Character Development with Suzanne Nugent Suzanne Nugent

“I write about happiness. I write about people who have all the physical things that they could want but struggle finding ways to make themselves happy. I write about all the illusions that we have about what will make us happy.”
In today’s episode, Suzanne talks to New York Times Bestselling author KJ Dell’Antonia about her ever-evolving writing process and the joyful themes that live within her work as an novelist and a journalist. 
About Our Guest:
KJ Dell'ANtonia the New York Times bestselling author The Chicken Sisters, In Her Boots and the forthcoming Playing the Witch Card and former editor and lead writer of The New York Times Motherlode blog. She is also the author of the nonfictionbook How to Be a Happier Parent and the co-host of the #amWriting podcast.

Learn more about KJ | kjdellantonia.com
Follow KJ on Instagram: @kjda 
About the Host:
Suzanne Nugent is the bestselling author of Brunch and Other Obligations and an award-winning screenwriter of heartbreaking comedies and funny dramas.
Learn more | suzannenugent.com
Instagram | @suzannenugent
Medium | @suzannenugent
Contact | hello@suzannenugent.com
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“There were times where I'd surprised myself, where I didn't know where that idea came from. And there were these epiphany moments that became somewhat addictive, and I thought, ‘Wow, I wanna help other people have that experience.’ ”


On today’s episode, Suzanne talks to Director of Executive Education at Stanford's renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Jeremy Utley about innovation, context, and collaboration.


About Our Guest:


Jeremy Utley is one of the world's leading experts in innovation. He's a General Partner at freespin capital and co-author of "Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters." 

For over 12 years, he served as the Director of Executive Education at Stanford's renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (aka "the d.school"), where his courses were experienced by nearly a million students of innovation worldwide. He advises corporate leaders on how to imbed the methods and mindsets of design thinking into their organizations, and works with professionals to cultivate a robust personal creative practice. 

As co-host of "Stanford's Masters of Creativity," Jeremy shines the spotlight on exemplars of creative practice across disciplinary boundaries, from entrepreneurs like Randy Hetrick (TRX) to authors like Kim Scott (Radical Candor) and Daniel Pink (Drive, To Sell Is Human) to corporate innovation leaders like Astro Teller (Google X).

A self-proclaimed “recovering MBA, spreadsheet junkie, and management consultant,” he now studies innovation in large enterprises and startups. He advises CEOs and senior leadership teams in the United States, Europe, and Asia on growth and innovation strategy, and has led scores of capacity-building initiatives worldwide. 

He's a prolific blogger and podcaster, and is co-author (alongside Perry Klebahn) of “Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters.” (Penguin Portfolio, 2022)


Learn more about Jeremy | jeremyutley.design


Follow Jeremy on LinkedIn | @JeremyUtley


On Facebook | @JeremeyUtley


About the Host:
Suzanne Nugent is the bestselling author of Brunch and Other Obligations and an award-winning screenwriter of heartbreaking comedies and funny dramas.
Learn more | suzannenugent.com
Instagram | @suzannenugent
Medium | @suzannenugent
Contact | hello@suzannenugent.com
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“The stories we tell ourselves, that's how we understand ourselves. That's on a collective level. And so it does matter what we put out there and it does matter the process we go through to make those stories.”
On today’s episode, Suzanne talks to writer Kate Van Devender about Sand Mirror, a unique and playful method that sparks intuitive creativity.
Learn more about Kate and Sand Mirror | sandmirror.com
About the Host:
Suzanne Nugent is the bestselling author of Brunch and Other Obligations and an award-winning screenwriter of heartbreaking comedies and funny dramas.
Learn more | suzannenugent.com
Instagram | @suzannenugent
Medium | @suzannenugent
Contact | hello@suzannenugent.com
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“Writing is a solitary act, but when you bring it into a community and use the community to help inspire each other and to help support each other, your own solo voice then has almost like more of a grounding around it. You know, kind of like a flower alone is just a flower, but if you put it in a vase with all the other the branches and the different colors, and a different setting, and a different background, well now, you’re giving that flower a place to really live.” 
- Keren Taylor, WriteGirl
In today’s episode, Suzanne talks to WriteGirl Founder Keren Taylor, who talks about WriteGirl’s mission to mentor girls and gender-expansive teens to express themselves through writing. And how these young women’s self-expression creates impactful changes in their lives and in the world.


