A guided 12-week path to uncover a creative voice, shape daily habits, and design a life that feels like home.
Pablo Picasso – “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
This course blends writing, art, and reflection with insights from Simon Sinek, Julia Cameron, Natalie Goldberg, Brené Brown, Don Miguel Ruiz, and Dr. Rangan Chatterjee. Each week invites you to explore creativity in your daily routines, landscapes, and stories. Through simple prompts, sketchbook practices, and daily free-writing, you’ll build confidence, consistency, and a sense of joy with your creative work. Whether you write, paint, or simply want to live with more imagination, this is your map — starting right where you are.
Let’s start this season of creativity by sharing prompts, resources, inspirational writers and artists and thinkers, workshops, and yes, at the end of each publication will be an excerpt or short story for you. I’ll be creating alongside with you, sharing what I learn and hearing from you as well. Right? Yes please, keep me posted as to how it’s going for you too.
Part One: START WITH WHERE YOU ARE
Pema Chodron is a source of many reflections that inspire me. I turn to her books often, or listen to her on podcasts as she focuses so much on kindness and compassion. Her own teacher, Trungpa Rinpoche, often pointed out that we could bring everything we encounter to the path and use it to awaken our intelligence, our compassion, and out ability to take a fresh look. For me, that links directly to what we are doing here, using creativity to connect with ourselves and others. What more could inspire us? A fresh look is at the core of such creativity…even if I’m trying to capture the impression of a tree or a comic sketch of one of my dogs, I’m looking at things, at them, differently. Paying attention.
Julia Cameron teaches that creativity grows when we show up and listen inwardly. Natalie Goldberg reminds us writing is direct connection to the raw, unfiltered world. Dr. Rangan Chatterjee explains grounding routines help creativity flow. Tara Brach describes presence as a homecoming to our natural creativity. These are some of the voices I’ll be referring to over the coming weeks.
Where do you feel most creative?
In the late Eighties, I arrived in New York City with a handful of addresses scattered across the States, a backpack and a few toys. I took trains, buses and hitched my way around, completely open and trusting in the goodness of others and you know what? Everyone stepped up to meet me there, not one shitty encounter only curiosity and generosity. I found that my telling stories of one place to those living in another was my gift, what these good people craved. Personal experiences, commonality across the country. I began seeing myself as a writer again, a photographer documenting lifestyles even as I looked for one that fit me. Experimenting, thinking, “Could I live here?” You know how it is if you like to travel too. I met street performers, radio hosts, writers and journalists, musicians and artists. They took me in and saw me as part of their world, before I knew it myself. And when I was passing through Santa Fe years later on this epic adventure, I found a sense of home, of belonging.
Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist Way and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones were both gifts that changed how I saw myself and how I claimed a creative lifestyle. I’d been doing it but hadn’t thought about it. My hope is that with these weeks of stories and prompts, you’ll recover a playful creativity of your own, rooted in place, in life, in connection.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know how landscape affects all that I do. I’ve lived in the Southwest much of my adult life while leaving for seasons in other environments and styles of home, from a town studio flat in Vermont to write, to a van on the Oregon Coast to edit, to Baja California Sur to explore, to Colorado to paint and how back to New Mexico to share what I’ve learned. I cycle through writer’s block to sleepless nights where the words won’t leave me alone and I end up writing in bed for hours, with dogs curled up beside me, occasionally kicking me in their sleepy adventures. This winter, I’m in a caravan, a small one, set on forty acres out on a mesa with trees, one neighbor and little else. I’m here to work on Rocket, a novel started a few years ago but put aside until recently. I’m also writing this twelve weeks of inspiration to help us all find what it means to live a creative life, to give us direction, mapping ideas and playing with that balance of tension and comfort that pushes us into making changes, expressing ourselves however we want.
My question for you to ponder then is this: What is your relationship to home and creativity?
I’d like you to consider the idea of belonging. “True belonging is not passive. It’s not the belonging that comes with just joining a group. It’s not fitting in or pretending or selling out because it’s safer. It’s a practice that requires us to be vulnerable, get uncomfortable, and learn how to be present with people without sacrificing who we are. We want true belonging, but it takes tremendous courage to knowingly walk into hard moments.”
― Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
And what is creativity if not being vulnerable, exploration, uncovering even with the most playful of cartoons, we are sharing parts of ourselves, of how we see the world. That’s scary. But you know what? Keeping it all locked in is not good for our health.
Is that sense of belonging for you linked to a specific place? A type of landscape or townscape? A building or a home? How can you use that connection to feed your writing, sketches, photos or paintings?
PLAY WITH THE FOLLOWING PROMPTS
- Freewrite over your first cup of coffee with the first words, I remember… Just let yourself write about nothing in particular as words will flow if you let them. These morning pages are just for you and not us. Using that phrase and considering the role of landscape and homes, remember different places and projects.
- Start your day by writing and filling in these three sentences: 1. I’m grateful for…2. I’m looking forward to… and 3. I’m committed to… (see Dr Rongan Chatterjee for his explanations but in short, it’s a way of instinctively knowing what is the day’s priority and how even the littlest things can make us grateful to be alive.)
- Each evening, write for ten minutes about your day and any creative ideas that popped up. Just keep going, keep the pen or fingers moving. Give yourself permission to write pure crap! This is for you not me or anyone else…it’s for you to see what comes up, no expectations, just letting your thoughts out onto paper.
- Backtracking: Look for old photos of the various places you’ve lived over the years. Most of us have moved from town to town, across states or countries and continents even. Create a folder, physical if you’re old like me and have actual photos – or a digital file, and start filling it with places that inspired you to be creative and grateful. Take your time. Pick images that make you smile or sad, that’s okay too. Just by making this Look Book, you are starting to have a source of inspiration to come back to when feeling stuck.
- Walking! yes, get out of the house, off your screens and walk and pay attention. Listen to the sounds. The layers. Then stop and turn slowly, how do those sounds change as your perspective changes? Are these sounds ones that make you relax, feel at home, feel safe, are they linked to your sense of place and connection to the landscape?
- Create a digital file of music that reflects the different places you have lived and how you felt at each home. Take your time and fill it over these two weeks. Make playlists even for different moods and environments. (I have a playlist for a novel set in 1990s East London and listened to it each time revising the manuscript.)
Then, after doing this for the two weeks between prompts, consider these questions:
When you look back can you find the patterns and times you were most creative? or perhaps wanted to be but didn’t feel able? Are there any ideas that keep coming up over these days of writing when you start with this question repeatedly? What do you notice? Any steps you can act on? Recreate from times where you were playing and exploring and creating?
These are things to think about as you move through your days and and below is a breakdown of activities you can do each week since I’ll write another section of the course in two weeks time.
Albert Wendt (Samoa / New Zealand) “We create our lives with the stories we tell.”
Week One
Writing Prompts:
1. Where do you feel most creative?
2. Describe your workspace through texture, light, and sound.
3. What does “home” feel like in your creative life right now?
4. Write about a moment you surprised yourself by making something.
Exploration Habits:
- Movement: A walk noticing textures.
2. Energy: One intentional, grounding meal daily.
3. Stillness: A brief moment of arrival before creating.
Take a Bit of a Creative Wander:
Visit an unfamiliar or overlooked place and note what draws your attention.
Creative Options:
Close‑up photography, a one‑page collage of “home,” or a simple line sketch of your workspace.
Week Two
Like I said, I want you to think about where the work begins —home isn’t a place, it’s the process. As far as Teddy (my puppy) is concerned, napping with him is a serious part of that journey. My mornings start with coffee in bed, writing, then walking my pups. Back in the caravan, I jump on here, check with messages, and then…well, each day is a bit different yet not. There’s always a mix of walking, cooking, painting, fixing stuff, and yes, napping. What’s your process at home? What or who inspires you?
