60. Fun & Flexibility with Heidi Fiedler

Season 7

Feb 17

Mary Oliver wrote that “joy is not made to be a crumb,” yet it’s often the first thing to go when we’re prioritizing survival as parents, employees, partners, and human beings witnessing the rupture of the world. But joy, delight, and creativity aren't frivolous. They're essential. Today I’m joined by writer and creative coach Heidi Fiedler to talk about daily delights, creative motherhood, self-publishing, and permission to walk away from our own work.

Highlights

The frustrating (and clarifying) constraints of parenthood
Heidi’s notecard strategy for finding a book’s structure
The power of expanding our identities as writers
Rethinking the need to maximize every second of every hour
Flexibility might be the secret to getting anything done
Why we can’t future-forecast the breaks we need to take when writing a book
How Heidi decided to self-publish (and the disappointments and benefits along the way)
Self-publishing as a sustainable alternative to traditional publishing
Reframing play for adults, especially if you don’t love the word

Meet Heidi

Heidi Fiedler is a writer, editor, and creative coach. She writes books for kids and essays for grown ups. She’s the author of the new book Quickening: The Art of Being a Creative Mother, which is available at helloheidifiedler.com. You can find her on Instagram and on Substack @heidifiedler.