Follow Your Curiosity Nancy Norbeck

Domenic Sciortino is a creative powerhouse. By day, he’s a barber. Much of the rest of the time, he’s an artist, musician, and now, a talent buyer for a local entertainment venue in Pennsylvania. Dom was one of my first guests on the podcast, and I’m thrilled to have him back to talk about the intersection of art and commerce, with stops at creative courage (specifically, the courage to fail in and with a crowd), why you should always aim to please yourself first with your creative work (even if you want to sell it), the effects of ignoring our creative call, and just what happens behind the scenes of the performing arts—especially on the money side.
If you missed Domenic's first episode, give it a listen!
Read this week's article, which is a longer look at the potential perils of combining art and commerce. Check out my piece on lapsed creatives, too!
Episode breakdown:
00:00 Introduction
1:04 Creating art in various forms, sometimes successful.
08:29 Billy Joel forgets lyrics, crowd sings instead.
11:23 Sudden insight into creative life force experience.
16:42 Passion leads to happiness and less spending.
24:28 Robots creating art due to cheaper labor.
31:19 Promo highlights importance of arts education.
37:08 Artists deserve better pay and more transparency.
40:05 National touring artist fees are usually non-negotiable.
43:22 Wilco: Warner pushed Americana band, Tweedy went ambient.
50:27 Scarcity and marketing.
53:56 Existence and purpose: the struggle is worthwhile.
59:26 Don't judge yourself by professional standards.
 
Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.
Please leave a review for this episode and in it, tell us about your experience with art and commerce.
If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.
Want more? Here are some handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in music and visual arts.

One of the hardest things to do when we've created something is to leave room for other people to see it through their own lens. I share some thoughts on why it's a good idea to step back, and how to know which opinions are worth listening to, in this short episode.
Could you leave a review? It's really easy, and it helps SO much. Thanks!
Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!
Read this week's article, which is on Failure and Regret.
 
 

On January 3, 2019, I took a huge leap and launched the Follow Your Curiosity podcast. Five years later, to no one’s amazement as much as mine, I’m still going strong. I wanted to look back at what I’ve learned since 2019, so I asked my friend Domenic Sciortino, who interviewed me back then, to come back and do it again. Together, we look at how the show got started, what initially gave me the idea for a podcast, what curiosity is, who my “dream guest” might be, why you should start where you are, and more. 
Episode breakdown:
00:00 Amazed by 5-year podcast journey, started spontaneously.
06:34 Audio editing discovery: listen while doing tasks.
08:19 Podcasting with a full-time job.
12:41 To run ads, or not to run ads?
15:37 Curiosity is asking questions, being connected, wanting to know more.
19:51 Prepare questions but have a natural conversation.
20:56 Explore unexpected places in conversation, be flexible.
27:02 Embracing uncertainty.
29:36 Sometimes things just fall into place.
32:13 Go-to interview example of the podcast.
36:33 Emphasis on untold stories, expanding podcast.
38:02 Creating 1 on 1 program to reconnect creatively.
42:21 How a story about Sam Neill led to the podcast idea.
45:04 Choosing authenticity over conforming to others' expectations.
47:44 Overcoming doubts, starting small leads to success.
I really would love to hear from you! The easiest way is to connect on Substack, but you can also drop me a note here, or on Instagram, Twitter, or BlueSky.
Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.
Please leave a review for this episode and in it, tell us about a time when you took a leap to try something new.
If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.
 

What happens when we let our creativity lapse? You may think there's no effect on us, but you'd be wrong. I explain in this short episode.
Read my article on lapsed creativity here. If you recognize yourself here, I'd love to hear your story and learn from your experience. If you can spare 30 minutes, contact me and we'll set something up!
Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!
Please leave a review, and in it, tell us about a creative dream of yours.
Join my free creative community, The Spark! We celebrate each other's creative courage, and I'll be sharing programs for subscribers and listeners there in the coming months. https://fycuriosity.substack.com

Raquel Drosos started writing when she was five, and has rarely stopped. As a teenager, she wrote and published three young adult novels under her maiden name, Raquel George. Games of Chance is her first book for adults.  She also blogs about parenting and the creative process. Raquel talks with me about the intersection between acting and writing, plotting vs. writing by the seat of your pants, the moment when your characters come to life in your head (which is not a sign of madness!), her next novel, and more. She also shares some excellent advice she got from her dad.
Episode breakdown:
0:00 Intro
01:09 Parents not artists, but innately creative and supportive.
06:02 Writer surprised by interpretation of their play.
09:55 Supportive parents, writing struggles, novel characters reused.
15:38 Mix of planning and spontaneity in writing.
17:20 Two types of writers: plotters and pantsers.
23:09 Feeding creativity through exposure to art and music.
25:14 Observing people, sparking curiosity, fostering creativity.
27:14 3-year-old nephew's wild story about alligators.
33:00 Characters connect through accents, interviews essential for authenticity.
34:10 The sound of words matters to writing.
40:08 Intense family saga vs. immediate relationship novel.
42:54 Encouraged writer spans genres and age groups.
45:13 Describing book as mix of others important.
48:18 Novel: Parenthood, love, creativity, friendship, humor, advice.
51:51 Jotting down scenes and dialogue, then dedicated.
54:56 Character decides to go left, not right.
58:10 Trust your gut and follow your instincts.
Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.
Please leave a review for this episode and in it, tell us about a moment when your creative work came to life for you.
If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.
Want more? Here's a handy playlist with all my previous interviews with guests in writing.

It's easy to think of "normal" as an insult, or at least not something to aspire to. You might want to rethink your perceptions of normal, though. I explain why in this short episode.
Want more tips? Check out this playlist with all my previous Creative Pep Talks!
Please leave a review, and in it, tell us how you embrace normal.
Join my free creative community, The Spark! We celebrate each other's creative courage, and I'll be sharing programs for subscribers and listeners there in the coming months.