[Lisa] Hi Brooke! Welcome to the first episode of my new blog series, Lisa Chats With! How does it feel to be the first guest?
[Brooke] Hi Lisa! I'm super pumped and honored that you wanted to have on! Thanks so much! I'm really excited for this!
[Lisa] I'm really excited too! My readers haven't heard anything about this series yet, so can I ask you to ask me a couple of questions about it, so I can introduce it to them? Just imagine you're hearing about Lisa Chats With for the first time and want to know more.
[Brooke] Sure! Tell me what Lisa Chats is! What inspired Lisa Chats? And what is your goal for Lisa Chats?
[Lisa] Ahh! Lisa Chats is going to be a series on my blog where I invite creative friends to come on and chat with me about creative life and things related to it. I was inspired by some podcasts and YouTube videos I saw recently. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to do this in podcast or video format, so I'm going for the next best thing. The goal is really to give myself the opportunity to do something that I am really interested in doing more of in the future—to delve behind the scenes into different creative people's processes and experiences.
[Brooke] Wow! That sounds so exciting. I love the idea of a podcast/video, but in blog format. It's so new and keeping up with what's trendy while still blogging, which is definitely a dying medium for sure!
[Lisa] I'm so glad you think so! Before we dive into our discussion, let's introduce you in case someone hasn't heard of you yet. Brooke is the debut author of a very cool dystopian novel called How We Rise, indie published last year, am I right?
[Brooke] Yes! You are correct! As Lisa said, I'm an indie author of a dystopian/contemporary novel, How We Rise, and the sequel which comes this September called United We Fall. (#shamelessselfplug lol) I love to write, read, basically anything to do with literature and words!
[Lisa] I'm so excited for your sequel!
[Brooke] Thanks! I am too. It is definitely one that took a lot of emotional stamina to write because I put a lot of raw emotion into it, haha.
[Lisa] Wow, I'm sure it will stab us all in the feels when it comes out! Can you give us any hints or spoilers or something to keep us in suspense while we wait?
[Brooke] The big thing about this book, is it follows about two weeks after the first book took place, and if you haven't read the first book, friends, you'll want to in order to be in emotional pain (haha kidding but not really) but also for this book to make sense. But it follows closer to Peter's POV and his battle with his emotions, his thirst for revenge, and somewhat of a downward spiral he goes through. I wrote the first draft years ago, as I was battling with heavy depression, and since then, this book has been my therapy to write, so it's pretty close to my heart in terms of the emotional turmoil happening to Peter. But we'll also see more of Spencer's sass, Jackson's snark, and we'll get to see some other characters kind of come into their own and discover who they are.
[Lisa] There you have the premise, guys! Doesn't it sound intense and emotional? This seems to lead perfectly to our discussion topic, which is creativity and mental health, or specifically, what unique mental struggles creatives may go through and how we can deal with them. So, would you consider yourself a mental health advocate, Brooke?
[Brooke] I would definitely consider myself an advocate for mental health! I have struggled with depression and anxiety for a long time and I always want to bring awareness to the struggle it brings for people. I'm also an advocate for suicide prevention. Every life is valuable and important and I want people to know that. Mental health is incredibly important to me.
[Lisa] Mm, yes, I think it's very precious that you are drawing from you own past experiences to encourage others. I've heard you talk a lot about it and your words have definitely raised my awareness!
Here are a few questions for our discussion—what sort of unique struggles do we face as creatives who are constantly trying to make something new, put work out there, and deal with the opinions and judgement of people who see it? Do creative people talk about the behind the scenes struggles enough? How can we take better care of ourselves so that we can do our work better/in a more healthy way? Let's start with the first question. Do you face struggles that are directly related to the fact that you are a writer?
[Brooke] I think my struggles don't have as much to do with being a writer as they do with social media. When you're a writer or indie author, social media is a valuable tool to use, but you can definitely fall in a trap of feeling inadequate compared to people who are doing better than you, selling more books than you, getting more likes than you. But it's important to remember that their journey took years, too. And yours may take time but it's going to come.
Another struggle I've had, more recently, is people in my personal life (not online) looking down on me for my career being an author. I'm young and people think I need to be in college or doing something else. I work, I pay my bills just like every hard working adult. I write and it's not my full time thing. I have a day job. But it can really hit hard in our minds that maybe we aren't good enough if we don't amount to ideas other people have for us.
Thankfully, I know deep down who I am and what I want from this life. And that is to write. To give words to those who don't have them. But not everyone has come into their own. (Totally okay, we all have a journey to experience and learn from.) And it's wrong of other people to basically tell us what we do isn't enough. So long story short, doubts and imposter syndrome are really big in this industry. But it's important that everyone know they are good enough to do this and to keep at it if it's where their heart is at.
[Lisa] Social media is definitely very draining! Not only is comparison a problem, but sometimes if you rely too hard on getting "inspiration" from seeing what others are doing, you may find that your own originality is sapped. I definitely find myself sometimes struggling with this feeling of I'm not doing enough I'm not doing enough I'm not doing enough. My creative outlets are writing and art, and sometimes I feel really drained and like I don't want to do anything anymore.
Also, seeing other people do things so perfectly (or at least, it's perfect from my viewpoint) drives up my own perfectionism. Sometimes I also feel like, "what even is the point of trying to be good at this?" because so many people are doing the exact same thing and have as much talent or more talent than I have. In those times I have to remind myself that it wasn't I who chose my talent—it was a gift given to me.
