Lakefront Digital Lifestyle in my Home State Over Being a Digital Nomad When I first discovered the idea of becoming a digital nomad, which like a lot of my ideas, came from a night spent jumping down YouTube rabbit holes, I was immediately captivated. The idea of living a life of freedom, adventure, and the promise of working anywhere in the world excited me. I had visions of living the writer’s life, clicking away at my laptop keyboard in a sun-soaked cafe in Kuala Lumpur, or strolling through the markets of Penang after a productive morning of writing. These visions fueled me, giving me the ambition I needed to pursue such a life. This dream was only intensified when I discovered Andrew Henderson and the Nomad Capitalist YouTube channel. As I went through the catalog of videos, I saw the many people they have helped seek more freedom, opportunity, and a truly global lifestyle experience, and wondered if I could join that group. Chasing the Digital ...