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Embracing Your Inner Artist: Everything Is Weird and Everything (Nothing) Matters
There Is No Right or Wrong Way to Create
Holly Lyn Walrath
September 18, 2026
I’ve been in a creative field since around 2014, when I first moved to Houston. I was fresh out of my Master’s program (online, taken while putting my spouse through grad school). And I knew nothing about the writing or arts communities. I just knew that I loved writing and wanted to do it, in some capacity, having put aside my creative self for about ten years after college.
Now I’ve taught hundreds, if not thousands, of writing students. I’ve had my work win awards, and I’ve been accepted as an artist to major exhibitions. I’ve written three books of poetry and have two more in the works.
All of this matters. When I hit that first milestone of my first-ever “professional” (paid!) publication, I felt elated, but also a bit deflated. What now? I found myself wondering. I moved the goalpost, making a new goal for my work. Then I realized that creative life, if you pursue it professionally, is a series of moving goalposts.
And the thing I come back to again and again is that in the end, no one can tell you how to do this thing called creativity—and no one can tell you how to then disseminate that work to the world.
You can take workshops, you can work with an editor. You can make friends and learn how the ecosystem of whatever chosen creative field you want to pursue works.
But in the end, YOU are the deciding factor of whether you: Finish the story. Write the poem. Publish the book. Make the art. Sell the art.
The world is a strange place to live in. It’s rapidly changing. I’m not just talking about my Least Favorite Topic of Conversation—AI. The social media landscape has changed for creatives. Twitter is dead and TikTok is in. There’s a constant barrage of “You should be promoting your brand!” but also “You should make friends and be part of a community!” and also “You should focus on your work and ignore all that!”
For every “you should” there’s a "you should” that counteracts it. No advice is good advice unless the advice matters to you.
I don’t know about you, but I used to spend a lot of time feeling like I was behind. Like no matter what I did creatively, I would never get past where I am now. The reason that making art feels that way is because creative growth is incremental. I used to see myself primarily as a writer. You may have noticed my language has changed. I’m more open now to seeing myself as something more—not just a writer but also an artist, not just an artist but a creative.
This move toward the visual art field has been fascinating because it’s taught me a lot. Visual artists work on much tighter timelines than writers. Projects are often due quickly, submission calls are short, and sometimes exhibitions require you to drop your art off THE NEXT DAY. It’s higher-stakes but also lower-stakes in some ways, because the art is seen as a growing practice. There’s no expectation for perfect, only where you are right now.
I started out calling this newsletter “The Weird Circular” because I wanted to embrace being a weird writer. Not just that I write weird, strange things. What this meant for me was that I always felt my work was a bit off-balance. It wasn’t one thing or another—my work was a referential, circular dragon eating its own tail. Now that I create visual art, I spend a lot of time sharing it online, which has given me many new perspectives on it.
When I talk to my creative friends, their main struggle is two-fold. Some are great at Getting the Work Done. They can finish a project like nobody’s business. But they struggle on the other side—marketing, promotion, publication, etc. Others are self-admittedly terrible at finishing the project. They have endless folders of unfinished work. Still others are great at self-promotion but seem never to move past the first book they published ten years ago. They stall out, fall out of the community, or move away from creativity altogether. All of this is a way to live in the creative world. All of this is normal; nothing is new. Which is to say, all of it is weird, all of it matters, and yet, nothing matters.
So how do you navigate the world as a creative? Well, in the end, I go back to a few adages that have kept me thriving and that I have built as the cornerstone of my teaching practice. I hope sharing them with you will help you think through where you are and where you want to be in your creative practice—whatever that may be:
Your voice matters. It can feel bleak in today’s creative world. But in the end, your own voice matters. Telling your story—in your style—matters. You matter—you are literally made of starstuff. You are alive today and that is enough.
Every writer has a unique approach to the creative process. For every piece of advice that doesn’t work for you, you’ll find one that does. In the end, it’s more important to do what you love than try to fit into some box. Embrace your process—from chaos to hyperorganizational—and grow through it.
Writing is a personal experience driven by each student’s diverse background. Who you are and where you came from matters. Everyone has their own experiences that fuel their creativity. By being vulnerable, you can connect to your audience.
Innovation comes from experimentation. As Picasso once said, "Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist." Be weird. Let your process be messy. Have too many spreadsheets. Try things out. Change.
I hope this little pep talk has made you feel less weird in this world. I’m here for you, and I’m rooting for you to do whatever it is you want to accomplish with your creativity. Remember:
Love what you write, write what you love.
Upcoming Workshops from Your Host with the Most Writing Prompts, Holly Lyn Walrath
 Sip + Create Goth Night  Journaling for Writers  30 Genres in 30 Days Get ready to discover the magic of different genres in this fun and interactive 30-day workshop tailored for short story writers. Whether you’re into mystery, romance, horror, or science fiction, this workshop will help you grasp the unique elements and essentials of each genre. With 30 engaging prompts, you’ll master how to seamlessly blend popular genre traditions into your stories, no matter if you usually write microfiction, flash fiction, or short stories. This workshop is the perfect opportunity for fiction writers aiming to enhance their craft by gaining a deeper understanding of genres.  Grow with Van Gogh: A 30 Day Creative Challenge Secluded in a small village outside of Paris, the famous impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh spent the final 70 days of his life doing what he loved: painting every day. This remarkable period and astonishing burst of creativity inspires this unique workshop. Grow with Van Gogh is a 30-day challenge for writers, artists, and all creatives looking to generate new work and push their boundaries. This four-week workshop includes a daily prompt inspired by the life and work of Vincent van Gogh. Whether you're putting words on a page, paint on a canvas, or lens to the world, this challenge invites you to show up daily and create. Vincent van Gogh is one of the most prolific and famous artists of all time. He is also perhaps the most misunderstood. A tribute to Vincent’s relentless creative spirit, this workshop takes a close look at the artist while allowing participants to respond to and reflect on van Gogh’s life through their own creative voyage. |  Sip + Create Van Gogh's Sunflowers  Writing the Book-Length Poetry Collection This online poetry workshop is built for new and emerging poets ready to gather their work into a cohesive manuscript. Open to all levels and all genres of poetry, it's ideal for writers who have poems on the page but feel overwhelmed by the task of shaping them into a chapbook or full-length book. By the end of this online writing class, you'll have the skills to move from a folder of individual poems toward a publishable manuscript — and a clear understanding of how to submit and market your book of poetry.  Sip + Create Fifth Ward Art Walk  Sip + Create Holiday Cards Join us for a cozy holiday card-making sesh where you can explore your creative side and make your own poetry-themed holiday cards. In this creative session, we'll use books and texts from the December cultural holidays — Christmas, Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa—to write poems and create our own holiday cards. Learn about the world's holidays, enjoy a cozy holiday beverage, and meet other creatives. |
Self-Paced Workshops (Sign Up Anytime!)
 Self-Paced Course: 30 Poems In 30 Days  Self-Paced Course: Journaling for Poets |  Self-Paced Course: Queer Poetics  Self-Paced Course: Writing Resistance Through Erasure, Found Text & Visual Poetry |
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