And I hardcore relate to feeling the pressure of people thinking I should be in uni or working. I'm taking a gap year now that I've graduated, and while I don't think anyone is looking down on me, the very assumption that people hold ("you're going to college, right? or working?") is pressure already.
[Brooke] Absolutely! You said it better than me! My immediate family has been super supportive of my decisions and what I love to do. They don't look down on me. But it's definitely a big thing where people ask "What are your plans?" right out of high school and sorry but 18-19 year old's shouldn't always be making these big life decisions because not all of us have it figured out. (Some people do and power to them!) But people who don't have it figured out shouldn't be shamed. (Also people who change their mind/take a different direction should also not be shamed!)
[Lisa] *high five* couldn't have said it better myself! I realized that I haven't really talked about this before—do you think we talk about the struggles of the creative mental process enough? Is it encouraging or discouraging to hear people talk a lot about mental struggles?
[Brooke] I think people are talking more and more about mental health for creatives and I think that's good. I think we can always talk more about the struggles it brings to be a creative because a lot of times, as writers or artists, we tend to isolate ourselves during our processes and it can become a very lonely job. So, yes it could definitely be talked about more but I think our world is making progress in talking about it.
[Lisa] The creative life can definitely feel isolating. That's why I'm glad I have you and we can have this conversation! Do you have any tips on how we can better take care of ourselves and our well of creativity? Obviously, cut down on social media!
[Brooke] Yes! Unplugging from social media is always good. I've taken a full month away before. It's always a scary thing because you worry about followers leaving, but if they are loyal followers interested in your art, your books, your craft, they will still be there when you return. And you want to have that loyal following, not just people who will unfollow because you don't post every day or every other day.
Another thing is get outside. I'm pretty bad at this, especially when it's hot outside, but getting outside. fresh air. even just going for a quick walk. Sunlight is good for energy and mood boosting.
Spending time with friends and family is important. As an introvert, I'm not one for being super social, but just hanging out with my siblings can often revive me.
And self-care. Taking showers, skin care routine, exercise, drinking water... these are important. Sleep is also important, although I'm bad at sleep too, haha.
[Lisa] I will definitely remember all of your tips in the future! My advice would include having a creative outlet that's just for you! Or it doesn't even have to be "creative". Just do things for yourself sometimes. A place where you let yourself fail or be "bad" without judging yourself! I write angsty poetry. I also want to learn to longboard without demanding excellence from myself.
Take Sabbaths! Or rest days where you can just let yourself be and remember that even when you're not doing anything to validate your worth or existence you're still precious! Just because God says you are!
Talk to God about it a lot! I know not everyone is a Christian like a lot of our circle of internet friends is, but for those who are, talk to God a lot about it and be honest. And just say sometimes, thank you for calling me worthy even when I do nothing.
And of course, remember that life a journey for everyone and even people who look like they have it all together don't all the time! The point of life isn't to try to be as successful as possible as soon as possible, although we often feel that way.
[Brooke] Yes! having a fun outlet that doesn't demand anything from us is super important! And definitely surrendering our passions to God is important, too!
[Lisa] Now for the final segment of Lisa Chats! MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS! You can recommend up to five songs that you have either heard for the first time recently/been playing on repeat this week/will be released soon! What do you want the readers to go listen to this week and why?
[Brooke] I love this part!! So my music tastes are varied and very spread out. You can catch me listening to soft pop or rock music and there usually isn't an in-between but sometimes there is, haha.
[Brooke's Music Recommendations]
- Diving Bell by Starset—because of the lyrics and honestly, it is a meaningful song to me. Also for all you shadow and bone stans out there, this is a Nikolai Lantsov song and I can't be convinced otherwise.
- Gimme a Minute by PRVIS—it's a song about anxiety and needing a minute to breathe and I love it so much.
- Help Me Through the Night by Written by Wolves—another song about anxiety and fear, but in rock form. There are two versions of the song, one with Kellin Quinn which is also good!
- Hourglass by Set it Off—kind of a punk rock song about feeling like falling through life and it's so good. I love their music as well!
- Bringing it Down by Starset—specifically, Bringing it Down 2.0 because it hits different and the lyrics are just perfection. And if all else fails, I always recommend Starset haha. I think anyone who knows me knows that 😆.
[Lisa] Awesome! I'll be sure to listen to these too! I love how you included songs that are relevant to the topic.
[Lisa's Recommendations of the Week]
- Slump by Stray Kids—fyi, there's a Japanese version and English version--I think it describes very accurately some of the things we talked about
- Oh My God by Alec Benjamin—this is also about art block. I didn't know this until I watched some of his behind the song videos.
- Svrcina's Effortless—I was obsessed with Elysian Fields and didn't notice she released more singles.
- B.I's Waterfall album—learned about this singer from my cousin and I love the whole album! Especially the song Illa Illa.
[Brooke] I love Srvcina so much!! I haven't that one by her so I'll definitely have to go listen. And all of these!!
[Lisa] Thank you so much for taking the time to come by, Brooke!
[Brooke] Thank YOU for having me as your first guest! I'm honored! This was really fun. Everyone make sure to follow Lisa's blog because you won't want to miss these posts!!
[Lisa] Haha, yes, please follow me! Brooke, one more thing—please come up with a spur of the moment closing line for us to sign off with!
[Brooke] Ooh okay! Go forth and chase those dreams, lovelies!
[Lisa] Right! Well then ~
Go forth and chase those dreams, lovelies—
~ Brooke and Lisa
