Emerging Form

In this bonus episode, Sarah Knight talks about the four kinds of yessers, how she went from overachiever to having a fully operational no muscle, how to build “the gates of hell no” and then cultivate your own private “okay corral,” the calming effects of pina coladas, how her daily tweets might help you discover and maintain your own boundaries, and more. **Please note that this episode contains language that may not be suitable for kids. (See title of Sarah’s book…)Guest: Sarah Knight JUST SAY F*CK NO! No is an acceptable answer. It’s time to start using it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

It’s only two letters long, but the word “no” can be one of the hardest words to say out loud. In this episode, we talk about why no is every bit as important a word for a creative as yes. We’ll talk about earthworms, the trifecta of yes, how to strengthen your no muscle and Christmas candles. Then we interview the international bestselling “anti-guru” Sarah Knight, author of the No F*cks Given guides and ask her these two questions: 1) How do you decide when to say no? And 2) What’s the best way to say no? We’re interested in your answers to these questions, too. Episode Notes:  The Craft of Science Writing: Selections from The Open NotebookPoetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness PoemsRosemerry’s book Charity: True Stories of Giving and ReceivingRosemerry’s book Celebration: The Christmas Candle Book with Poems of LightVeronica Dewey, costume designer extraordinaire David Plotz’s trick for saying no (which he admits he stole from his wife, Hanna Rosin, and her friend, the writer Margaret Talbot)Sarah Knight (photo of Sarah by Alfredo Esteban)Sarah’s article Just Say F*ck No!Sarah’s F*ck No page To buy her most recent book, F*ck No: How to Stop Saying Yes When You Can’t, You Shouldn’t or You Just Don’t Want To: visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Indiebound.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

In this bonus episode, we continue our conversation with Thea Deley about creating on emotionally difficult topics. Thea talks about the one woman play she created about her struggles with her family and their religious belief system and about the issues that arise when addressing personal issues through art. Thea Deley (photo of Thea by Mike Maxwell) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

As Mentioned in the Podcast: In this week’s podcast, we mentioned a poem I wrote about my dear friend Sally Estes when she was told she had three months to live. Here I am reading the poem. It’s also printed below.They Say It’s the Best Bloom in Ten Years         —Rosemerry Wahtola TrommerShe wants to go see the bluebonnets, she says.This is after she tells me they’ve said she has three months to live.And I want to find her vast fields of bluebonnets,acres and acres of white-tipped blue bloom.And I want to send her more springs to see them in,more days to live one day at a time. I want to removethe pain in her belly, the pain that aggressively grows.I want to make deals with the universe. Want to say noto the way things are. I want to tell death to wait.I want to tell life to find a way. I want to hug heruntil she believes she’s beloved. I want to give herthe pen that will write every brave thingthat she’s been unable to say. There are dayswhen we feel how uncompromising it is, the truth.How human we are. There are days when the bluebonnetsstretch as far as the eye can see. There are dayswe know nothing is more important than going to see them,a billion blue petals all nodding in the wind, teaching us to say yes.—forthcoming in Hush, Middle Creek Publishing, 2020 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Engaging in a creative project can be hard enough when the subject matter is fun. But what about when it’s emotionally taxing, too? In this episode, we talk about many techniques for working with topics that make us uneasy—from changing perspective to creating rituals. Then we talk with Thea Deley, speaker, writer and improviser, and ask her two questions: 1) When do you know you are ready to write about something difficult—what is the role of perspective, and 2) How do you navigate stories that might hurt someone? We are interested in your answers to these questions, too!Episode NotesChristie’s farewell to David Corcoran on Last Word on NothingOpening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions, by James W. Pennebaker, PhDPablo Neruda: Tonight I Can WriteAmerican Psychological Association: Writing to HealHarvard Health Publishing: Writing About Emotions May Ease Stress and TraumaThea Deley (photo of Thea by Mike Maxwell)Christie’s ode to Holiday Mathis, “I Know Astrology Is B******t, But I Can’t Stop Reading My Horoscope.” **Simple Tools         —Rosemerry Wahtola TrommerI am so grateful for the rubber spatula,the way it sits quietly in the draweryet is always ready for action—is game to scrape the walls of the blenderor to fold chocolate chips into cookie dough.It evens and swirls the frosting on cakeand welcomes the tongueof a child. In a sharp world,it knows the value of being blunt;it knows that to smooth is a gift to the world.Some people are knives, andI thank them. Me, I want to belongto the order of spatulas—thosewho blend, who mix, who co-mingledissimilars to create a cohesive whole.I want to spread sweetness, to be a workhorsefor beauty, to stir things up,to clean things out. I want to be useful,an instrument of unity, a means, a lever for life.first published in Braided Way, 2019 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

