All this week, I’m sharing excerpts from a book I published a few years ago. It’s called The Artist’s Suitcase: 26 Essentials for the Creative Journey. It’s a short, fun read for all kinds of artists, particularly for writers.

Before I do that, though, I want to give you a quick update on some changes you’ll see here on the podcast beginning December 1.

The Daily Writer podcast launched three years ago, in November 2020. Since that time, we’ve produced well over 1,000 daily episodes and featured about 150 guest interviews.

After talking so much about daily writing and the importance of writing habits, I want to shift the conversation to the biggest point of frustration I hear about from writers, which is how to actually build a business around your writing.

I’m excited to announce that on December 1, we will officially launch The Profitable Writer podcast!

The purpose of the show, as well as a book and membership community you’ll hear about very soon, is to give you the inspiration, motivation, and a clear roadmap to building a writing business that gives you a part-time or full-time income.

The format of the podcast will be different. We will still do a weekly interview, in addition to one or two other episodes per week. But it won’t be a daily podcast. (If you really love the daily format, I encourage you to go back into the archives to listen to any of the 1,000+ episodes we have there.)

You’ll hear much more in the coming weeks about The Profitable Writer podcast. You don’t need to do anything different because it will stay in this same podcast feed. However, you’ll notice a name change, along with new podcast artwork.

As always, thank you for listening, and let’s get into today’s episode.

Here’s today’s excerpt from the chapter, “B is for Blank Page.”

The blank page represents the space where you create your art. It can be a computer, studio, canvas, or a literal blank page. When you look behind the page, you’ll see two creatures: the Monster and the Muse.

First, there is the Monster. The Monster feeds on fear and likes to taunt you with these kinds of thoughts.

• This won’t be any good.
• Nobody likes what you’re doing.
• You’ll never be a real artist.
• When are you going to give up these silly dreams?

Every time you think about quitting, you feed the Monster. Every time you tell yourself your art doesn’t matter, you feed the Monster. Every time you listen to the naysayers and doubters, you feed the Monster. Every time you let your dreams slip out the back door of your life, you feed the Monster.

Steven Pressfield calls this force “Resistance.” In his landmark book, The War of Art, he writes, “Resistance has no strength of its own. Every ounce of juice it possesses comes from us. We feed it with power by our fear of it.”

The Monster feeds on fear. You must starve it to death.

But there is also the Muse. The Muse is a magical creature that brings out the best in you. The Muse speaks words of life, hope, and beauty:

• You were born for this.
• You’re making a difference in people’s lives.
• There are people who love what you’re doing.
• You have amazing potential.

The Muse feeds on faith and it is the wellspring of creativity within you. (As a person of faith, I believe God has an awful lot to do with this.) The Muse gives you the power to inspire, teach, and bless others.

Every time you pick up your pen or paintbrush, you feed the Muse. Every time you put your head down and do the work, you feed the Muse. Every time you improve your skills, you feed the Muse. Every time you serve someone with your art, you feed the Muse.

Look behind every blank page and you’ll find the Monster and the Muse. One feeds on fear. The other feeds on faith.

Which one will you feed?

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I hope you enjoyed that short excerpt from The Artist’s Suitcase: 26 Essentials for the Creative Journey. You can grab the book by visiting https://kentsanders.net/suitcase.