Stephanie Lennox is the founder of “The Authorship Program®:” a book, blog and online course that she created to help writers write successful books and lead successful lives through spirituality and personal development. For tips on how to catapult your writing career to the next level, visit: www.theauthorshipprogram.com
Carrie: How did you discover your love of writing? If I had to pinpoint one instance, it would be when I was about 7 or 8, and had to write a short story for class. I remember thinking: “Wow, this is great! I can’t wait to share this with my friends!” It really gave me the confidence boost I needed when my friends loved the story and I got a gold star for the piece. A love of writing usually stems from a love of reading, too. For that, I give credit to people such as R.L. Stine, master of horror for kids – Jacqueline Wilson, who pretty much defined my self worth through her stories – and of course, JK Rowling, who made it cool to be a smart girl.
Carrie: If you could choose three words to describe yourself, what would you choose? Free-spirited, passionate, creative.
Carrie: What is the Authorship Program? The Authorship Program is a book and online course that is based around 15 guiding principles, that I believe are essential for all writers to know in order to become successful. The principles help writers work through 100+ of the most common anxieties, insecurities and fears they might have around writing and the writing life. It also focuses on the more spiritual aspects of writing – for instance, how writing can help you discover your life’s purpose, and how you can protect yourself from negativity in your life, from the outside world and from within. You can buy the book on Amazon.
Carrie: Why do you feel drawn to support writers? When I started out writing seriously, I wish there had been a manual like “The Authorship Program®” to be my personal companion for the times I needed support, clarity and empowerment. A book that wasn’t just about the practical side of writing, but that could reassure me emotionally as well. A writer will always be a writer – it’s not a choice, it’s a destiny. Once I realised this, I made it my duty to create a program that would make the writing process a lot smoother, and a lot more fun.
A writer will always be a writer – it’s not a choice, it’s a destiny by @thatwritergirl on @ArtistStrong – (Tweet Me!)
Carrie: What’s one piece of advice or practice in the Authorship Program® that you find indispensable for your own creative practice? You can empower yourself through the intentional absence of negativity. When you talk about your favourite celebrities or role models, your brain makes an intentional, conscious decision to omit anything negative about them. This isn’t to say that they don’t have any negative qualities, but their negative qualities just don’t matter to you, right? You empower yourself when you learn to talk, and think about yourself without negativity in the same way. There’s so much more to you than what you believe to be “bad” or “wrong” about yourself, so train yourself to replace the negative words in your life that drag you down, with words that lift you up. (Great question, by the way!)
You can empower yourself through the intentional absence of negativity by @thatwritergirl on @ArtistStrong – (Tweet Me!)
Carrie: How do your interests outside of the arts fuel your writing? I have an all-round enthusiasm and love for life, so everything is fuel for my writing. Like I said before, reading is essential – but I also love to travel and meet new people whenever I can.
Carrie: How do you know when a writing is finished? I think it was Oscar Wilde that said, “Book are never finished. They are merely abandoned,” and that’s how I feel about the whole thing. The spelling and grammar can be checked, and the editing completed, but there’s always more to say. Fortunately, that’s a good thing!
Carrie: Are there other projects in the works at the moment? Absolutely. I’m going back to my first love – fiction – and finishing off a novel I’m had in the drawer for a while. It’s called “Evita”, and it’s about a silver-screen actress turned serial murderess.
Carrie: How has social media and the internet helped you as a creative? I would be nothing without it! I’m an introvert by nature, and so, the internet is my soapbox. I’m eternally grateful for the platform it has given me so I’m able to reach new audiences and meet generous new people (such as yourself!) every single day.
Carrie: What is your suggestion for people who feel “blocked?” There’s no such thing as writer’s block. It is simply a type of fear, that gets stronger every time you call it by this name, because it feeds off your belief in it. When you’re ready, the words will come.
Carrie: What is one struggle you’ve faced as a writer and how have you overcome it? I used to struggle with putting my work out there, for fear of “trolls” or people who just generally didn’t agree. I used to second-guess every word I wrote, tiptoeing around subjects I cared about, worried about offending anyone. One day you just realise that by hiding your true self, you might be avoiding the trolls, but you’re also preventing the people who would love your voice from finding you. And that, is well worth the risk.
Carrie: How do you define Creativity? Your soul’s fingerprint.
Creativity is Your soul’s fingerprint by @thatwritergirl on @ArtistStrong – (Tweet Me!)
BE COURAGEOUSLY CREATIVE: How do you develop and maintain your courage to share your voice? Share in the comments below.
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