by Bethany | Apr 17, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
In this brand new episode of The Porchlight’s popular installment Courage to Create, author Bethany Hegedus talks about the F word. Yes you read me correctly. The dreaded F word: Failure. We’ve all been there, whether it be a rejection or a bad review or any of the other small failures we encounter in our daily lives as humans, failure is inevitable. But it is not fatal, nor is it final.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchil
Using this quote as a catalyst for the episode, Bethany Hegedus, discusses some of the many private and public failures writers and creatives come face to face with. We’re often searching for ‘stamps of approval’ in order to feel validate in our work. But what happens when that need for validation gets in the way of the work itself? When the endless stream of stamps of approval takes away the joy that writing brought you in the first place.
That is when we need to take a step back and reflect on our many successes, be thankful that we have something that brings us joy, and continue nurturing and protecting our passion, rather than worry about future failure.
The Writing Barn’s founder and published author Bethany Hegedus. Photo courtesy of Sam Bond Photography.
Bethany Hegedus’ picture books include the award-winning Grandfather Gandhi and Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story, both co-written with Arun Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi), as well Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird, and the forthcoming Rise!: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People: Dr. Maya Angelou, and Hard Work But It’s Worth It: The Life of Jimmy Carter. Her books have been included in numerous “best of” lists such as A Mighty Girl’s Best Books of 2018 and Kirkus’ Best Books of the Year. A former educator, Bethany is an in-demand speaker and mentor who speaks and teaches across the country about writing, creativity, resilience, and privilege. She is also the Founder and Creative Director of The Writing Barn in Austin, Texas and host of The Porchlight podcast, which includes the popular Courage to Create series. She graduated from the Vermont College of Fine Arts with an MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults.
by Bethany | Apr 10, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
Hey listeners! The Porchlight is back with all new author interviews and Courage to Create segments brought to you by Bethany Hegedus in conjunction with The Writing Barn. This season is packed with passion, creativity, honestly, and community. We hope you enjoy!
In this episode of The Porchlight, Bethany Hegedus interviews friend and local Austin author Lindsay Leslie whose debut picture book, THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS, has one of the finest first page turns ever according to a review from Booklist. Lindsay was a journalism major who worked as a public relations executive, but it wasn’t until she found her way into the world of children’s literature that she felt safe and at home. She began telling bedtime stories to her children and realized she wanted to write stories as well. In fact, the inspiration for THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS came from her son’s messy room when she stepped on a picture book and feared she’d broken its spine
During the episode, Bethany and Lindsay discuss all the picture book rules and when and how to break them. Lindsay talks about her love of meta picture books and how they allow such a deep connection with readers by pulling them in to be participants in the story. Creation gives Lindsay courage, and writing helps her handle anxiety.
Her hope is that her stories will also help readers handle anxiety, which she says is only one of our feelings and not one that deserves the grand stage. Also, she tells listeners the story of how she first got a book contract offer via a Twitter pitch contest and got an agent second, which flips the usual pattern of things on its head. Tune in today to this funny and inspiring episode of The Porchlight. For more about Lindsay and her work, go to https://lindsayleslie.com/
A diary keeper, a journal writer, a journalism major, a public relations executive—Lindsay Leslie has always operated in a world of written words. When she became a mom and began to tell her kids bedtime stories, Lindsay connected the dots to children’s literature. She likes to bring her unique outlook on life, quirky humor, and play with words to the page in picture books.
Lindsay is the author of THIS BOOK IS SPINELESS, her debut picture book (Page Street Kids). Her second picture book, NOVA THE STAR EATER (Page Street Kids), will launch on May 21, 2019. Her third picture book, DUSK RAIDERS WANTED (Page Street Kids), will launch in the spring of 2020. Lindsay lives with her husband, two young boys, and two fur-beasts in Austin.
by Bethany | Feb 13, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
In this season 3 finale of The Porchlight Podcast, Bethany Hegedus caps off her newest series Courage to Create with an episode on Meaning & Happiness.
This inspiring episode Bethany asks listeners to define what meaning, happiness, and purpose looks like in their own lives. How can we gift ourselves these assets on a regular basis? Is our life purpose directly related to our relative happiness? How many times do we as artists put ourselves last, when what we really need to be doing is nourishing the soul that we may better nurture others and our craft.
Throughout the Courage to Create series Bethany has led us through the difficulties and upsets that are all too present in our field, light we can reward ourselves during this difficult (and life long!) journey.
Complete with personality quizzes, NYT articles, inspiring Facebook posts and more, this Courage to Create episode pulls from the every day to show writers how we can infuse meaning, purpose, and most importantly, happiness into our writer lives.
If you’d like to learn more about your “Sparktype” take the quiz here!
by Bethany | Feb 6, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
Fourth grade teacher and author Rob Sanders joins Bethany for this inspiring episode of The Porchlight where they discuss everything from Rob’s literary life to the importance of inclusion, social justice, and perseverance. Rob is the author of eight picture books, including PRIDE, PEACEFUL FIGHTS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS, RODZILLA, and the forthcoming STONEWALL, which allows readers to learn about the rich and dynamic history of the Stonewall Inn and its role in the gay civil rights movement.
Rob is a Florida resident who met Bethany when he took one of her online classes at The Writing Barn, where he now teaches as well. As someone who loves to leap into new ventures, Rob discusses how he started writing nonfiction and how he seeks to explore new forms, genres, and styles in his work. He believes that the best way to help kids become social justice advocates for themselves and others is to talk to them about all topics and history in an age appropriate way because kids are talking among themselves and need to know the facts.
Rob strives to show both his readers and his students how civil rights progress we have gained initially still has to be maintained, and this is one of many reasons he is passionate about writing stories of diversity and inclusion. Bethany and Rob also discuss their mutual love of teaching and what they learn from their students, both adults and children. For more information about Rob and his work, visit his website at https://www.robsanderswrites.com/
by Bethany | Jan 30, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
In episode six of Courage to Create, Bethany talks about how to become what writer Elizabeth Gilbert calls a deeply disciplined half-ass.
Our own inner critic and perfectionism can stop us from even getting started with our writing. Bethany discusses how we can overcome this and stop our stopping when we are scared. She encourages listeners to forget about perfect and focus on the good, realistic, possible, and fun.
Perfectionism keeps us from feeling joy in our work, and Bethany gives tips on how we can find a middle ground and a balance between perfectionism and keeping our work hidden away in our own heads or in the drawers of our desks.
With references to authors Anne Lamott and Elizabeth Gilbert and how they are fiercely themselves, Bethany encourages us all to learn the art and humor of becoming our own deeply disciplined half-ass and finding joy in our work.
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