E152 - A Writing Routine that Works. Tools and Tips from Published Author, Jane Ward

A Novelist's Writing Routine: How She Stays Creatively Energized! What does a published novelist's writing routine look like? Jane Ward has written and published four novels, and in this episode she shares her daily writing routine, tools and writing tips that got them finished (and published!) ✍️ If you're working on a book and wondering how published authors get it done, pull up a chair, my friend. In Episode 152 of Create Today, Beth asks Jane to walk us through her writing day, from the moment she sits down to the moment she stops. No fancy software and no secret formula. Just a routine a real person can keep, plus what to do on the days the words won't come. Discover Jane's writing routine:• Her number one writing tool, and why it matters more than inspiration • What her writing day looks like• Why she answers email first, then puts every device away • The one-job laptop• How she wrote when she had a little one at home• Why four or five focused hours is enough • The writer friend who taught her to organize her time and treat writing like a job Tools and tips for the stuck days • Two signs you're spinning your wheels and it's time to step away • Walking for plot problems• Bread baking to quiet a busy brain • A camera for the days words fail• How taking pictures helps her see a scene • Why stopping for the day often solves the problem by morning • How she builds a novel• Starting a book without knowing where it's going The mindset of a published author • Make your writing a priority, even with a house, a family and a very full plate • Not everyone is your reader, and that's good news • Stop measuring yourself against Instagram • Find your people: the writing friends who make the hard parts easier • The kindergarten daydreamer who got scolded• How your "flaw" can become your superpower • Building a writing life from pieces, and being proud of a path that isn't a straight line The proof: Jane's new novel Should Have Told You Sooner is Jane's fourth novel, published in February 2026 by She Writes Press. It's set in the art world and follows a woman in her 50s who returns to London after 30 years and has to face what she left behind. Kirkus Reviews called it "an artful and affecting novel of loss and reconnection." It's the fourth book to come out of the habits she shares in this episode, and a sequel is already in the works. Find it wherever you buy books. Not on the shelf at your local indie bookshop or library? Ask them to order it. Jane's routine touches all four stages of Beth's Going FourWords™ framework: Revive your energy, Realize new ideas, Refine your focus, and Release your work with confidence. So what's one piece of Jane's routine you could try this week, my friend? Tell Beth in the comments! 🌿 Links you'll want from this episode: Grab the free Going FourWords™ Guide: https://www.bdi-create.today Tell Beth about your writing routine: [email protected] Connect with Jane Ward Website: https://janeaward.com Instagram and Threads: @authorjaneward Connect with Beth Instagram: @b.b.buffington_celebratetoday Facebook: BDIcreatetoday LinkedIn: bbbuffington Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BDICreateToday/ Chapters 0:00 Meet novelist Jane Ward 1:00 How she became a writer 2:15 Clues from your childhood creativity 3:30 A life built around making things 4:30 Bread baking to quiet a busy brain 6:00 Walking for plot breakthroughs 8:15 Her number one writing tool 9:00 When words fail, grab a camera 9:45 Making your writing a priority 11:00 Jane's daily writing routine 12:00 Phone away, one laptop, just Word 13:00 Why multitasking hurts your writing 14:15 Stuck, or time to push through? 15:30 Light bulb moments on a walk 16:30 Why stopping for the day works 18:15 Writing a novel during COVID 20:45 Her new novel, Should Have Told You Sooner 23:15 Building a creative career from pieces 27:15 Success, confidence and speaking up 30:00 Find your writing people 31:00 Not everyone is your reader 33:00 Letting go of people pleasing 35:15 Her best advice for new writers 36:00 The daydreamer's superpower 37:15 Stop comparing yourself on Instagram 39:15 How she builds a novel 41:00 There is no one right way to write 42:00 Where to find Jane and her book 43:30 Beth's closing thought Because in Beth's world, everyone is creative.