Julia Cameron views daily writing as clearing the path and I strongly recommend you try it. You can play with some of my questions posed here or just free write each morning like I do. It helps empty me out and show what’s lingering. Natalie Goldberg encourages fast, honest, unedited writing and that physical release of writing by hand is even more freeing, it loosens us up to be off screens. Try it. You see, I’ve listened to Dr. Rangan Chatterjee who emphasizes small daily actions supporting well‑being, from how we start our days to the way we think about our relationships to each other, to food, to place.
Writing Prompts:
1. Two 10‑minute freewrites daily.
2. How does my home affect my process?
3. Am I stepping towards the future I dream of and if not, what small step can I take?
4. Describe something ordinary as if it’s brand new. Paying attention to all the visceral nitty gritty details.
Exploration Habits:
– Movement before writing.
– One food this week that fuels you.
– One‑minute breath before freewriting.
Take a Bit of a Creative Wander:
Visit a place you’ve never gone in your neighborhood and simply observe.
Creative Options:
Photo moments of “honesty,” simple line drawings with music, or a journal spread titled “What I noticed today.”
OKAY, go for it. Get creative and enjoy the coming months. And don’t forget, Tara Brach teaches that honest attention is compassion so be kind to yourself and play. That’s all. Just play.
These three months ahead will have short rambles on process, asking you questions, offering assignments and a direction for a creative life. And remember as Pema Chodron wrote, “There’s a richness to all of the smelly stuff that we so dislike and so little desire. The delightful things – what we love so dearly about ourselves, the places in which we feel some sense of pride or inspiration – these are also our wealth.”
Last Thought: Growth begins the moment we soften into where we already are.
Other Resources:
Writing Workshop in December:
If your female character says, “this is also what it means to be a woman” and then does something unexpected, this course is for you! It’s on Zoom with live conversations, writing prompts, sharing more resources related to how we describe our characters inside and outside of Western cultural roles, from walks to reactions to skills to thoughts. We’ll do an eight week deep dive into portraying our narrators in ways that make them unique and compelling. Interested? Sign up here or email me back with any questions.
On Art and Homes:
I miss my home in Mulegé, Baja California Sur, it’s been a great place for me to paint and write over the last few winters. For various reasons, I can’t go there this year and I’m wondering how being in New Mexico will affect my creativity. Will I do more? Less? What external influences will grab my attention? In the meantime, my Mexican casita and those colors and garden were what drew me in, a fenced yard for the dogs, fruit trees, a safe nurturing space for me. I no longer have the original with me, not sure who has it to be honest but I have the digital file and we can download and print copies at home. You can see in my profile a few of the places that inspired me to either paint or photograph. What images do you keep coming back to?
10 Month Writing and Revision Coaching: Live Zoom Calls
(via Tongass Mist and Ruth Underhill)
Join me for this community journey toward publication of your manuscript. Do you have a manuscript you wish to publish that you have been working on for months, even years? Would you like to work on this manuscript with a skilled teacher and supportive writing community? This is for you! Commit to ten months of revision, growth and taking brave leaps toward publication. While we can never guarantee publication, we can guarantee support, accountability and new skills along with forward motion on your goals.
Enjoy the pleasure of friendship and monthly sessions with your 10 month container. Commit to weekly chats with a partner within your group. Enjoy access with your teacher throughout these ten months for manuscript feedback, encouragement and more! Feed you dreams. Help the world hear your story in your unique and important voice. We want to travel with you in this way, will you take the leap? All sessions are via Zoom.
Want Your Own Creativity Coach?
Well, sign up for a free call via LifeCoachhub.com and let’s chat.
Working with me is a conversation — relaxed, real, and focused on helping you reconnect with your creative self. We might talk about writing, travel, belonging, or how to live a creative life that feels true to you. I bring my own experience as a writer, expat, and lifelong explorer, so I understand what it means to build a life that doesn’t fit neatly in the box. I’ve lived this lifestyle moving between cultures and communities, exploring different ways of living, focusing on outsiders and belonging. My British perspective combined with extensive Southwest experience gives me the outsider’s eye and empathy for our common human struggles to belong.
I’m here to help you uncover what lights you up, find direction (not just goals), and take steady, creative steps toward a life that feels like yours.
Cheers!
Discover more from Sarah Leamy
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