Building Your Support Network (007)

This was a hard episode to record. I think every creative person who has tried to follow their dreams knows what it feels like to be let down by the people we expected to be our strongest supporters. 

Sometimes it is very direct: they disapprove of our “hobby” and make it known that they think you are wasting your time, or worse. 

Other times, their concern and love for us manifests as cautionary tales or advice like “don’t quit the day job” which, while well meant, does so much more damage to us than any failure we might encounter by investing in our writing. 

Basically, knowing that the people we respect and love do not support us wholeheartedly the way we want them to hurts. It’s hard to be creative from that place, where we feel alone and uncertain of our chosen path. 

In this podcast I talk about those feelings, and what we can do to change the situation. Sometimes it is not what we wish it could be — you can’t force people to become the emotional support network you need. Instead, I focus on actionable steps you can take to build the community YOU need to give you the support and encouragement you need to start, and stay, writing!