Your Creative Midlife
Your Creative Midlife. With host Betsy Bush.
I’m talking to people who are exploring the creative life post-career or as empty nesters: painting, writing, making music, theater, and film making. What about you? Is this the time to write that book? Return to arts you enjoyed as a kid or teen? Curious to try something new?
Here’s the thing: It’s never too late to bring a creative practice into your life. My guests talk about the satisfaction they find as they develop their new skills. They also share the uncertainty and fear they felt when they started and the confidence they gained as they kept at it and their skills developed. Even better: their definition of success is their own. Where do you want to go? Dare to follow your muse.
Have a creative journey to share? Please get in touch via our website contact page, www.yourcreativemidlife.com
Your Creative Midlife
Don’t Wait for Retirement to Write That Book, with Chris Shirley, Award-Winning Fiction Writer
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Do you want to write a book, either now or in retirement? Rather than put off his writing dreams until retirement, Chris embraced the challenges through courses, mentorship, community, and self-education. He went on to write a debut novel and is working on his third book.
Chris’s story offers inspiration, empathy, and encouragement for anyone who dreams of writing but doesn’t know where to start.
About the guest:
Chris Shirley writes contemporary fiction that blends emotional depth with high-stakes storytelling. His debut novel, Playing by the Book (Magnus Books), won a National IPPY Award in religious fiction, becoming the first LGBTQ coming-out novel to receive that distinction. His current novel, Bloody Hell, is an upmarket thriller set in the world of global pharmaceuticals. Before turning to fiction full-time, Chris Shirley led executive communications teams at three Fortune 500 companies—experience that informs the corporate realism of his work.
Links:
About Chris Shirley: https://www.schrisshirley.com/
Chris’ recommendations for books on writing: https://www.schrisshirley.com/books-on-writing
The Writer’s Institute, CUNY: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/writers-institute
Please rate and review on Apple Podcasts. And see more about Betsy Bush and her guests at www.yourcreativemidlife.com. Are you on your own artistic or creative journey? We want to know about you! Please contact us through the website. Dare to follow your muse!