“Anytime I've had the instincts to go towards something . . . that has always come with so many more benefits than something that I've had to talk myself into.” (Interview)
Kara Cutruzzula on Creative Constraints, the Power of Noticing, and Moving Ideas Beyond the "Idea Stage"
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Today’s interview is another oldie, but a goodie.
In early 2020, I had the opportunity to speak with author, editor, and playwright, Kara Cutruzzula — who is also the prolific writer behind another Substack favorite, Brass Ring Daily.
We had an incredible conversation on my then-podcast, Brave Enough to Be, about how to listen and commit to your creative urges, the behind the scenes on how she finds and creates the content that helps her send a newsletter every day, how creative constraints actually give her more freedom, and a lot more.
Given the theme of creativity I’ve been exploring this month, I wanted to revisit and re-share some of the wisdom Kara shared with me back then. Below, you’ll find a few of my favorite thoughts from our conversation — and you can also still listen to the full conversation on Brave Enough to Be.
To learn more about Kara, buy her books, and find links to her work — visit her website, follow her on Instagram, and definitely subscribe to her very inspiring email newsletter!
And now, on to Kara . . .
Listening to the Whisper or Letting Go
I feel like every creative project of mine kind of starts with a little bit of a whisper, like, “Maybe you should do this”, or “Maybe you should do that”, and “Why don't you listen to me?” And then you try to ignore it, and it starts to talk a little louder. And then you finally might make one move towards it and [it] starts shouting like, “Okay, just do this already!” And so finally, that's when you have to commit to it.
But I do think, you know, most projects for a lot of people are prefaced with weeks or months or even years of debate about it, depending on your personality, [and] as someone who can overthink things to into oblivion . . . it gets to a certain point — okay, I either have to do it or completely kind of abandon this idea.
Practicing Craft to Build Confidence
But I kind of thought, “Okay, I don't know where I am right now. Let me just learn and figure out what I'm good at and interested in and really intrigued by — like, the craft of everything.” . . . I think, basically, getting better at something, and actually, just practicing a lot can then help you get the confidence to say like, “Okay, maybe I am a writer.”
The most personal things are the most universal . . . and people can extrapolate that however they want to [in] their own lives.
Using Specificity in Your Story
The most personal things are the most universal . . . and people can extrapolate that however they want to [in] their own lives, because, you know, their minds are going through their feelings of failure or rejection or ambition or deadlines, or whatever it is. So they're going to apply whatever you share to their own lives no matter what. So the more specific you are, I've definitely found that that's a way to build a deeper connection with people who are reading.
Giving Yourself a Creative Bucket to Fill
When I was primarily a journalist, and a writer and editor, I loved writing headlines and deks, which are the sort of sentence lead into the story after the headline. I love this short, snappy copy. All that was really exciting for me to write . . . coming up with puns and jokes and everything. And I’d sort of think, “How could this be applied in other ways?”
And, you know, I loved theater and musical theater, and I would listen to a lot of soundtracks. And I think listening to that urge of “Okay, can I write lyrics?” came from just, like you said, sort of giving myself a clear outlet for it.
I have a notebook that I wrote lyrics in; it gave me a bucket for this [urge], you know? So anytime I opened it, I wrote two sentences or two lines; I would just sort of throw it in there. And I really didn't know what it was; it was just like, “Okay, this is a little creative bucket, let me fill that up.”
Adding Collaboration & Structure to Creative Practice
I think sometimes these creative urges can also really be helped if you have a kind of structure or way to learn. And, for me, taking a class was eye opening because I just realized, this is a craft and this is something that you can learn and practice at. I didn't have to know how to read music or be a composer. I just realized, “Oh, there's a collaborative part of this.” And I could bring experience and my perspective and my voice in this different kind of venue.
And, you know, I have to say, taking a class in — in basically anything — you know, pottery or a language class or, you know, collage making or whatever it is, can just give you the structure and deadlines to complete things. So, by the end of this class, I had written lyrics to maybe six or seven songs, and I learned from this great teacher, Adam Guan, who told us about his experience working in the theater. And that gave me a body of work to be able to submit to something else.
So it was just like this ladder of things; just climbing bit by bit.
if I really want to do this, how can I more deeply immerse myself in it?
Letting What Interests You Lead the Way
Some days you could sort of say, “Okay, sure, I'll take all these creative risks”, and other days, “Why am I even doing this?” But I do have to say anytime I've had the instincts to go towards something — to say like, “Oh, this sounds like an interesting project” — that has always come with so many more benefits down the line than something that I've had to talk myself into.
My newsletter, which started from a small little impulse that the back of my mind was telling me “this might be kind of silly or stupid”, “no one's doing this”, “no one's gonna read it”. I [also] just thought, “Well, I want to do it”. And turns out, it's been the thing that has connected me to more people and given me more opportunities than anything else.
I think just having faith that the little whispers [are] there for a reason, can really help you just move towards that.
Immersing Yourself in Different Creative Techniques
I'll let you in on a little secret, I feel like a total amateur every day because I didn't grow up listening to cast albums and knowing all of the famous shows. And because, you know, I was interested in other things, and that did stop me from thinking, “Oh, I could possibly do this as well.”
[But] I'm just really happy when I'm in the theater. I'm happy to show up there and sit through anything, it honestly doesn't even matter what it is at this point. Because now I just take everything as a way to learn — like, I can identify the technique that actor was using or what's really cool about that set design.
And so for the last couple of years, I've just seen a lot of shows, and tried to treat that also as a kind of schooling myself . . . I just thought, “Okay, if I really want to do this, how can I more deeply immerse myself in it?” So then I can take ideas and sets and different forms of dialogue and different techniques of storytelling — and how can I filter all those things through my point of view and how I want to tell a story?
So both being an audience member and a creator has been really intertwined for me to sort of see what other people are doing and what I might possibly have to bring to the stage as well.
The Act of Noticing & Gathering for the Future
And I think a big part of that is not judging whatever it is that you're noticing. I mean, I have 1,000 things in Evernote right now. And if I said, you know, 500 of those are silly or stupid or might not lead to anything, I never would have written them down, but you don't know what it's going to be.
I was just getting a coffee earlier today. And I heard an interesting little exchange and I was like, “Okay, I'm gonna write that down when I get home.” Because you never know what it's going to lead to.
And I think even just the act of noticing, like you said, and writing it down, reinforces that narrative of this could be something and I'm gathering things for the future.
Takeaways from My Interview with Kara
When trying to follow your creative path, listen to your own instincts and answer the question, “What will be most interesting to me? What is really speaking to me right now?”
If you listen to that little creative urge, trust yourself and act on that — then the next right step will always appear.
Pay attention to what sounds fun as opposed to what you have to force yourself to do.
We have ideas all the time. It's just a matter of noticing them when they come up and not judging what you're noticing — then writing them down so you don't forget.
To get anything creative done, just pick one thing and then pick one thing again tomorrow. Whatever else you still want to create will still be there when you're done.
Listen to the full interview with Kara on Brave Enough to Be HERE.
I'm so happy to revisit our delightful conversation!! And thank you for this wonderful distillation...you've reminded me of lessons I need to relearn right now.
Love this Jenna!! Great reminder 🥰💖 what we are being pulled towards is just as important if not more than what we find ourselves no longer being attracted to. It’s all about listening to the lil nudges within.