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Eric T Tung on Twitter – Episode 003

April 19, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com Leave a Comment

With Twitter tips, tricks, and tools to spare, Eric T Tung joins us for Episode 3 of the Create If Writing Podcast. He is #33 on the Forbes list of global influencers and #1 here in Houston. Currently he works at BMC software and speaks at conferences all around the country. Here is what I LOVE about Eric. He doesn’t ACT like he is on a very short list of global influencers. He will happily take a selfie with you—in fact you BETTER take a selfie if you ever meet him. (I prefer the goofy ones.) He is personable, hilarious, and totally not one of those people who thinks he is all that. (Even though he kind of is.)

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 003

You can find Eric on Twitter, LinkedIn, and on his blog. He is a great resource and person to follow! Let’s see what he has to say about Twitter.

At a Glance: Tips for Using Twitter

Snag your name if possible. Use a middle initial if your actual name is taken (or really cool). Consider a fun alternative if your name is John Smith.
Be professional, but also personal. (Clearly his profile picture demonstrates this intersection.) Don’t have two profiles. People want to get to know you.
Use Twitter lists to organize people you follow. You can make them public or private.
Save time by using Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule content tweets. This can free you up to engage in real time.
If your feed gets too busy, you can mute people. (And they won’t know about it.)
Post links to your own content multiple times a day. Twitter moves faster, so it’s not spammy. You can’t post the exact same tweet, so change the order of the link & hashtag or pull different pieces from the content as a Tweet. (But never share JUST your stuff.)
You can schedule old evergreen content (i.e., content that is relevant ALL the time) so that you have more of your own links to share. You can also schedule date-specific content way in advance, like scheduling links to your old Christmas posts in January to go OUT in December.
Three qualities that can boost Twitter engagement: make it interesting; make it entertaining; or make it feel-good. People love that! Visuals whether photos or video are great.

Want to know my tips for using Twitter? Read about my own workflow!

Twitter should be about connections, not sales.

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Relevant Links

Find Your First Tweet
How to Use Twitter Lists
Why Twitter Isn’t Just Shouting into a Crowd
Hashtagify (we didn’t discuss this, but this is a great tool to find relevant hashtags)
Eric’s How Social Media Is Like Star Wars
How to Use Buffer (what Eric uses)
How to Use Hootsuite (what I use)
Tim Grahl’s 3 Myths about Social Media Marketing for Authors

My Big Takeaway

In this conversation I really appreciated what he mentioned as far as how to leverage your Twitter numbers (around 30 minutes into the episode). With Tim Grahl’s 3 Myths about Social Media Marketing for Authors in mind, Eric talked about not simply thinking of your number of Twitter followers as potential sales (because often it will be something like 1% or lower), but considering how those numbers can help you secure other things like speaking engagements. (If you’re a writer and want to be published, realize that the likelihood of you getting a book deal is slim without some kind of tangible platform. This may not mean Twitter, but it certainly helps to have those numbers!) It isn’t all about the numbers, but numbers are definitely useful. ESPECIALLY if you think of them as people to connect with, not impersonal numbers.

****Disclaimer! Though I talk about meeting Twitter friends in real life, I would ABSOLUTELY not meet a stranger in person without vetting them seriously. Adults meeting online friends, be careful. Teens? DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.****

If you want more about social media, I’m embedding this great Slide Share he presented recently here in Houston entitled “Holy Crap! I Can Get Fired for Posting on Social Media Posts?”

What I Want to Know from YOU.

I’m nosy. I want to know all of these things in the comments and I want to know them NOW. (Especially the second one. Use this link to find out.)

-Do you use and like Twitter?
-What was YOUR first tweet?
-Are you making friends online?
-What Twitter tips do YOU have?
-What Twitter questions do you still have?
-Would YOU like a T-shirt with this picture on it? I know I would.

Blaine Hogan on the Portfolio Life

April 19, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Have you ever experienced one of those strange journeys in life? The kind where you start at point A and end up at point Q? (This podcast is one of those journeys for me!) Today’s interview is with Blaine Hogan. Blaine started out as an actor, but as he began to really make it, a series of panic attacks derailed his career and brought his life to a halt. He is now the Creative Director at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago and the founder of the course Make Better. I first ran across Blaine years ago in an episode of one of my favorite shows, Prison Break. Listen to his story in the podcast to see how he came from there to creating a course like Make Better. Truly inspiring stuff!

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 002

You can connect with Blaine on the Make Better site, or follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

At a Glance

I loved Blaine’s understanding of art as a spiritual experience: “The lights would go down and someone tells you the most true thing they know.” Do YOU think of art as spiritual in some way?
Have you ever unraveled in the best possible way, as Blaine says he did?
Has your life ever taken you on one of those surprise journeys? Were you pleased with the destination & the journey itself?
“Disorganization is not a badge of honor for creative professionals.” What I took from this is that we often need great discipline and organization to create, especially in the middle of busy lives.
Do you feel like you need validation (self-validation or validation from others) to let yourself write or create?
Has being an adult stifled or killed your creativity? In what ways do we encourage creativity in children but discourage it in adults?
Blaine mentioned the discipline of being AWARE, and giving yourself credit that what seems like a small though over breakfast might be important. Write it down. Put it on the computer. File it away. Write every day.
“Never stare at the blank page.” Do you have hope or guilt with the blank page?
Are you a good starter or finisher? (Or maybe a good middler?)
Do you struggle with a sense of artist guilt if you miss a day or don’t accomplish your goal?
If you have kids, how do you balance having kids & creating art?
“I am not my work.” <- Do you find that as freeing as I do??
I loved his idea of not creating a singular project, but our life as a portfolio. How do you think mindset might change creative work?
Do you think you could make it through a silent retreat???

