Struggling to fit creativity into your busy life?
Daunted by your creative project?
Wondering if it’s all worth it?
Welcome to the Gentle Creative
My name is Cali Bird and I love to give gentle, encouraging advice on getting going with your creative project.
I help people find the time and courage to be creative alongside other things that you have to do (like work or take care of your family!) I’m guessing that you don’t have a trust fund or lots of servants so you are going to have to keep working and/or looking after your family while scratching that creative itch.
Let’s find a way for you to do your creative project in realistic bite-size chunks that fit around the other things you have to do in life.
If you want to write, or make music, or make art, jewellery or crafts (or whatever floats your creative boat) it is easy to get caught up in “will I make money from it?” or “am I good enough?” or “I’m too old to do that”.
Forget all of that rubbish. Get on and create in the best way that you can just for the sheer joy of doing it.
Next Steps…
- Sign up in the box at the top of the page and get the Gentle Creative manifesto. You’ll get some great tips to help you bust through your fears and get creating now.
- Scroll down and read some blogs.
- My latest writing is on Substack. Check out my newsletter over there and subscribe. There are also some links to the articles below.
- Buy the book: Don’t Give Up Your Day Job – Practical ways to lead a fulfilling life and still pay the mortgage. Click on the picture of the book and it will take you through to a website where you can purchase a copy. It’s only £8.99, is an easy read and contains a few exercises that will get you started on a project that will feed your soul.
- Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter by using buttons below.
Check out these blogs to get started on your creative journey…
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Check out my Substack newsletter
I’m not adding new blogs to this website at the moment. My latest writing is on Substack. Check out these recent articles. (You can subscribe and get them straight to your inbox too)
How To Deal With Other People’s Expectations Of Your Writing
Would You Like An Extra Month Of Writing Time?
Are You Tortured Because You’re A Really Slow Writer
Should You Stop Writing Because You’re A Bit Too Weird?
Want An Escape Route From Your Day Job? Your Book Won’t Provide That
Want An Easy And Realistic Way To Achieve What’s Important To You?
The Only Way To Beat Resistance Is To Do The Work
Why It’s Hard To Write, Even If You Really Want To
Writing a Novel Is Like Doing An Archaeological Dig
Do You Want To Smash Your Time Management?
Don’t Shy Away From Tricky Topics
How To Be Content With Your Writing Pace
Do You Need To Lower Your Writing Expectations?
Would You Really Write More If You Didn’t Have A Job?
Is 2022 The Year You Write That Book?
Here are all the older blogs. Happy reading…
Where Do Ideas Come From?
In this week’s episode of Unlocking Big Magic, Lesley and I talk about the Enchantment chapter of the book, Big Magic. This chapter is about ideas: where they might come from, what happens if you act on them and what happens if you don’t. Elizabeth Gilbert talks about...
Unlocking Big Magic – Conversations About Creativity
Welcome to a series of conversations on the fabulous creativity book by Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic. Published in 2015 this book soon became a creativity “bible” for me. Even if you are not a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert’s other books (such as Eat Pray Love) I still...
It’s OK If You Haven’t Achieved Much This Year
It’s my last blog of the year. And what a year it has been! You might have had to home-school your kids. You might have had to fight with your partner to each find a suitable place to work at home. You might have lost work and money and be dealing with the...
Why Are Your Creative Plans Derailed By Fear?
You have an idea for a new project. You’re really excited about it. You can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Your gut is telling you that this is the thing. You can’t wait to get going with it. And then something happens. You get scared or daunted or...
Screwed Up? Don’t Worry, First Attempts Often Fail
It was the morning after the night before. I came downstairs into the kitchen and I could still smell it – my disastrous attempt at making green tomato chutney. Hours of chopping and stirring become sloppy essence of burnt offerings. The saucepan sat on the stove in...
How To Overcome Fear With A Pretend Assistant
If only a creative life meant you could just be creative. But if anyone is going to see your work then you have to do marketing and publicity too. I don’t know about you, but these are the tasks I find both tedious and daunting. You may need to ring a gallery and ask...
How Beethoven Taught Me To Accept My Health Challenges
It was one of those days when I felt unwell. Sometimes it is okay to push on with your work, other days you know it is better to rest. It was the latter for me. I told my boss I was sick, logged out of my work computer and went back to bed. A few hours later, still in...
Are You Ashamed To Be Creative?
As I stood at the coffee shop, waiting for my coffee, tears started to run down my face. I’d been uptight all morning. Life had been so busy. I work part-time in my day job but the work felt like it didn’t fit into my three day week arrangement. I was also supporting...
Stuck? At a crossroads? Emotional Pain? Try Journaling
Are you at a crossroads, unsure which way to turn and going nowhere fast? Are you in emotional pain? Do you need to process something but don’t want to talk to other people about it? Journaling can be a fantastic way to process your thoughts, examine your fears and...
Is Fear Stopping You From Releasing Your Work?
How do you know when a piece of work is finished? When should you make it public? Do you have to make everything public? I wrote this blog because we have a tendency to hoard our work. It is hard to release and let people pass their opinions on it. What if they like...
It’s OK To Create
The world has changed a lot in the last few days hasn’t it? In the UK, everyone who can is working at home. We are being told not to go out and socialise. Pubs, restaurants and shops are closing. Today is the last day of school until God knows when. I had to be in...
How To Focus And Shut Out Distractions
You want to get on with your creative work but your family are going crazy around you. Your phone seems to rule your life. You’ve just read yet another blog which is telling you that you’re doing it all wrong and you must buy a course now for instant success. If your...
Newsflash – Tales of the Countess is published
Yes, at last my debut novel is available.
What if your handbag could talk? What if it could help you sort out your love life?
The book is a romantic comedy about the need to be happy in yourself before you get your man. However, it has an unusual twist. The main character, known just as the Countess, has a collection of handbags that talk. Think Sex and the City meets Toy Story.
The bags, along with her teddy bear, are her chief confidantes who provide the Countess with support and advice as she nurses a broken heart and attempts to move on with her life.
One Amazon reviewer says: “I couldn’t put it down & might even have got a tad emotional towards the end. It’s different, quirky, excellently written & perfect for the times we’re in.”
For more info see www.calibird.com