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Randall V's avatar

I have found that some of my most satisfying reads have come from the creative non-fiction genre. Stories about history crafted from diaries, letters, and other documents are the best way to delve into a slice of the past. I encourage you to follow your interest.

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Jess Barker's avatar

Yes, those can be so fascinating and they really bring the stories to life! Thanks! :)

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Maria Garcia's avatar

Loved this piece Jess! Your last question really made me think... I think for me, the equivalent of how you felt about writing would be something on camera for me. It just feels uncomfortable and cringe for me, though I respect/admire it in many others!

Can't wait until the episode comes out, it was so great and insightful to chat about creative pivots with you!! :)

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Jess Barker's avatar

Thanks, Maria!! Honestly, I might be biased but having chatted with you on screen, I fully believe you have a great presence and could totally do well on camera! But I know it can be so terrifying.

I used to always think "I'm a writer, not a talker/presenter" and previously got very stressed about public speaking... until I ended up in a management role at work where so much of my job involved training, presenting, and even sometimes re-watching those recordings. I started off doing little scripts and lots of preparation until I just got more confident winging it. And because it was sort of forced, it got me over the cringe phase pretty fast.

Anyway, all that is to say I'm grateful for that experience bc otherwise I would have never been up for a podcast!! 😱

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Maria Garcia's avatar

Thank you so much Jess, and you're so right! It takes stepping out of our comfort zones to find things we might be good at that we otherwise would have never considered!

(I'm so glad you were up for the podcast! :D)

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