October 2020 – Britt Skrabanek

5 Writing Podcasts That Will Totally Inspire You During NaNoWriMo

One thing is for damn sure this year…art has not been canceled as long as we keep making it. We’ve all been living in a topsy-turvy world, but thankfully, we still have traditions to ground us and distract us. National Novel Writing Month, lovingly known as NaNoWriMo, is one of those traditions.

Although I am not participating in NaNoWriMo, I love seeing the fantastic creative energy sweeping through the writing community as writers gear up for NaNoWriMo 2020.

I applaud the writers out there who are moving forward with their NaNoWriMo plans. It seems like the stars never quite align for me to participate in this challenge in November…this year is no exception.

What I am here to offer NaNoWriMo participants today is five writing podcasts that will support and inspire you throughout this challenging month. I have been honored to interview several incredible writers on Love Your Enthusiasm, so I thought I would round-up all of the writing-focused podcasts in one place for you all to enjoy.

So, grab your headphones and curl up with one, several, or all of these wonderful episodes as you venture into NaNoWriMo. I hope you get plenty of takeaways, tips, and motivational nuggets to support your writing journey through November and beyond.

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Learning to Live with Imposter Syndrome

I was relieved when I discovered the term “imposter syndrome” later in life. Having a name for something I had battled growing up, and increasingly battled as an adult, made it less scary—less like the Bogeyman hiding under the bed or in the closet and more like a temper tantrum that would come and go.

It was so different from dealing with anxiety and depression. It was this strange push-and-pull, feeling the exhilaration of pushing to achieve something followed by the rug being pulled out from under me.

There are countless articles about overcoming imposter syndrome. For those of us who deal with imposter syndrome, I’m not so sure it’s something that we can overcome. I think it’s something we learn to live with.

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Why 2020 is Absolutely Worth Salvaging

2020 is a nightmare. 2020 is a bad year. 2020 is a mess. 2020 is a disaster. 2020 is a crazy year. 2020 is a dumpster fire. 2020 is canceled. These were the search results that came up a few months ago when I searched for “2020 is…”

My most recent “2020 is…” search gets us all into the Halloween spirit—a T-Shirt that shows a ghost in various poses framed by the phrase “2020 is BOO sheet.” (I fully acknowledge that this is both clever and funny.)

The 2020 tarring and feathering continues with the countless memes being applauded and shared on social media, all spreading the same dark humor. I’m not immune to the allure of these memes. I’ve shared some, I’ve liked some, I’ve chuckled over most of them.

Everyone is labeling 2020 to try and understand the pain and confusion they have felt. Labels make something identifiable, organized…able to be compartmentalized. Humor is one of our favorite defense mechanisms, so it works especially well as we smile and slap a label on 2020.

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Change Your Life Direction in 3 Difficult Steps

Changes have happened all around us this year—we’re observing them and living them. The harsh closed signs, endless commercial spaces for lease, and out-of-work artists, musicians, servers, retailers, teachers, and flight attendants with nowhere to go. Many of us had to change our life direction this year, whether we liked it or not. We feel lost and maybe we feel found as well.

If you are changing directions with your job, your business, and/or your passion, today I’m sharing three difficult steps that have worked for me this year. I say “difficult” because none of them are easy steps to take.

It’s probably more like 300 steps rather than 3 steps by the time you work through everything. Anyway, I hope this helps if you’re in limbo right now.

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