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Always Brave Creative

Fearless Storytelling for Brands and Professionals

Business Tips

January 25, 2021

The Power of Newsletters

Bookplates are restocked! See the link in my bio t

Bookplates are restocked!
See the link in my bio to order a free signed sticker to accompany your copy of Always Brave, Sometimes Kind.

Dear lord, yes. Are you also having a Thursday? Se

Dear lord, yes.
Are you also having a Thursday? Sending love and caffeine vibes ☕️

The candle makes my workspace look really inviting

The candle makes my workspace look really inviting right now, but oh my gosh, it’s so necessary. Guys, something is wrong with this dog 🕯 😷

“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin w

“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

“You can’t have too much dog in a book.” - G

“You can’t have too much dog in a book.” - Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
🐶 Fun fact: Always Brave, Sometimes Kind had already gone through two rounds of edits with professional consultants and was being considered by a literary agent when I realized a dog didn’t appear once within the pages. I rewrote the chapter “Ascension” just so I could include Phoebe. Everything is better with a dog.

💃🏻 Manuscript Consulting Day 💃🏻 I rec

💃🏻 Manuscript Consulting Day 💃🏻

I recently began working with an emerging writer on strengthening her first fiction manuscript - a collection of short stories. Our Zoom-based meetings are quickly becoming a highlight of my week and they feel, in a way, nostalgic.

A long, long time ago, when I was 18 and had just started English classes @northernlakescollege, I remember coming home ABSOLUTELY THRILLED to the tiny basement suite I shared with my boyfriend and a couple roommates. The entire afternoon, my class had discussed books, and the meaning of literature, and symbols, and metaphors, and our character’s psychology.

“Seriously!” I insisted to my then-boyfriend (now husband). “It was so much fun! Like, it’s almost like I don’t even need a social life anymore!”
(He might have been a little terrified. He didn’t know me as well back then. And spoiler: I continued to enjoy a *robust* social life 😂)

And I remember, even on that first day, feeling a little sad because I knew the classes wouldn’t last forever. There wouldn’t always be such passionate debate or delightful revelation. The plan was that I graduated, I’d become an elementary school teacher and while that would be wonderful, it wouldn’t be literature (well, things didn’t work out that way, but I didn’t know it then).

Offering consultation now feels like I’m back in those classes again, exploring dialog and device and a power that’s tough to place one’s finger on, but easy to feel. And what a wonderful thing.

(Interested in manuscript consult? See “For Writers” link in bio)

Today my after school office buddy discovered mech

Today my after school office buddy discovered mechanical pencils. “I love this pencil! If I have this pencil, I will magically love math!”

(Her hopeful attitude is one I’ve shared every time I’ve purchased a sports bra. Alas, I have never magically loved sports 😂)

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Copyright Katie Bickell, Always Brave Creative© 2021