Spent the whole weekend resting? But... still dragged yourself into Monday feeling foggy and groggy? You’re not lazy, my friend, and you’re definitely not alone. Searches for “no energy” have grown about five times since 2021. In this episode of Create Today, Beth explores with you – the Monday malaise mystery. 
 She shares how a 14-mile bike ride left her upbeat and full of ideas, while a cozy scroll through cute animal videos left her drained. If you’ve been feeling tired all the time, curious about “faux rest” versus real rest, or wondering why when you scroll... it never seems to recharge you, pull up a chair. In this episode: • A tale of two “rest” breaks: a bike ride around the lake vs. a trip down the video rabbit hole • Three kinds of rest: the drain, the pause and the refill, and why only one fills your tank • Why scrolling feels like rest (but isn’t): it’s all about how you get your dopamine. • How the drain sneaks into your bedtime and steals your best refill time • Effort-driven rewards: that little “Ooh, I did that” glow you only get when your hands do the work • Did you choose this show, or did it choose you? A simple check for your screen time • The algorithm spell: how endless feeds erase the stopping cues that tell your brain “that’s done” • The phone charger that isn’t plugged into the wall (and what it has to do with your Monday energy) • What a study of 200+ working adults found about weekends that actually recharge you • Soft fascination, creativity and energy: why the "refill" rest works so well • 7 screen-free refill swaps: The paper and puzzle lunch The jigsaw in plain sight The window sketch (yes, even you can sketch) Ten-minute coloring The button jar game Play, sing or dance to one song The creative prep (your secret weapon against the evening scroll) • How real rest brings your curiosity back, the Realize stage of the Going FourWords™ framework • Draw your rest piechart: what happens when the drain takes the biggest slice • Your one small thing this week: pick it, plan it, practice it Your tank deserves a real refill, my friend. Try one swap this week and check your energy next Monday. 🧩 Links you'll want from this episode! Grab the free Going FourWords™ Guide (with a plan for keeping your energy tank full): https://www.bdi-create.today Try the Going FourWords™ Clubhouse for $1 your first month (pen pals, the Recipe Exchange, Beth’s Best Books Club, quarterly Creative Challenges, monthly meetups): https://www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Missed last week? Catch Episode 150 with Lisa Murphy: https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149277312 Love the hands-on ideas? Episode 149 on analog creativity:https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149274609 Connect with Beth Instagram: @b.b.buffington_celebratetoday Facebook: BDIcreatetoday LinkedIn: bbbuffington Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BDICreateToday/ Chapters 0:00 Why are you still tired on Monday? 0:55 A bike ride vs. a scroll 3:30 A quick note about tiredness 4:55 You’re not alone 5:25 The word rest 6:20 Three kinds of rest 6:35 The drain 8:55 The pause 9:55 The refill: sleep 11:05 How the drain steals your sleep 11:40 The daytime refill and effort-driven rewards 13:20 Did you choose this show? 13:45 The algorithm spell 15:50 Solving the Monday mystery 17:10 Why the refill works 19:05 The Going FourWords™ Clubhouse 20:15 7 refill swaps 20:30 The paper and puzzle lunch 21:20 The jigsaw in plain sight 21:55 The window sketch 22:50 Ten-minute coloring 23:25 The button jar game 23:55 One song 24:25 The creative prep 26:10 Curiosity comes back 27:40 Your rest pie 29:35 Pick it, plan it, practice it 30:20 The Monday test 30:55 Your free Going FourWords™ Guide Because in Beth’s world, everyone is creative.

