Heather Lee Dyer, Creativity Over Perfection – InnovaBuzz 235
Heather Lee Dyer, Creativity Over Perfection
In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Heather Lee Dyer, who is the award-winning author of the young adult science fiction Recycling Humanity series, Delta Fringe series, and the non-fiction book Creativity over Perfection: The World Needs Your Book! She is also a poet, a space enthusiast and fangirl of most things sci-fi, romance, and paranormal.
Raised in the mountains of Montana on a hippie commune by a single mother who worked for the Apollo program, Heather is just as comfortable hiking in the mountains as she is exploring the downtown streets of the large cities she visits. She’s loved writing from a very early age and says that we should all focus all our energy on what brings us joy.
In our discussion, Heather talked to me about:
- How to get started with anything, by focusing on the joy, rather than the imperfections
- Mindmapping to outline a book or any project for that matter
- How everyone is creative in their very unique way and how to amplify your creative strengths
Azul Terronez on episode 230 introduced us to Heather.
Listen to the podcast to find out more.
Listen to the Podcast
If you are aiming for perfection, you are never going to get there because none of us are ever perfect. @HeatherLeeDyer_ on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To TweetShow Notes from this episode with Heather Lee Dyer, author of Creativity Over Perfection
Key points and takeaways from this episode include:
- Everything you do needs to bring you joy.
- Every business needs creativity. You can’t be an entrepreneur or run a business without creativity.
- Writing fiction is so much different than non-fiction. Non-fiction books are organised differently.
- If you are aiming for perfection, you are never going to get there because none of us are ever perfect. Don’t strive for perfection or you’ll never get it done.
- Even big-name writers and editors have doubts about their writing and if they can keep coming up with new ideas, so can you. Just start writing. Go ahead and write that first dirty draft.
- You can’t edit something that is not there, so just go ahead and write it down. It is not going to be perfect the first time around. You always have to keep learning and keep editing. Whether you are writing a book or building a business, you are always growing.
- Everybody was born creative in some way or another. Anything that makes you think outside the box can make you creative.
- Being creative doesn’t mean that you can do it perfectly. Being creative is simply how you express yourself. There are many ways to find creativity.
- Writer’s block is not a lack of ideas. It is having too many ideas that you don’t know what to do with them.
- Doing something new, especially something that is the opposite of what you do, inspires creativity.
- Traveling and experiencing things on your own get the mind and your creative juice flowing. Take notes on what you hear, what people say, and conversations that may be interesting. You’ll never know how they are going to relate to what you are going to do later but they might be the seed for something as you move forward.
The Buzz – Our Innovation Round
Here are Heather’s answers to the questions of our Innovation round. Listen to the interview to get the full scoop.
- #1 thing to be more innovative – Traveling. Talk to new people. Get out of your comfort zone.
- Best thing for new ideas – Having a mentor.
- Favourite tool for innovation – Scrivener
- Keep project / client on track – Focus and niche down.
- Differentiate – Trust and know yourself. You are the unique person for your business or the book you are writing however you try to differentiate yourself. Be yourself, play on your strengths and don’t try to be someone else.
To Be a Leader
Don’t give up. The difference between people who succeed and those who don’t is that ones who succeed never gave up. Just keep going. If it’s something that you believe in your heart and gives you joy, then just keep going because life is going to happen and you just have to pursue it.
Reach Out
You can reach out and thank Heather through her website, Facebook, and Instagram.
Suggested Guest
Heather suggested I interview NY Times bestselling author, Amanda Turner. So Amanda, keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz podcast, courtesy of Heather Lee Dyer.
Links
Books
Cool things about Heather
- She finished a 50,000 words book in one month.
- She loves Pepsi and traveling.
- She won the grand prize at a national poetry contest for her poem “The Invisible Disability”.