Episode 19: Creating vs. Consuming with Jenny Bravo

Author: Ashley Brooks and Abbigail Kriebs
Published: Mon 06 Jun 2016
Episode Link: http://www.chasingcreative.com

Jenny Bravo is the self-published author of These Are the Moments and the blogger behind Blots and Plots, a motivational blog for readers and writers. We're chatting with Jenny about being intentional with your time, balancing creation with consumption, building the dreaded author platform, and crappy first drafts.

Here's where you can find Jenny:

Check out Jenny's website, Blots and Plots, for plenty of writing resources. Don't forget to download your free book at Jenny Bravo Books! You can also catch Jenny on Twitter and Instagram.

Here's where you can find Abbigail:

Website: www.InkwellsandImages.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbigailekriebs

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abbigailekriebs/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inkwellsandimages/

Here's where you can find Ashley:

Website: www.brookseditorial.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/brookseditorial

Instagram: http://instagram.com/brookseditorial

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/brookseditorial

Quotes from the episode

“If you want to write a novel, you really should be writing something

that means a lot to you.” --- Jenny

“Once I made the decision to write something I knew and was confident

in, I went from there.” --- Jenny

“You’re not going to learn how to write a novel until you’re actually

writing through it.” --- Jenny

“[Writing sprints on Twitter] really motivated me to get the writing

done.” --- Jenny

“If you want to actually make all these things happen, you’re going to

have to find space in your day.” --- Jenny

“If it’s something you really want to do and you really care about,

you’ll find the time.” --- Jenny

“We can’t always be consuming stories if we ever want to create our

own.” --- Ashley

“If I’m writing a book, I’m not going to be reading another

contemporary romance book because I don’t want that to filter into my

own writing.” --- Jenny

“Just have some quiet time where you can be with your own thoughts and

not with other people’s thoughts.” --- Jenny

“Consuming too much content can really put us at a disadvantage when

it comes to creating our own.” --- Abbigail

“I like to put in at least an hour of work/writing time per day.” ---

Jenny

“Being honest and having conversations with the people in your life.

Saying ‘Look, this is important to me, and maybe you don’t fully

understand what it is, but I need time to work and to write.’ “---

Jenny

“Being by other people gives you new ideas and new perspectives.” ---

Ashley

“Everyone has a unique experience and relationship with the world. I

would be doing a disservice to people who are reading my book and to

the art itself if I were cocky enough to think I could create

everything on my own and not have this dialogue with other people who

have had way different life experiences.” --- Jenny

“Our first drafts are just going to be really awful . . . After I got

that out of my system, I could write something people would actually

want to read.” --- Jenny

“If you don’t at least start something, you’re never going to be able

to work to improve it.” --- Ashley

On blogging: “I never wanted to be teaching people things that I

hadn’t experienced myself.” --- Jenny

“Instead of focusing on ‘How do I build this big following?’ focus on

‘How do I meet people who are really inspiring, and how do I meet

people I can have honest conversations about writing with?’ “ ---

Jenny

“Those are my two main things: Having a website where people can find

you, and being on Twitter where people can have a conversation with

you.” --- Jenny