Midlife Adventures - let’s find one that fits YOU! Is life feeling stale, foggy or burned out? Maybe you're stuck in a rut of same coffee, same lunch, same walk around the same block. Sound familiar, my friend? 🧭 In Episode 150 of Create-Today, Beth Buffington welcomes back vibrant living coach Lisa Murphy, who celebrated turning 60 by hiking about 145 miles around the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. She did this...solo. In nine days. With no earbuds. Here's the best part: Adventure waits for you, too! But, your adventure does not need hiking boots. If you've been feeling stuck in a rut, burned out in midlife, or curious about silent walking and side quests, pull up a chair. In this episode: • Why Lisa skipped the earbuds and chose to "listen to the silence" for nine days • The surprising hardest part of hiking solo at 60 (it wasn't being alone) • The moment she realized, "All I have to do is walk" • How doing hard things can calm your nervous system • Nature therapy: what time outside does for your mood and your immune cells • Adventure in every size: make a quilt, learn to crochet, or eat at a new restaurant alone • Beth's story of a world that got so small, even a train ride felt scary • The autopilot check: are you sleepwalking through your week? • Ritual, routine or rut? How to tell the difference • Why your brain calls the familiar "safe" • Mood follows action: how Lisa went from "I'm not creative" to "I'm a creative" • A simple three-step adventure plan: plan it, prep it, let it go • How trying something new fills your idea well • What's next for Lisa (solo camping and bears are involved) Your adventure is waiting, my friend. Start small, but, start today, and see where it takes you. 🌿 Links mentioned in this episode: Try a Sylva Session with Beth and Lisacreative wellness for your body, your creativity and your community: https://www.bdi-create.today/offers/TYb6qQtg/checkout Send Beth your adventure map (she'll share it with Lisa and you'll get a big cheer): [email protected] Grab the free Going FourWords™ Guide: https://www.bdi-create.today Connect with Lisa Murphy Website: https://lisamurphyllc.com Instagram: @lisamurphyllc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.murphy.kc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-murphy-health-coach/ Connect with Beth Instagram: @b.b.buffington_celebratetoday Facebook: BDIcreatetoday LinkedIn: bbbuffington Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BDICreateToday/ Chapters 0:00 Welcome back, Lisa Murphy 1:00 145 miles, 9 days, solo, no earbuds 2:30 Listening to the silence 5:00 The hardest part (it wasn't being alone) 8:30 "All I have to do is walk" 9:00 Revel in it and build your own data 11:45 Nature therapy and forest bathing 13:45 The adventure high 15:00 Adventures in every size 17:00 Beth's bike tour and the scary train 19:00 Are you living on autopilot? 20:15 Ritual, routine or rut? 21:45 Why your brain fears new things 23:00 Adventure safely 24:15 You just don't know which adventure 26:00 Start small, then grow bigger 27:15 Behavior, belief, identity 28:45 Turn "I have to" into an adventure 30:00 A simple adventure plan 30:30 Sylva Sessions: pick your adventure 34:15 What's next for Lisa and Beth 36:15 Send Beth your adventure map 36:45 Where to find Lisa In Beth's world, everyone is creative. #StuckInARut #MidlifeWomen #SilentWalking #SoloTravel #SideQuest #NatureTherapy #Turning60 #CreativeWellness #GoingFourWords #SelfCare

I dare you to go offline: 7 Analog Hobbies Your Brain Craves Your phone is not the bad guy, my friend. But if your days have quietly gone all screen and with very little offline time, this one is for you. 🎃 In Episode 149 of Create Today, Beth Buffington talks analog creativity: the paper, yarn, glue stick, flour-on-the-counter kind. If you have been feeling the pull toward some crafty hobbies, an knitting, puzzles, painting, baking bread, or anything that gets you off your phone and out of the doomscroll, pull up a chair. In this episode: • How a chili cook-off and a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin, are good for your brain • What an analog clock can teach you about balancing screen time and hands-on time • A no-guilt check-in: what does your digital vs. analog pie chart look like this week? • Why so many people are calling 2026 the year of analog, and what the craft store data says • The science of hands-on hobbies: effort-driven rewards • What handwriting does in your brain Crafting and the relaxation response • A study linking