Remember to let creativity play
Introducing a *new* newsletter
In this newsletter: growing creativity, a *new* newsletter, and a truly enjoyable podcast. If you’ve found your way here but are not yet subscribed, here, let me help you with that:
There’s a period that comes after publishing a book that I don’t hear authors talk about often. In my case, it’s a moment that came after the release of Call You When I Land, after my book launch party and book tour, where all is calm. Almost too calm.
For months, I felt like I was firing on all cylinders: balancing the day-to-day work of my editorial job at Fodor’s Travel while planning a wedding and honeymoon and preparing for a book tour. Towards the end of last year, my days felt especially hectic. I’d wake up and jump between roles—Author, Publicist, Marketer, Travel Editor, Event Coordinator, Bride, Travel Agent—like a chameleon rapidly changing colors. I remember pining for that elusive moment in the future when all would be settled, manageable, and calm once again. I’d dream of those mornings when I’d be able to enjoy a cup of coffee while writing, free of the phone calls, text messages, and e-mails demanding my attention.
Now, here I am, back in the calm, learning how to shift gears to a lower speed in which I’m not moving a million miles a minute. This calmness, which settled around mid-January following the end of my book tour, has proved a mixed bag of emotions. On the one hand, I’ve felt a building pressure to define my next BIG professional endeavor. Nearly every book event I’ve had has ended with the question: “So, what’s the next book about?” The question feels akin to asking a marathon runner who just crossed the finish line—hands on knees, panting to catch their breath—when is their next race.
The truth is, I didn’t know what my next book idea would be. For months, I toyed with an idea that felt half-baked and uninspired. For weeks, I wondered whether, perhaps, Call You When I Land is all I’ve got in me. I’ve envied fellow authors who seemed to pluck new ideas out of thin air regularly, curious as to how they did it. And finally, I stopped fighting. I sat down with that cup of coffee, gave into the calm, and just let things still. Then, something near-magical happened. The moment I stopped demanding that the creativity gods give me something BIG was the moment a new book idea floated to the surface.
I recently attended the Women’s Travel Fest, in which I had the joy of watching Evita Robinson deliver a brilliant keynote speech. Evita is a true force in the travel space, a champion for diversity with her platform, Nomadness. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Evita for some time, as well as featuring her on the last cover of Unearth Women magazine. During her keynote speech, she said something that stuck with me, and that is the need to allow space for ourselves to play with ideas and allow creativity to grow. On stage, Evita offered glimmers of her own creative process and how she would literally write ideas down on paper, scatter them on the floor, fill the physical space with creativity, and just play. That play—free of judgment and expectation—is the key to developing new ideas.
Too often, there is a constant need to create content for the sake of simply staying relevant and feeding some unseen demand from faceless followers. The idea of having space to play with ideas and let creativity grow free of pressure is so beautiful and not encouraged nearly enough. It reminds us that the beauty of creativity rests in its intentionality. That creativity, when marked by passion, has the power to be immortal and impactful. But too often, in our social media-driven culture, creativity is distilled down to 30-second reels that can often feel soulless.
This brings me back to that post-book calmness and the mixed bag of emotions that has come with it. For weeks, I’d been racking my brain for the next book idea, for the next professional endeavor, for the next anything that would give me something to share. It wasn’t until I let go and gave in to the calmness that an idea finally emerged. Born free of pressure, demands, and expectations, I needed that calm to finally play.
In the vein of creating mindfully, I’m bringing back this newsletter in a way that feels more intentional to me. The first iteration of this newsletter, back in the COVID era, had a bit of everything: recipes, COVID travel news, and personal stories, but as it went, the newsletter began to lose heart. And so, I paused paid subscriptions and waited until I had something worthwhile to say. I’d sporadically send a newsletter here and there when inspiration struck but, for the most part, Wanderess has been gathering dust.
This newsletter will begin to grace your inboxes again, filled with thoughts and musings that may touch on travel and dive into the realm of creativity and writing, ultimately giving space and grace for thoughts and musings to grow. I want to be candid about what it’s like to write and publish a book. I want to address the volatile media industry and what it’s like to be an editor in this current landscape. I want to share travel stories as they come and transport you to destinations that excite me. I hope you’re here for it.
Some housekeeping: For current paid subscribers, each month, I’ll share an additional newsletter that honors the foundation of Unearth Women with a curated feminist city guide that spotlights women and BIPOC-owned businesses in cities around the globe. If you’d like to unsubscribe from the free or paid newsletter, you may do so below or by visiting your Substack account.
There are few things I’ve been enjoying more than Shameless and its Scandal series. This podcast, self-described as being “for smart people who love dumb things,” examines pop culture and celebrity stories. Whether analyzing the latest “Who TF Did I Marry?” 50-part series on TikTok or the controversial new Wendy Williams documentary, it’s their Scandal series that is truly a *chef’s kiss.*
The series explores old and new celebrity scandals, such as how Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall became enemies or how Julia Roberts was a real-life runaway bride before playing a runaway bride on-screen. At a time when headlines are sadly dripping in blood, this podcast has become a true gem for me. Enjoy!
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"Too often, there is a constant need to create content for the sake of simply staying relevant and feeding some unseen demand from faceless followers."
I feel like this is one of the biggest consequences of social media. Feeling the pressure to feed the algorithm takes a lot of the fun and play out of creativity!