In my input era
The most creative week of my year, and questions for your slow work of becoming.
I’ve long known this year would be an input year.
In Tarot, 2025 is a collective Hermit year, which stands for introspection, or, for me, leaning into an internal journey and leaning on my High Priestess. During my Hermit year, the pilgrimage is the point.
My personal Tarot card of the year is the Hanged Man, which symbolizes taking a pause. My brother died less than five months ago, and I’m nowhere near done processing my grief, and what his absence means for me and my family. And I am planning to travel long term in the second half of the year, which will pull me far away from my daily routines — which is exactly what I want. I’m pausing “real life” and rethinking my future, and what I want now.
My 2025 word of the year is WORTHY, and I’m once again reimagining what is worthy of my time and energy in work, art, relationships, self, and world.
Here are the two things that are most important to me this year:
1. Learning more Spanish.
2. Reconnecting to my heritage and family, including my ancestors.
Each year, I attempt to intentionally do some of the things I most yearn for, so at the end of the year I can look back and say, “I really lived it. I’m proud.” When death arrives for me, I wish my soul to be satisfied.
When it comes to work and creativity in 2025, that means building on my Big Fat Freelancer Goal of making more of My Own Money — aka money I make solely off of my own skills and offerings, not for businesses or corporations. Ideally, I’d make 50% of my income on my own, so I’d always have me and my expertise to fall back on.
Thirteen months ago, I wrote here:
My big-picture goal is to make much more of my income under my own name and not rely on media companies that will surely lay me off (or completely go under!) eventually. I want to make six figures. I want to work less while making more. I want to share the skills I excel at with people while inspiring their own creativity. I want to do more of the work I enjoy, which always revolves around reading, writing, and connecting with others.
The good news? I launched my online packages last year! They include instant-buy options for career consulting, editorial consulting, editing, and ghostwriting. Career consulting has been my most popular offer, followed by editorial consulting. I’ve worked with ~10 1-on-1 clients (hello to those of you I’ve worked with who are reading this now, I hope you are creatively thriving!), and I find the work of encouraging others to embrace their creative projects and ambitions so exciting.
The bad news? From a business standpoint, I’m nowhere near the client base I want to have to make these offerings a viable revenue stream. But I’ve got plenty of new ideas for personal coaching, workshops, and group courses streaming through my head.
That’s why, during my input year, I’m making these dreams a reality. I took Q1 off to be still and grieve (and still managed to publish several stories for Vox, HuffPo, Austin Woman magazine, and Tribeza). And in Q2 I backed off writing (and any extra work, really) to zero in on giving myself the support I need to keep leveling up as a business owner.
I joined Cody Cook-Parrot’s Fieldwork, a weekly, three-month cohort of 20 creatives and business owners talking systems, software, money, business plans, and much more. There, I rifled through my dreams, talked over ideas with the brain trust, and trickled things down to a solid to-do list.
(A mantra I learned from Cody: TRUST GOD HIT SEND. Or, the purely secular version, FUCK IT HIT SEND.)
First, I relaunched my lead gen, my free list of 142 of my favorite resources for freelancers. Then, I wrote up the first offers I plan to launch in Q2, all about pitching editorial stories. I got all the feedback I need on these, and plan to tweak and launch them very soon — so watch this space.
I’ve even kind of gone overboard with the input, as I am wont to do — especially during a singular 8-day period I’ll tell you all about. It was some real The Artist’s Way shit!
My hyper input week (and what I learned)
On Saturday, April 12, I attended an all-day, in-person creative workshop centered around Tarot called The Playground, hosted by . This day sparked so many creative imaginings and connections, complete with visits from my younger selves, and even a hand-delivered message from the universe on what the new name of this newsletter will eventually be. I kept having inspired ideas arrive to me all week long after this soul-stirring day.
Key takeaways: I have been holding myself back from creating an offering I am truly excited about — but I am ready to make and launch it now.
On Monday, I recorded a CSBC podcast episode with a decision coach, Nell Wulfhart, who helped me make some daring and important choices about work while I’m looking ahead to travel. (This episode is coming your way soon.)
Key takeaways: I will be quitting a financially important job in order to make space for my travel and life goals later this year. THIS IS A BIG DEAL I’m not sure that I would have arrived at without the initial idea Saturday, then Nell’s soothing guidance!
I attended Fieldwork for two hours on Wednesday, where I received feedback from my cohort on my written pitching offerings, and offered them feedback on their projects in return.
Key takeaways: My soon-to-be-launched pitching offerings are GREAT and READY for the right audience. NO MORE PROCRASTINATING and NO MORE FEAR.
Then, on Thursday, I had 24 hours of Voxer coaching with Amber Petty, which was incredibly useful! Amber is an icon of teaching online classes and making them super fun and valuable, so I trust her implicitly — and she really delivered on the time and attention she devoted to my many, many questions.
Key takeaways: In my perfect working world, I would be tackling three things: creative writing/journalism, my podcast, and supporting people in reaching their creative goals. Amber reminded me that I should always be working on one of my top three creative goals — don’t let anything keep you from them. When it comes to creative offerings, make it as clear as possible what problem you are solving for your client and the clear results and rewards they will receive by signing up. Plus, here’s Amber’s top tip for leading online events: Don’t be boring. Be you plus one cup of coffee.
Finally, on Saturday, I attended a three-hour Ideas Intensive workshop with Ann Friedman, a journalist I’ve looked up to for 14 years, and author Jade Chang. (Check out their upcoming workshops.) There, they shared how to collect ideas, interests, and sparks in one, ongoing place; how to connect those ideas into a coherent project/story idea; and finally, how to develop that idea into an arresting and untold story structure.
Key takeaways: After documenting my creative endeavors through every age, I realized that I have been writing about relationships and sexuality all my life — and I love it. And when you’re feeling less than confident in your writing, let your GREAT IDEA be the thing you stand on and return to.
Now, in general, I don’t recommend packing this many input activities into one week — I was pretty creatively and energetically tapped out by the end. But this was the most creatively charged week of my year, by far. It felt like my brain, body, and soul were dancing in unison, planting wisdom, joy, and energy for me to pluck like wildflowers. It was like my High Priestess (my highest self who resides in the stars, contented and lacking ego) kept whispering down the chutes and ladders of the cosmos, sending off ideas to land directly in my hippocampus, in my heart, in the soft spot behind my ears. I felt in my body what Julia Cameron and Elizabeth Gilbert have been talking about all this time.
I’m in it for the input.
Questions for your own input
What are the top three things I’d like to do/see/create/achieve before the end of 2025?
If I could create my ideal work/creative life, what three things would I most want to work on?
What are the most fulfilling work and creative tasks I already do throughout my week?
What’s a small way I can intentionally do more of those things?
What is a creative project I really care about, but keep putting off? What is keeping me from working on it?
What’s one small step I can take to work on it this week?
What’s my strongest idea I can stand behind even when I’m feeling creatively insecure?
What’s one creative path I’d like to explore that I can gift myself support with? (For example: a coach, a workshop, a course, a class, etc.)
Can I make a deadline for myself to research and sign up for it?
Thank you for sharing - as others have said, this feels really inspiring. Cheering you on, and hyping myself up to get creative on the inputs!
Wow! What a huge week. I’m inspired by you!