arts and crafts to feeling life is worthwhile 7 screen-free hobby ideas (some free, some small spend):       - Visible mending with sashiko (plus the quilt a puppy named Raspberry thought was a snack)      - Become a backyard botanist with pressed flowers and leaves       - Make a birthday zine starring your friend       - Give your purse a mascot with an air dry clay bag charm       - Shoot a roll on a disposable film camera       - Make a fall simmer pot (kitchen witch vibes, pointy hat optional)       - Start a handwritten recipe box • Why conversation gets easier when your hands are busy • How analog time fits the Revive stage of the Going FourWords™ framework Your one small thing: make a date with one analog activity this week, written on paper Links Try the Going FourWords™ Clubhouse for $1 your first month (pen pals, Recipe Exchange, Beth's Best Books Club, quarterly creative challenges, monthly meetups): 
www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Grab the free Going FourWords™ Guide:
www.bdi-create.today Missed last week? Catch Episode 148 with poetry therapist Bree McLaughlin:
www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149267564 Connect with Beth Instagram: @b.b.buffington_celebratetoday Facebook: BDIcreatetoday LinkedIn: bbbuffington Pinterest: bdiboss Because in Beth's world, everyone is creative. Chapters0:00 Welcome to analog creativity 0:30 Chili cook-off and a many-eyed pumpkin 2:45 What an analog clock teaches us 5:20 Your digital vs. analog pie chart 10:15 Why 2026 is the year of analog 13:10 Inside the Going FourWords™ Clubhouse 16:45 The science of hands-on creativity 19:50 7 analog hobbies to try 20:55 Mend something with sashiko 23:25 Become a backyard botanist 24:25 Make a birthday zine 25:40 Clay bag charms 26:55 Shoot a roll of film 27:55 Fall simmer pot 29:10 Handwritten recipe box 30:40 Better together 31:40 Analog and the Revive stage 33:15 Your one small thing #AnalogHobbies #CreativeWellness #GoingFourWords #GrandmaHobbies #AnalogBag #Doomscrolling #ScreenFree #CozyHobbies #Sashiko #SelfCare

Poetry is having a moment. And your busy brain needs it! ✍️ This week on Create Today, Beth sits down with Bri McLaughlin, LCSW, a bilingual therapist, and poetry therapist in training at Connections Health in Evanston, Illinois. Together Beth and Bri explore how a poem and a few minutes minutes with a journal can calm anxious thoughts, quiet your inner critic, and finally give words to feelings you couldn't name. In this episode, you'll discover: • What poetry therapy actually is (bibliotherapy, ritual, metaphor, and group sharing) • Why you need zero writing experience to benefit • Why reading a poem out loud, helps you feel and find hidden understanding • How a five-minute free write, with no spelling, grammar, or punctuation rules, pushes back on perfectionism • The unsent letter: says the important things you need to say to someone • The bonfire "burn boxes" from one of Beth's creative retreats • What psychologist James Pennebaker's research found when people spent a few short sessions writing about hard experiences: fewer doctor visits and measurable changes in immune markers • How a journaling exercise turns a poem into a mirror for your busy brain’s worries and anxiety • Easy ways to fit a poem a day into your morning coffee or evening wind-down • Why reading slowly matters • Why memorizing one favorite poem provides a comfort blanket you can carry anywhere • A sneak peek at Poems While You Wait, Chicago's typewriter poets who write you an original poem in about 15 minutes Going FourWords™ reflection: this episode is a perfect example Release, the stage where you quiet your inner critic and let go of what's weighing you down, so more of your goodness gets out into the world. Resources mentioned by Bri McLaughlin:   Connections Health, Evanston, IL: www.connections-health.com  Poem-a-Day email from the Academy of American Poets: www.poets.org/poem-a-day  Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's daily poems: www.wordwoman.com 📚 Bri's poetry book picks:  For general life issues:  Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making by John Fox For grief:  Time Will Tell by Courtney Peppernell  Beneath All Appearances: An Unwavering Peace by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: wordwoman.com/books/beneath-all-appearances-an-unwavering-peace For body image and healing from trauma (trigger warning: sexual abuse, intergenerational trauma):  Home Body by Rupi Kaur  The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur  Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur  Healing Through Words: Guided Journal by Rupi Kaur  More from Rupi Kaur: rupikaur.com For women's self-esteem and queer poetry:  The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace: amandalovelace.com Resources for Create-Today 🔗 Grab your free Going FourWords™ Guide: www.bdi-create.today 🔗 Come play inside the Going FourWords Clubhouse ($1 your first month): www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Remember...Everyone is creative, my friend. Subscribe for new conversations about... Creative Ideas for Better Living 🎧 #PoetryTherapy #JournalingForAnxiety #CreativeWellness  