In this bonus episode, Sherry Richert Belul, happiness coach and founder of Simply Celebrate, talks with us about co-founding Secret Agents of Change, how even the way you walk to the office can be playful, and how it is that she came to find herself a happiness coach. Want to make sure you receive every bonus episode? Subscribe to our newsletter! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

What does play have to do with creativity? Could a hula hoop help you finish your book project? In this episode, we argue about what is play, anyway—is it something you set time aside for? Or something that is always available to you? And how might it help your creative life? Then we are joined by author and happiness coach Sherry Richert Belul to get her take on our two questions: 1) How does play inform your creative process? and 2) What’s an example of a project that has been shaped by play? We’d love your feedback on these questions, too!Episode Notes:Meet our new production wizard, Rob DozierPlay: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination and invigorates the soul by Stuart Brown, M.D.Playing at Work: Organizational Play as a Facilitator of Creativity, dissertation by Samuel WestChristie’s spam poetry on Last Word on NothingRosemerry’s collaborative book of three-line poems, Even NowSnark Week: The Wrath of the Sloth on Last Word on NothingSlaughterhouse Five, by Kurt VonnegutSherry Richert Belul and Simply CelebrateSay It Now: 33 ways to say I love you to the most important people in your lifeSecret Agents of Change Facebook Group***Wild Rose Shops for a Bathing Suit         —Rosemerry Wahtola TrommerNot the full-coverage shorts.Not the black one-piecewith the ruffle around the hips.She wants to show off some skin.She doesn’t care who’s looking.Or who’s not.She’s got flesh and a lot of it.A woman needs weight in the world.Damn, she is getting hot just thinkingabout the way the sun likes to touch her.She finds a strapless bikiniin her favorite color, brilliant magenta.Barely a bottom. Perfect.Another suit in hunter orange.She plans to be swimming with sharksand wants them to know she is there.God, she loves shopping for bathing suits.She could do it all day with that long tri-fold mirrorthat knows she gives squatabout who’s the loveliest of all,but dang, how could she not noticehow great it is to have hips, like hers,how fine to have some real meat to swing around. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Why should you enter a contest? Even if you don’t win, how might it help you? And what are downsides of entering? In this special episode, recorded live at the Telluride Lit Fest just before the announcement of the Fischer and Cantor Prizes, w talk about big juicy tomatoes, how judges make decisions, why the … Continue reading Episode 9: How Should We Think About Awards & Contests? → This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

In this bonus episode, Luis Lopez, poet laureate of Colorado’s Western Slope, and Rafael Jesús González, poet laureate of Berkeley, each read a poem and talk about their writing process. And that’s not all! Below, we present a poem Rafael Jesús González wrote about judging the Fischer poetry prize. We think his poem should be prerequisite … Continue reading Episode 9 Bonus: Luis Lopez and Rafael Jesús González on Creative Process → This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe

Working with a partner on creative projects can be incredible! And incredibly frustrating. In this episode, we will discuss whether collaborations need leaders, why listening is an essential skill for working with other creatives, Chinese food, the Jabberwocky, and how spontaneity can enhance a creative collaboration. And then we’ll wrap up our conversation by talking with musician/songwriter/video … Continue reading Episode 8: Collaboration–Are We In This Together? (with guest Christine Laskowski) → This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emergingform.substack.com/subscribe