Tim Myers does a bit of everything: he’s a writer, songwriter, storyteller, visual artist, and senior lecturer at Santa Clara University, where he teaches writing. We got together to talk about the nature of creativity, which Tim calls a “sacred mystery,” including everything from the way our childhood creativity is changed by the culture as we become adults, the necessary role of play in the creative process, the transcendent experiences of awe and wonder and how they fuel us, the wisdom of following your gut, and a whole lot more.
Episode breakdown:
01:39 Kids are instantly creative, often play traditionally.
06:50 Creativity influenced by nature, nurture, educators.
15:50 Importance of creativity in education and society.
21:22 Differences between play in childhood versus "professional" adults.
24:56 Nancy switched to teaching, advisor, and writing lit mag.
30:49 Encouraging exploration of language and creative thinking.
37:04 Parents see child, lifetime of giving love.
40:35 Zen story about finding wonder in life.
45:27 Believing in progress through challenging circumstances.
50:34 Art, festivals, play as a primal need.
56:21 Semantic split between "religion" and "spirituality."
01:01:14 Falling in love based on unique personal idiosyncrasies.
01:07:23 Experimenting with writing schedule structure.
01:13:45 Craft is in choosing words for impact.
01:19:22 Writers and feedback.
01:25:00 Tim struggles with generalist vs specialist identity.
01:26:31 Passion for storytelling and visual art emerges.
01:35:38 Weekly writing schedule reduces overthinking and focus on perfection.
Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.
Please leave a review for this episode and in it, tell us how play influences your creative process.
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Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in writing.
Professional Fandom with Gary Russell
Replay: CPT #65: Mr. Twinkletoes
Replay: Rediscovering the Human with Kate Powers
CPT #72: Listen
Why You Should Start a Podcast with Jesse Jackson
CPT #71: No Straight Lines
Replay: ”Is There Life Outside the Box?” with Peter Davison
CPT #70: Don’t Reject Yourself
Witness Underground with Scott Homan and Ryan Sutter
CPT #69: Mick Jagger’s Beginner’s Mind
The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams with Kevin Jon Davies
CPT #68: Let It Go
Publishing and Patience with Hilary Hattenbach
CPT #67: Say No
Writing and Resilience with Romana Hasenöhrl
CPT #66: Make Lemonade
Uncovering Forgotten Histories with Rahna Reiko Rizzuto
CPT #65: Mr. Twinkletoes
Replay: ”Impro” with Nina Hart
CPT #64: Stop Making It So Hard
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