🎁 Grab your guide for tips on creative investing! The Going FourWords™ Guide, is your plan for a growing your creativity: https://www.bdi-create.today/fourwords At 12:01 this morning you got paid. 24 hours, deposited straight into your daily account. Same as me. Same as everyone. So where did all those hours go? 🤔 Some went to sleep, work, and laundry (the beast that will not be tamed). But that little pocket of free time? A lot of it slipps away in five-minute pieces. A video. A scroll. A recipe you'll never make. These minutes (lost)... They never felt like spending. (right?) That's the trick. This week on Create Today, we're treating time like money We're exploring a better question: What if you creatively invested your free hours instead of scrolling them away? In this episode: We look at: • Why you should consider time as a currency • How your daily account is a fixed amount...that never gets a top-off • The surprising research showing our free hours are the ones least likely to refuel us (and that was 1989, before cellphones!) • The miraculous "Flow" state, explained so you can understand • How to get into flow with the "10% stretch" recipe (Goldilocks with a paintbrush) • 3 signs you're in creative flow, • How to tell a deposit from a withdrawal • What 45 minutes of making art does to stress hormones, for beginners and pros alike • Why being creative today makes you feel better tomorrow • The compound interest of creative self care • The "creative hangover" professional creatives get • How to protect yourself from creative burnout • Why doomscrolling is a vending machine snack, and how it's a long-term investment • What the research says about creativity, brain health, and a younger-looking brain • Your Going FourWords™ creative budget: Revive, Realize, Refine, Release • 7 ways to invest your creative currency (mix and match like a portfolio) • Your one small thing this week Time Stamp:00:00 Your daily deposit of 24 hours 03:00 Time is a currency 05:50 Your first deposit: creative flow 08:00 The recipe for flow 09:00 Why free time drains us 10:30 What flow does in your body 12:30 3 signs you're in flow 14:00 How to set yourself up for flow 16:30 Your Going FourWords™ creative budget 19:00 The compound interest of creativity 22:00 The creative hangover (for creative pros) 24:30 Creativity, stress, and inflammation 26:30 Scrolling vs. creating 28:00 7 ways to invest in creative currency 33:00 How to turn deposits into habits 37:00 The ultimate yield: your brain 39:30 Your one small thing this week Create-Today Resources:🎁 Grab your free Going FourWords™ Guide, your plan for a growing creative account: https://www.bdi-create.today/fourwords Get on the Create-Today email for updates on how you can be more creative:https://www.bdi-create.today Remember, everyone is creative, and every creative minute you spend today is a deposit your future self gets to enjoy. Subscribe for a new conversation on creativity, wellness, and self care every week. 🎧 #CreativeWellness #StopDoomscrolling #CreativeSelfCare

Ever catch yourself thinking, "I wish I were more creative"? You've come to the right place.  🎨 My guest Vanessa Harnik is an advocate for creatives and she shares her tips and secrets about how you can lead a (more) creative life. She comes from a long line of artists and makers. She's the granddaughter of abstract painter Paul Feeley and runs a family stationery business. She happily shares she's not very good at all the crafts she loves. She does them anyway. Her secret to staying creative isn't talent. It's small habits and the right people around her. Vanessa's advice for anyone who wants to be more creative: • Start small. • When "be more creative" feels overwhelming, go bite-sized • Write down three things you noticed today (a practice her grandfather gave his art students, and it changes how you see everything) • Try