Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Kate Hanley
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Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Finding the Throughline: Conversations about the Creative Process invites you into the minds of writers and other creatives as they open up about their process, their doubts, and what kinds of changes they’re thinking about making. The questions are mildly invasive, honestly, and the answers are unvarnished…and so refreshing!  Whether your creative work is writing, painting, making music, parenting, or simply living, Finding the Throughline can help you get—and stay—inspired. Invigorated, even.  For detailed show notes on each interview, visit katehanley.substack.com. And if you’d like to hear these interviews in one ad-free episode (as opposed to broken up into three shorter episodes with a few ads sprinkled in to keep the lights on), become a paid subscriber once you’re there. .

  1. 12/30/2024

    My biggest takeaways from the last 6 months of interviews + news! And a tiny request.

    As we come up on the end of the year AND this podcast's one-year anniversary, I wanted to share the things from the last six months of interviews that are still sticking with me--a little tour of the a-ha moments and insights that have made a lasting impression. It's a little walk down memory lane, a little like re-reading your journal well after the fact. I also have some news to share and a teeny tiny but very meaningful request to make. PLUS, if you have a writer you'd like me to interview--maybe it's you!--you can message me on Substack (search for Finding the Throughline) or email me at kate@katehanley.com. Thank you as ever for listening! And, this is your last chance to take advantage of my discount code on AirDoctor air purifiers, which work amazingly well at filtering out all kinds of icky things so your lungs don't have to and are whisper quiet. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    19 min

  2. 12/20/2024

    [Laura Belgray, what’s next]: How a distaste for planning and goalsetting has worked out pretty great + the author who most inspires her

    Welcome back to the Finding the Throughline interview with Laura Belgray, author of the national bestseller Tough Titties, a collection of essays that is essentially a permission slip to be a dork, a sometimes-unspiritual slacker, a late bloomer and, ultimately, unapologetically you. Laura is the founder of Talking Shrimp and co-creator of The Copy Cure with Marie Forleo. She has been featured in Elle, Fast Company, and Business Insider, and has written for Bravo, HBO, Nick at Nite, VH1, and more. Today, we find out what’s currently brewing for Laura and what she knows at this moment about where her personal throughline is leading her next, as well as what kinds of things she’s been reading, watching and listening to lately We covered: • Crawling out of a pit of despair after the election results • Continuing to build her email list in the modern world where there are so many more things vying for our attention • How she is not a visionary or planner—yet has achieved many amazing things anyway • David Sedaris as the author who first introduced her to a genre/structure of book that is a collection of essays and also memoir. • Her love of fiction and lack of confidence she will be able to write one someday, though she would love to • How she would love to win Powerball so she could write whatever she wants • How she wouldn’t have written a fraction of what she’d written if she didn’t write as a way to eat and make money • Margot's Got Money Troubles by Rufy Thorpe--the last book that she could not put down. • Spaghettini pomodoro at Scarpetta, with plenty of extra butter Connect with Laura at talkingshrimp.com. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    20 min

  3. 12/18/2024

    [Laura Belgray, inner stuff]: When an editor gives you comments that make you want to cry and shut down all your creativity + crawling out of writer’s block

    Welcome back to the second part of my conversation with guest Laura Belgray, author of “Tough T*****s,” a hilarious, bestselling collection of NYC-flavored life lessons that Laura’s own husband calls a “loser Sex and the City.” Today I’m talking with Laura about what I call inner stuff–the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you’re not fully conscious of it We covered: • How writing a book was one of the hardest things she’s ever done professionally • The tough feedback her editor initially gave her • The aftermath of the criticism that led to crying, pacing, and writer’s block • A friend’s metaphor of mountain climbing helped her to start working on her book • The experience of dealing with anxiety and people pleasing tendencies when writing a memoir • The dangers of self-comparison which can lead to despair and nonproductivity • Learning to borrow from authors she loves without trying to be them or feel disappointed because she doesn’t have the exact same talents they have in the same way Connect with Laura at talkingshrimp.com. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    27 min

  4. 12/16/2024

    [Laura Belgray, practical matters]: How to build a kickass career as a slacker (hint: get paid to do your favorite things)

    This week my guest is Laura Belgray, author of the national bestseller Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You’re the F-ing Worst. Laura is also an internet-famous copywriter, founder of Talking Shrimp, and co-creator, with Marie Forleo, of The Copy Cure. Laura started her writing career at Spy Magazine, New York Magazine, and then VH1 before starting her own copywriting and teaching business almost by accident. That business went on to earn a million dollars the year she turned 50–an achievement Laura wrote about for “Business Insider.” Fun fact: Laura taught Sherman Helmsley, aka George Jefferson from The Jeffersons, how to moonwalk. We covered: • How she finagled a job for herself that involved her watching a lot of TV (one of her favorite things to do) • Why getting paid to ‘’write emails to friends’’ is her dream job • How inspiration comes from writing--not the other way around • The magical powers of writing on the fly • Her morning routine which includes iced coffee, a walk outside, and dicking around • The website she swears by to get her writing every day • How she deals with bouts of talker’s block on social media Connect with Laura at talkingshrimp.com. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    28 min

