Announcing #CreateOScope: A Week Of Periscope Chats With Yours Truly

Here's how things usually work around here: you read this blog, and in doing so, you get these little peeks into my life (or, more accurately, my psyche). Sometimes we talk about silly things like how many pickles I stress-eat while writing (answer: roughly fifteen, on a good day). Other times, we dig into more important topics like how to feel good about yourself even when the world knocks you down and steps all over your pretty, little face. 

Either way, the basic idea is simple: I write words on a page, you read 'em, and sometimes you even provide sweet commentary. It's nice. We've got a good thing going here. 

But this week, we're going to add another layer to this relationship. For the next seven days, you will not only be able to read words written on this here blog, but you'll be able to see the shining face and hear the expectedly baritone voice of the weirdo who writes them. That weirdo is me. 

I'm going to be hopping on Periscope this week for the first time EVER to bring you live-streamed mini-lessons all about creativity and joy interspersed with some peeks into my daily life. I'm calling it #CreateOScope because #christytalksaboutcreativityandlifeandtellsyouallofherdeepestdarkestsecrets was too long.

I've been wanting to explore this platform for a while now, and I figured committing to seven days straight would be a great way to get started. As far as I'm concerned, it's just one more place to connect with the sexy people who read this blog. So sexy people, here's what you can expect in the week ahead:

THURSDAY, October 22 - 8 PM ET 

How to write "morning pages" 

(and why you really really really really should)

Let's start this week off with something hella useful! I first read about "morning pages" in a book by Julia Cameron called The Artist's Way, and it has been one of my biggest creativity game-changers. Morning pages are basically a way of journaling and processing life that will revolutionize the way you approach your creative work. And I'm not someone who throws around the word "revolutionize" so you know this is a BIG deal. If you're struggling to feel inspired or you're losing confidence in your ability to create anything worthwhile, show up for this one and dialogue with me about how to rise from the ashes of a creative block like a goddamn phoenix. 

FRIDAY, October 23 - 12 PM ET

A tour of mi casa: the good, the bad, and the good-god-what-were-the-previous-tenants-thinking?!?!

I've made some recent changes to the landscape in my Brooklyn apartment, and I've also neglected making some changes, but whatever, I'm inviting you over anyway! During this time, I'm going to walk you around my space, talk about what I'm working on, what I will be working on, and if you're lucky, I may even give my cat, Frasier, some airtime. I'll also be focusing a lot on my home office and my thought process behind developing a workspace that's right for you. 

SATURDAY, October 24 - 6 PM ET 

A mystery surprizzzeee

Do I really have a surprise in store or am I just saying I do because I'd like to leave this day open-ended for now? You'll just have to wait and see! 

SUNDAY, October 24 - 12 PM ET 

Q&A Day!

Go ahead! Ask me anything (within reason, ya creeps)! Specifically, I'd love to hear your questions about creative life, but I'm an open book, so whateva. 

MONDAY, October 25 - 12 PM ET

A New York City Field Trip

Hey, I live in the most inspiring city in the world (sorry Des Moines, but you know it's true)! Come on an adventure with me to a fun surprise NYC hotspot. I promise it won't be the food court at Penn Station.

TUESDAY, October 26 - 12 PM ET

How "false starts" are crippling your creative progress (and how to move past them)

Do you ever find yourself saying things like, "Tomorrow is the day that I will finally..." but then tomorrow comes, and instead you decide to delay everything just one more day? This is what I like to call a "false start" and when you build up enough of these, it can be downright debilitating when it comes to actually making progress on your goals. False starts chip away at your confidence, making tough actions all the more difficult and keeping you from the awesomeness to which you aspire. In this chat, we're going to talk about how to cut false starts out of your life completely and how to replace them with really cool actions instead. 

WEDNESDAY, October 27 - 8 PM ET

Announcements! Big ones! Really!

After a week of creeping on my life and working together towards becoming better creative people, this week of Periscope is going to conclude with some exciting news! I'm working on some brand new projects that, trust me, you are going to want to know about. And if that doesn't entice you, just know that I will also be getting SUPER real in this chat. Like, I might even cry. 

If you want to follow along with me this week, you can do so by following me on Periscope (just search for @christyoshoney) or, of course, you can also follow me on Twitter. Even if you don't have a Periscope account, you can still watch the broadcasts, but if you want to interact in real-time and give me a bunch of hearts (and, oh my gosh, of course you do!), then go ahead and download Periscope on your mobile device. The first one will get going tomorrow night at 8 PM (ET).

For links to the replays and updates about this upcoming schedule, be sure to subscribe below (guys, I have an email list now! Join it!). I'll be sending out daily reminders and giving you access to the previous day's chat. Also, as you share these scopes with your followers, be sure to use the hashtag #CreateOScope. And in fact, I've already crafted a little tweet you can send out to your followers right now!