tiny experiments: a small drawing, a little writing, a new recipe • Surround yourself with creative people, and keep meeting new ones • Get out of your comfort zone: travel, museums, live music, even a comedy show • Reach out to someone you haven't talked to in years and tell them what they meant to you Also in this episode: • Why you don't have to be good at something for it to count as creative (yes, "Excel craft" counts) • How to build a creative community: themed dinner parties, • A 15-year crafternoon, and friends you can text at 5 a.m. • Making friends in your 50s (hard, and so worth it) • Why honest friends and advocates make you braver about releasing your work into the world, • The Release stage of Beth's Going FourWords™ framework and how it fits with Vanessa's message. • Getting off the couch when binge-watching is calling your name • How writing a daily Substack helps Vanessa feel less alone, and helps her readers too • The Note Nest: Vanessa's Little Free Library for handwritten cards, and the stranger in Waco, Texas who wants one for his community This week's small challenge: tonight, write down three things you noticed today. That's it. Watch what it does to tomorrow. How to find Vanessa Harnik:Read Vanessa's Substack: https://vanessaharnik.substack.com ✉️ Want a Note Nest in your neighborhood? https://thenotenest.net 💌 Notes & Queries cards: https://www.nandq.com Social Media links: Notes & Queries on Instagram Notes & Queries on Facebook The Note Nest Vanessa Harnik on LinkedIn Instagram reel by Vanessa Harnik Resources for Create-Today🎁 Grab your free Going FourWords™ Guide: https://www.bdi-create.today Join the Going FourWords™ Clubhouse!https://www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Stay in touch with your creativity. Subscribe to the Create-Today podcast!. 🎧 #HowToBeMoreCreative #CreativeCommunity #CreativeWellness

✉️ Think for a moment...it feels sweet to get a handwritten envelope in your mailbox, right?  This week on Create Today, Beth explains the brain health and happiness boost behind writing to...and receiving letters from a pen pal. Letter writing is having a real comeback (Pinterest even named pen pals a 2026 trend), and the research on what a handwritten letter does for your heart, your brain, and your stress levels is pretty wonderful. Grab your favorite pen, my creative friend, because in this episode, you'll discover: • Why a text takes two seconds to send, two seconds to read, and about two seconds to forget • What a slow, handwritten letter gives you that a screen can't • The year-long "Please, Mr. Postman" pen pal study where loneliness scores dropped as people traded one letter a month • What happened when people wrote just three gratitude letters over three weeks (its some good brain stuff!) • The brain science of discovering beauty, and why decorating an envelope counts as making art • Why we worry way too much about our handwriting, our spelling, and whether a letter will feel awkward. • The two 12-year-old pen pals, one in Singapore and one in Newfoundland, who wrote for 43 years and finally met for one giant hug • Seven kinds of people who especially need a pen pal right now, from caregivers and the screen-weary to the quiet ones and the stationery hoarders (you know who you are) • Easy snail mail ideas to get started: one fun card, one small question, one walk to the mailbox • Where letter writing fits inside the Going FourWords™ framework This week's small challenge: pick one person, one piece of paper you love, and write one page. Then mail it and enjoy the wait. 💌 Grab your free Going FourWords™ Guide: https://www.bdi-create.today  Find a pen pal in the Going FourWords Clubhouse (try it for $1, then $9/month): https://www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Subscribe to the Create-Today podcast for a new conversation on creativity, connection, and self-care every week. 🎧

