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…
3 Ways To Find Your Inner Wisdom
Inner wisdom means knowing you can trust your gut instinct. It means knowing which creative project to work on and which to park for the time being. It will give you the courage to keep working on your art even if it is doesn’t seem rational or your nearest and...
Is It Fair To Make Your Art Your Salvation?
It’s January, the time of year when it is easy to get depressed by your situation and wish that your life were different. If you are having a bad day at your job it is tempting to think how much better it would be if only you could do your creative work full-time....
5 Amazing Things I Learned From Reading “The Artist’s Journey”
Ever since reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield in 2003 I have always been a fan of his work. In his latest book, The Artist’s Journey, he describes the journey, struggles and inner battles that we face in order to bring our art into the world. It was so...
How To Get Started On Your Creative Project When You Haven’t Got A Clue What To Do
For some time now you have thought getting started on a creative project. Perhaps you figure it’s time to write that memoir, make a sculpture or learn a musical instrument. You’d love to be creative but you really don’t know where to start. You haven’t got a clue. I...
How My Day Job Taught Me An Important Lesson About Fear
If you’re a creative person you are probably familiar with the feeling of fear. Fear stops you getting on with your new piece of work. Fear stops you making the phone call that would help build your artistic network. Fear stops you doing the simplest of things, like...
How To Sustain The Creative Process When You’re Over The Initial Excitement
It is so exciting when you start a new creative project. Your juices are flowing. You can’t wait to work on it. Then you start the work. You do some more work. Now some of the initial enthusiasm has worn off. It becomes daunting. Have you even got the skill, or the...
How To Establish A Creative Routine When You Have A Busy Life
You have a job, a commute, family – how are you supposed to find time to establish a creative routine? You are envious of the people who don’t have to do a day job as well as do their art. It’s alright for them to preach that you have to be consistent. They don’t...
Be Honest About Your Vulnerabilities
I think I am a selfish person and that being creative makes you that way. One of my nasty dark fears is of other people’s needs taking me from my work. It's not a nice way to think, but sometimes this panic goes through me. In the last couple of years my parent’s...
3 lessons I wish I’d learned as a 21 year old music student
It is over 30 years since I graduated as a music student. My final year was such a painful experience that I thought I would never play again. A big chunk of the final mark was awarded to our degree recital. I was a flautist and had been preparing for the recital for...
Can your divinity help your creativity?
I’m a Buddhist so you might find it a bit weird for me to talk about the concept of divinity. But this summer it has been my new favourite word. What is divinity? This depends on your religious and philosophical points of view. If you look up “divinity” in the...
Is it better to be half dead from exhaustion or half dead from not living?
You have a job and a family – and a passion for your creative project. You squeeze your creative activity into whatever gap you can find in your schedule whether that is on the train, on the toilet or when everyone else is watching Netflix. You forego social plans and...
Why do we demand perfection from ourselves?
Why do we want our work to be perfect? How is this quest for perfection working out for us? Why do we expect our work to be good, particularly if we are new to our craft? Perfection can stop you creating, make you throw your work in the trash and tells you that you...
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