Lastly, remember: these will be live-streamed videos, which means you won't be getting the manicured, meticulously edited version of me that you often find in my writing. Instead you'll get the gritty, sometimes sweaty, real-deal version of me who never uses words like "meticulously" and who will indeed panic openly if there is any sort of technical glitch. It's going to be a blast.

Have you been using Periscope? What's your experience been like?

What's Your Hobby?

I don't remember who it was that set my most recent existential crisis in motion, but whoever it was did so by asking me one simple question: "What are your hobbies?"

I immediately drew a blank. The blankiest of blanks. Hobbies? As in, like, the things I do in my free time? Hobbies, as in amusing activities that have nothing to do with my job, my platform, or my financial security? I mean, writing used to be my go-to hobby, but now it's my livelihood. And I don't knit or sculpt or do zumba or write letters to a pen pal in South America. So...do I actually have any hobbies?

This question haunted me for a while until I approached my husband with it. "You have hobbies," he assured me. "They are just slightly untraditional."

And he's right. And when you think about it, who really has traditional hobbies anyway? Here's a short list of mine:

-Listening to podcasts
-Antiquing (alright, this one's pretty traditional, and by "traditional" I mean that it's what old ladies like to do.)
-Watching documentaries
-Improv, standup, storytelling -- all of the bits of comedy I do
-Reading short stories
-Trying different kinds of ramen of varying levels of spiciness
-Taking pretty pictures
-Singing showtunes in my apartment to the delight of my unsuspecting neighbors

See? I've got hobbies! I'm an interesting person! I swear!

But recently, what I've come to realize is that I have one hobby which really seems to trump all of the others. In fact, I'd say this one crosses the line into passion territory.

Friends, I love to travel. To be more precise, I love to explore. It's just my favorite way to spend my time. In fact, I would say that my heart of exploration is the reason I'm living in New York City right now. Three years I've lived here, and I have never grown tired of discovering all of this city's nooks and crannies. I just love a good nook, and I adore a good cranny. New York has several of both.

And I feel so profoundly lucky to have a best friend who shares this same thirst for adventure. His name is Daniel. He is my husband. And together, we are so committed to a life of discovery that when we decided to move here, it didn't even cross our minds to get rid of our car. In a town dominated by public transportation, we know it's crazy to park our Ford Focus on the street every day, but what can we say? We're explorers.

And honestly, our car (and our flexible schedules) gives us the opportunity to see New York in a way that few people have the chance to. Such was the case this last Monday when I woke up and suddenly asked, "Hey, do you want to go to Beacon?"

The answer, of course, was yes. Beacon is an artsy village about an hour and half north of NYC, and it's been on our list for a while now. We had heard that there is a phenomenal art museum there, Dia Art Foundation, so we set that as our arrival point, hopped in our Focus, and just left. Nothing could have prepared us for how unique Dia was, and the whole town of Beacon was positively brimming with charm. I could ramble on about the events of our day, but a picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it? Man, as a writer, I hope that's not totally true, but still, here are some pictures from the day:

While I love the destinations, one of my favorite things about these day trips we take is the experience of driving. I will never take the experience of driving over the Brooklyn Bridge for granted, nor will I ever feel anything but amazement whenever the landscape suddenly shifts from skyscrapers to mountains. This time, I decided to film our drive to Beacon as well as a bit of our visit to Dia. Warning: I just got this fancy camera, and I have legitimately no idea how to use it, but if you're into the concept of moving images set to an Avett Brothers song, have at it:

I guess I was reluctant to even consider exploration a hobby because, I don't know, it's just what I do. Also, now that I've written it about a thousand times in this post, I think I kind of hate the word "hobby," but that's neither here nor there. Discovering new places truly is the ultimate way to spend my time. It revives me in a way that nothing else does, and if that's what a hobby is, then I guess it's my hobby.

What's your hobby?

My First Vlog!

Today I sat down at the computer and I realized, man, I do not want to write. Like, at all.

But I still wanted to communicate something on my blog because, hey, I love the people who read it. So I started thinking, why not make a video? 

Posted below is my first ever vlog! Forewarning, production-wise, it's a little rough. The top of my head is cut off for most of it, and the sound is meh. Whatever, I'm not Peter Jackson.

When I started rolling, I had no clue where I was going with it, but it ended with my husband and I making bets on whether my mom would use certain phrases during a phone call. Also, midway through, my four-year-old niece shows up on the call to dialogue about the woes of being sick. Note that I've since received permission from my sweet mom to post this (she's a gem, and she actually thinks the concept is hilarious). Enjoy!



Happy Weekend, guys!