Here's what happens when you just "see what happens". Deborah retired after 38 years in government, tried knitting, watercolor, and acrylics (turns out she’s not a patient painter), and somehow ended up running her own publishing house with two crime-solving cats and a squirrel who thinks he’s a rock star. 🐾📚 This week on Create Today, Beth sits down with Deborah Shoemaker, author, and founder of Feather Mountain Expressions, to talk about what happens when you actually chase the question "I wonder if I could do that?" In this episode, you’ll discover: • Deborah’s own personal spin on Beth’s Going FourWords™ framework and why it took her a full two years to get there (completely normal, by the way) • The “rabbit hole rule” that keeps her Canva and Pinterest and videos from turning into a thousand saved pins she never opens again • How two real housecats inspired Salt & Peppa, a pair of pizza-shop detectives solving mysteries above a Brooklyn pizzeria • How one bedtime story grew into an entire fictional world, squirrel included • What a mentor told her when she got her first online hater and how that one reframe changed how she shows up online • Why she fired an executive coach who told her to “calm down,” • The focus trick she uses to manage her big creative energy (picture a garden hose and 20 buckets) • The telemarketing job that gave her confidence she still leans on today • How she tested her very first digital product by making her own son buy it for a dollar • How she learned about email lists and grew her list from zero to 350 subscribers • How you should be measuring your own creative progress Whatever your version of "I wonder if I could?" is, my creative friend, consider this episode your permission slip to go find out. Ready to get your creativity rocketing to new heights? Get your free Going FourWords™ Guide: www.bdi-create.today Come and play inside the Going FourWords Clubhouse (as low as $1 your first month): www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Meet Salt & Peppa for yourself: https://www.salzandpeppa.com/ Find Salz and Peppa on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SalzandPeppa?section_id=59661031 Loved learning about how you can CREATE-TODAY?Subscribe for new conversations on creativity, connection, and living well every week. 🎧

This week we explore the creativity in sending greeting cards, and the unbelievable goodness they deliver to a chaotic world. Last week we learned about: “Thinking of You Week” (September 21–27, 2026) AND then…how to prepare for the challenge of: 7 cards to 7 people in 7 days. Don't miss Part 2 of this series. This week Beth shares a fabulously fun way to multiply the number of people in the world who will GET a card during Thinking of You Week. Here's the quick peek: Don't prepare alone. Gather your people, and make it a party! Join this conversation as we focus on the GOOD all the Thinking of You cards will shower on our world… You'll discover how you can ratchet up the goodness into a tidal wave of happiness… 🎉💌 The treasures inside this episode: • Why turning your card-writing prep into a Prep Party is a way to have fun AND increase the awareness of Thinking of You Week. • Why a solo good intention rarely finishes the job — and why a "prep party" with your family, friends, neighbors, or book club dramatically increases the odds all seven cards actually make it to the mailbox • Beth's 7 ways to turn your Thinking of You Week prep into an evening people will actually want an attend. From a stationery bar (think coffee bar, but for cards) to turning address-hunting into a group treasure hunt • How to create a party about matching up penpals with another letter-loving friend. And how this can a fun thematic way to support Thinking of You week. • A sobering finding from the U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory on our loneliness epidemic, and why it makes this small gathering even more important! •The published research showing that one act of kindness ripples outward three degrees of separation, and roughly triples in size along the way • A fun thought experiment: what would actually happen if every household in America took on the 7 cards, 7 people, 7 days challenge in the very same week • Why Beth is spending this Saturday with her grandchildren to have a party that will include: cards, pens, and help to get each of her grands create their list of their 7 people. Your homework: Pick a night. Pick your people. Set out some cards, pens, and something delicious, and make getting ready for Thinking of You Week (September 21–27) a great reason to get together with people you love! 
Catch Part 1 – if you missed it! That's where the list-making details are explained and shared. Resources inside Create-Today! Grab your free Going FourWords™ Guide: https://www.bdi-create.today/fourwords Find creative fun inside the Going FourWords™ Clubhouse (as low as $1 your first month): www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Subscribe to the Create-Today with Beth Buffington podcast for new conversations on creativity, connection, and Going FourWords™ with your creativity. 🎧 #ThinkingOfYouWeek #ThinkingOfYouWeekChallenge