  5. 12/13/2024

    [Susan Merrell, what’s coming up]: Wrestling with devoting more time to your own work vs. keeping your day job + plus awesome life advice from her friend

    In this final part of my conversation with Susan Merrell (author of Shirley: A Novel, teacher in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at the Lichtenstein Center of Stony Brook Southampton, and co-creator, with the novelist Meg Wolitzer, of the BookEnds Fellowship novel revision program) we talk about where her personal throughline is leading her next and she shares how she’s been writing two different books for the last eight years (OMG). We covered: • Her two current book projects: one about a man haunted by a story he’s read and another about living full-time in a “vacation town” thought to be abandoned in winter • Real estate privilege • The books she includes on her writing syllabus and why • Finding inspiration in everything, including cereal boxes • Giving up the plum nature of her current life vs chasing the dream. • Her friend’s philosophy—whatever move you make tends to be the one your feet took you to • Why silence is her pick-me-up of choice • Her friend’s magnificent roasted chicken Connect with Susan at susanscarfmerrell.com. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    21 min

  6. 12/11/2024

    [Susan Merrell, inner stuff]: Why being a little needy might make you a more prolific writer

    In this second part of my interview with Susan Merrell, author of Shirley: A Novel, teacher in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at the Lichtenstein Center of Stony Brook Southampton, and co-creator, with the novelist Meg Wolitzer, of the BookEnds Fellowship novel revision program, we talk about what I call inner stuff–the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you’re not fully conscious of it. We covered: • Really cool, serendipitous story about how she came to write a novel about the iconic American writer, Shirley Jackson • How she deals with her inner Achilles heel: shame • Meditation as the answer to everything • How the need for validation drives many writers to produce more (this was truly fascination and made me think, hmm, maybe I just don’t have a drive for validation, and maybe that’s not a good thing?) • How teaching students makes her feel ‘’ridiculously happy’’ • How the publishing industry doesn’t necessarily support the right books Connect with Susan at susanscarfmerrell.com. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    25 min

  7. 12/09/2024

    [Susan Merrell, practical matters]: Working when you’re not technically “working” + vomit draft

    This week my guest is Susan Scarf Merrell, author of Shirley: A Novel, which became a major motion picture. She’s also the author of A Member of the Family, and The Accidental Bond: How Sibling Connections Influence Adult Relationships. Susan teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at the Lichtenstein Center of Stony Brook Southampton, and she is the co-creator, with the novelist Meg Wolitzer, of the BookEnds Fellowship novel revision program. Susan’s essays, book reviews and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Washington Post. Fun fact: she brushed her hair and changed out of her sweatshirt for this interview, which inspired me to do the same! We covered: • How she first became a published author as a child • Her mother (Maggie Scarf), a psychology journalist who worked on books about Antarctica and Jane Goodall • Her alternative fantasies to writing, like being a swimmer or opening a bakery • How she was a copy editor in the right place at the right time and talked her way into a job as a research professor which eventually earned her a tenured position • The value of a what she calls a vomit draft • How a lot of the times she’s working on her writing, she’s not actually sitting at a desk and writing—she’s baking, or walking, or swimming Connect with Susan at susanscarfmerrell.com. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    27 min

  8. 12/06/2024

    [Hannah Seliger: What’s coming up]: Why Hannah hopes her upcoming memoir will “piss off the right people” + the books, food, and music bringing her pleasure

    In this final installment of the Finding the Throughline interview with James Beard Award-nominated journalist Hannah Selinger (whose book, Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly, will be released in 2025 and is available for pre-order now), we talk about what’s coming up next for her as well as what she’s been reading, watching, and eating, including: - The badass Martha Stewart documentary - “Health and Safety,” a memoir by Emily Witt, staff writer at “The New Yorker” - Her invention of the term #Scandivol - How “The Real Housewives” series rope you in - Her best friend who gives her major writer’s envy - Her goal to get off the hamster wheel of freelance - Why she hopes her book “Cellar Rat” will piss people off - The most pleasurable books she read this year - An ode to French vanilla coffee creamer, McDonald’s french fries, and the Indigo Girls Connect with Hannah at https://www.hannahselinger.net/ or on Instagram @druishamericanprincess. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    17 min
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About

Finding the Throughline: Conversations about the Creative Process invites you into the minds of writers and other creatives as they open up about their process, their doubts, and what kinds of changes they’re thinking about making. The questions are mildly invasive, honestly, and the answers are unvarnished…and so refreshing!  Whether your creative work is writing, painting, making music, parenting, or simply living, Finding the Throughline can help you get—and stay—inspired. Invigorated, even.  For detailed show notes on each interview, visit katehanley.substack.com. And if you’d like to hear these interviews in one ad-free episode (as opposed to broken up into three shorter episodes with a few ads sprinkled in to keep the lights on), become a paid subscriber once you’re there. .

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