Hey there word nerds!
Today we’ll be doing something a little bit different on the show. Usually DIY MFA Radio features interviews with authors and publishing industry professionals, but let’s face it: there’s more to life than writing. In fact, if we want to find success in our careers as writers, we have to think about things beyond the nitty-gritty of writing craft and publishing information.
One of the things that can make a huge impact on our careers is learning how to present ourselves in a professional way, and communicate who we are right from the moment someone meets us for the first time. This is why I am so delighted to welcome Kathleen Audet to the show today.
Kathleen is a brilliant image consultant and is president and owner of Your Authentic Image. She is also a good friend and someone who has helped me turn my own mindset about clothing and image upside down (in a good way). Today we’ll be talking about two different ways that image plays into our lives as writers. On one hand, we’ll discuss how to use components of image to make your characters come to life through description and detail.
But more importantly, Kathleen and I tackle some of those tougher questions about appearance. As writers, it’s easy to fall into the habit of wearing our PJs and bunny slippers work while we hid in our creative caves. But as you’ll learn in this episode, how we present ourselves on the outside is often a reflection of what’s going on inside. By changing our external appearance in small, subtle ways, we can actually start to shift some of those deep-set attitudes we have about ourselves and the world around us.
Listen in via the play-bar below or hop over to iTunes or Stitcher Radio and get the episode on your mobile device. Trust me, this is a juicy one and you won’t want to miss it!
In this episode Kathleen and I discuss:
- Why what we wear is important. Even if we’re just hiding in our writing cave, and no one else sees us that day, what we wear matters.
- The work you do around choosing words that encapsulate your essence. Kathleen has a special exercise to help you choose those words, and we also talk about what to do with those words once we have them.
- Using paint chips to represent different characters. Interestingly enough when you put characters of opposite sides of the color wheel in same scene, that’s usually when tension and conflict happens.
We also talk about how to apply these concepts to your characters on the page. We discuss how to design your characters visually and which details you can include to make them come to life. These details are:
- Clothing, including accessories.
- Grooming, including body hygiene, hair, skin, nail care, and makeup.
- Body language, including figure/body type, posture, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, manners and etiquette.
- Semiotics and how clothing functions as a system of signs.
Plus, Kathleen shares her #1 tip for writers.
About Kathleen
Kathleen Audet is president and owner of Your Authentic Image. For more than 20 years she has been studying color, design and image management. Kathleen’s degrees in education and English form the foundation for her insatiable curiosity about people and ability to teach women on a deeply profound level. Having trained on both coasts of the United States, Kathleen’s image and style evaluations are thorough and comprehensive.
Kathleen received image consultant training from the Conselle Institute of Image Management. She is a member of Association of Image Consultants International. She lives northern Nevada and works with clients locally and around the world through her virtual coaching programs.
Create Your Signature Style
Shrink Your Closet, Expand Your Wardrobe
Whether you’re a business owner, executive, working mom, stay at home mom, retired and loving it, reinventing yourself professionally or personally, actively downsizing, or simply long to enjoy getting dressed in the morning… a few things are certain:
- You communicate volumes nonverbally every time you leave the house – whether you have 8 pieces of clothing, 80, or more, dressing in outfits you love will help you show up as the real YOU.
- Research has shown that holding onto “stuff” ties you down – placing unnecessary constraints on getting dressed in the morning when dressing should be an easy, joy-filled experience.
- “Decision Fatigue” is a real thing – facing a full closet yet having “nothing to wear” forces a less than ideal decision stealing bandwidth instead of starting your day in the best possible frame of mind.
This course is a compassionately-lead, six-week virtual program that supports you to pare down and love up your wardrobe in a way that feels abundant, fulfilling, and freeing. To learn more or get info about when the course opens, head over to: www.yourauthenticimage.com/sign-up-here
Link to Episode 142
(Right-click to download.)
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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!