Relevant Links

Make Better
The Wounded Heart by Dan B. Allender
Seth Godin
Paul Jarvis
Willow Creek Community Church

My Big Takeaway

THERE WERE SO MANY. I love thinking of the idea of a portfolio rather than projects. I have so many projects and sometimes I think they are all in their separate boxes, unrelated. Thinking of my whole life as a portfolio gave me a sense of hope and also the freedom to HAVE so many random projects. I also have even more of a sense of validation for art just by talking to other artists. I hope listening gave YOU the same sense of validation! As far as a practical takeaway, I love the idea of keeping something handy to write down those thoughts through the day. I’ve been keeping a small notebook in my purse for the past few months and have found that I write things in it all the time. Sometimes to-do lists and sometimes fragments of a poem or story.

Do you think of life as a project or a PORTFOLIO?

Tweet This

What I Want to Know from YOU

I’m nosy. I want to know all of these things in the comments and I want to know them NOW.

-Do you feel like you have lost some sense of creativity as an adult?
-Have you had to overcome something (whether that’s fear or a traumatic event or criticism or something different) to continue following your passion?
-What inspired you most from this conversation with Blaine?
-Do you have a way of collecting your random daily thoughts?

Creativity – Episode 001

April 19, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com 4 Comments

In this inaugural podcast episode I am talking about creativity, writing, and the origin of this site and podcast. I am a little weird in that I get excited about writing, but I also LOVE social media and the idea of connecting with people. (That’s how I try to think of platform—connecting with people with mutual interests.) Maybe creativity looks like baking. Maybe it looks like coming up with activities for your kids. Maybe it looks like content creation in the blog world or the professional one. Maybe it looks like writing a novel or a song or a devotional book. Whatever your avenue is, I hope this episode encourages you to embrace it!

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 001

At a Glance: Confessions & Creativity

What energizes your creativity?
Do you get more excited about the creative side of art-making or the platform-building side?
Sometimes as adults we need validation that creativity and following your dreams is not just okay, but HEALTHY.
We are created to be creative. Whether from the Genesis narrative or not, do you agree?

When are we most fulfilled as humans? Answer in the #podcast.

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Creativity matters more than we think. Why we should give ourselves permission to create.

Relevant Links

If: Gathering
Re:Write Conference
Resource List (my ever-growing list of helpful links!)
Ted Talks on Creativity

What I Want to Know From YOU

I’m nosy. I want to know all of these things in the comments and I want to know them NOW.

-Whether it’s a job, hobby, or something in between, what do you like to create?
-When do you feel most whole and fulfilled in your life?

When Fear Comes

April 7, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com Leave a Comment

I say when, not if. Because there WILL come a time in your journey where you are knock-kneed with fear. We should probably discuss how the affect of fear on creativity. If you are like me and don’t like at admit fear, perhaps you cloak if with something that seems less shameful to admit. For me, that less shameful thing is busyness.

“Oh, I will send my manuscript to my agent,” I say. “But right now I am too busy.”

(There ARE times where this is true. Read here to know the difference between legitimate excuses and lame ones.)

I am afraid. But sometimes I say I’m busy instead.

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My busy is sometimes legitimate. Four kids ain’t no joke. But sometimes I KNOW. I know that I am not, in fact too busy. Or, I am too busy but it’s because I take the time that would be writing and editing and I use it to do something else. Like start a new blog. (Or a podcast. Oops.) Or write a NEW manuscript.

I’ll do anything but face my REAL fear. Which is this: that the manuscript I have worked so very hard on is really crap. That my agent will say so. Or that someone will buy it but it will hit the bookshelves and I and every review says I’m a hack. Or perhaps worse: just meh.
I am afraid. But sometimes I just say I’m busy instead.

What do you do when the fear comes? Share your deep secrets in the comments. We will be nice. (Because we’re afraid too.)

Other people talk about the crippling nature of fear. Or why you should embrace it.
(One thing they agree on: use numbers in your post titles.)

8 Habits That Crush Creativity from CopyBlogger
The 7 Deadly Fears of Writing from Men with Pens
4 Reasons Why Fear Is a Creative’s Friend on Life Dev

Give Your Inner Critic a Name

April 7, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com 2 Comments

We all have that inner critic. I don’t mean the inner voice of caution or the healthy sense of conscience. I mean that inner voice who heckles when you try to do something grand. You know the one. Here is my suggestion for how to deal with your inner critic.

Give him or her a name. Preferably a name like Velma or Mortimer. You want a name that you can pronounce with disdain. (Sincerest apologies to Velma & Mortimer if you happened upon this post.)

Then, whenever your inner critic chimes in with the usual “you’re not good enough” or “someone else has already done it better” or even “those jeans DO make your butt look big,” you can stand up for yourself.

“Velma,” you can say, “return from whence you came!”

You might feel a little silly doing this, especially if you are in a public place, but I very sincerely mean it. Give your inner critic a name. It is much easier to refuse that inner critic when he has a name. Naming reminds you that you have the power. YOU control that critic. Name her and then tell her you will not believe her lies.

You will have enough hecklers from outside, so learn to manage your inner critic first. I would not suggest speaking to your outer critics the way you talk with your inner critic, but outer critics are a different animal for a different day.

Do you listen to your inner critic? Or tell him/her to shut his/her dirty mouth? Share with civility in the comments.

Some agree with me and some think you should give that critic your ear.

5 Immediate and Easy Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic by Lynn Newman
Dealing with Your Inner Critic from Tools for Revolution
Tips on Dealing with Your Inner Critic from the Self-Help Hipster