About Our Guest:
WriteGirl Executive Director, Keren Taylor, founded WriteGirl in 2001. An afterschool program director and trainer for more than 25 years, Keren has led WriteGirl’s expansion into a thriving community that helps hundreds of youth annually. In 2013, WriteGirl received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the highest national honor awarded to exemplary after-school programs. Under Keren’s direction, WriteGirl has published 38 award-winning anthologies of youth writing, and in 2020, Keren received the Los Angeles Times Innovator’s Award, “spotlighting efforts to bring books, publishing and storytelling into the future.” Keren is a 2014 CNN Hero and has received the Humanitas Prize, the President's Volunteer Call to Service Award and commendations from the Los Angeles mayor’s office. WriteGirl is a founding member organization of the Arts for Healing and Justice Network (formerly Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network) for which Keren has served as a board member. Keren holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the University of British Columbia, a Piano Performance Degree from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, and a Diploma from the American Music and Dramatic Academy, NYC.
Learn more about WriteGirl | writegirl.org
Follow WriteGirl on Twitter and Instagram | @WriteGirlLA 
On Facebook | Facebook.com/WriteGirlOrganization
Follow Keren: Twitter: @kerentaylor | Instagram: @kerentay |Facebook: facebook.com/kerentaylor1111 
About the Host:
Suzanne Nugent is the bestselling author of Brunch and Other Obligations and an award-winning screenwriter of heartbreaking comedies and funny dramas.
Learn more | suzannenugent.com
Instagram | @suzannenugent
Medium | @suzannenugent
Contact | hello@suzannenugent.com
Subscribe to Suzanne's newsletter.

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“I've always been really focused on this idea of like, how do we make meaning, what's the purpose of our lives? …Even when I was in my twenties as a journalist, you know, I like to say that I wrote about how people find meaning in the mundane.”
In today’s episode, Suzanne talks to author Lynne Golodner, who reveals some big news about next steps in her publishing career and talks about how she incorporates travel into her writing life.  
About Our Guest:
Lynne Golodner is the author of eight books and thousands of articles as well as a marketing entrepreneur, writing coach and host of the Make Meaning Podcast. After working as a journalist in New York and Washington, D.C., Lynne returned to her native Detroit to pursue a freelance writing career and teach writing. In 2007, she created Your People, a marketing and public relations company with a focus on storytelling that guides authors in building their brands and marketing their work. Lynne’s writing has appeared in Saveur, the Chicago Tribune, Better Homes and Gardens, Midwest Living, the Detroit Free Press, Porridge Magazine, the Jewish Literary Journal, The Good Life Review, Hadassah Magazine, The Forward, Valiant Scribe, Story Unlikely, The Dillydoun Review, QuibbleLit and YourTango, among many more publications. Plus, one of Lynne’s creative nonfiction essays was a finalist in the Annie Dillard Creative Nonfiction contest at Bellingham Review. Lynne teaches writing around the world, leads writers retreats and facilitates The Writers Community (an intimate 6-month cohort). She also fuses her Marketing expertise with her Writing background in webinars and masterminds focused on arming writers with the tools to market their work and build consistent author brands. A former Fulbright Specialist, Lynne graduated from University of Michigan (BA, Communications/English) and Goddard College (MFA, Writing). She is the mother of four young adults and lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan.
Learn more about Lynne | lynnegolodner.com
Learn more about Scotia Road Books | scotiaroadbooks.com
Follow Lynn: Instagram: @lynnegolodner | Facebook: @lynnegolo | Twitter: @yourpeople
About the Host:
Suzanne Nugent is the bestselling author of Brunch and Other Obligations and an award-winning screenwriter of heartbreaking comedies and funny dramas.
Learn more | suzannenugent.com
Instagram | @suzannenugent
Medium | @suzannenugent
Contact | hello@suzannenugent.com
Subscribe to Suzanne's newsletter.

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“You have to really bet on yourself and believe... For me, writing is a vocation. I don't believe that there's anything else that I would do with the same amount of dedication and the same amount of passion because it feels like this is what I'm here to do.”
On today’s episode, Suzanne talks to Nicole Blades about identity and the tenacity it takes to write novel and run a marathon. 
About Our Guest:
Nicole Blades is a novelist, speaker and journalist. With 20 years in the journalism game, Nicole's work has been published in The New York Times, Runner’s World, Women’s Health, Good Housekeeping, Health, MarieClaire.com, and more. Her three novels, HAVE YOU MET NORA?, THE THUNDER BENEATH US, and EARTH’S WATERS, are out there moving around in this world at bookstores and libraries and on people’s bookshelves, which continues to make her heart sing. 
Learn more about Nicole | NicoleBlades.com
Follow Nicole: Instagram: @nicole_blades | TikTok: @just_blades | Twitter: @NicoleBlades
About the Host:
Suzanne Nugent is the bestselling author of Brunch and Other Obligations and an award-winning screenwriter of heartbreaking comedies and funny dramas.
Learn more | suzannenugent.com
Instagram | @suzannenugent
Medium | @suzannenugent
Contact | hello@suzannenugent.com
Subscribe to Suzanne's newsletter.

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Thanks for listening.