In part two of my interview with Cynthia Weiner, author of a hot-off-the-presses coming-of-age-novel, “A Gorgeous Excitement,” we cover what I call inner stuff, the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you're not fully conscious of it.

We unpacked:

- Learning how to tolerate the discomfort of sharing your work

- And how to ignore the voice that tells you nobody cares what you have to say

- How she came to imagine that inner critical voice as a “shit bird”

- Why she could work on one sentence for years

- Why she’d rather stay home than travel some place new

- How getting older has made her a better writer (and a worse sleeper)

- How she’s re-wired the idea that it’s bad to draw attention to yourself

Connect with Cynthia on Instagram at @cynthiaweiner

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For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.

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