Most of us have been led to believe that writing is a skill, and it’s something you either have - or you don’t. Terri Trespicio disagrees… and after this conversation, you probably will too.
“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.”
— Joan Didion, “Why I Write,” 1976
There’s no such thing as writer’s block, she says. There’s just the desire to write — and the desire to be right. If your fear of being wrong overrides everything else, you won’t write. That’s it.
In this episode
We tackle some of the biggest myths & misconceptions around writing as a creative form of expression, including:
Writing is for writers.
It belongs to a specific kind of person — someone who majored in it or gets paid for it. The label “I’m not a writer” is just a permission slip not to do something you actually need to do.
You need to know what you think before you write it down.
People wait for clarity before they’ll pick up the pen. But the pen is how clarity arrives. Getting ahead of yourself and deciding there’s nothing there — before you’ve even looked — is how the creative fire goes out.
The point of writing is the finished piece.
The moment you think like a factory — the only point being the product — you’ve killed the thing that makes writing worth doing. The output is always a by-product. The act improves how you think and how you stay creatively alive.
As well as…
Why there’s no such thing as writer’s block.
Writing as a physical act, not a mental one.
The inner critic — why you can’t get rid of it and the one exercise that finally gives it somewhere to go.
How AI can enhance your creativity without replacing your voice.
How writing underpins every single phase of The Growth Cycle™ — not just the creative ones.
What the New Rules Studio is and why you need to check it out!
About Terri Trespicio:
Terri Trespicio is an award-winning writer, speaker, and author of Unfollow Your Passion (Atria/Simon & Schuster). Her TEDx talk “Stop Searching for Your Passion” has been watched over 8 million times. She is the founder of New Rules Studio — a live virtual writing membership built on the Gateless Method, now in its third year.
Try New Rules Studio Use code KATE50 for $50 off
About Kate Vanden Bos:
Kate Vanden Bos is an intuitive consultant, coach, and creator of The Growth Cycle™ — a personal evolution framework built on your natural cycles and seasons. Find out more at MyGrowthCycle.com
Life: By Design • Going Deeper is the Guest Series for women who are done living by default, and are ready to design the life they want instead.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GROWTH CYCLE
Everything we talked about in this episode is exactly why I created The Growth Cycle™. It’s a 12-phase map to guide your own evolution - and once you have it, you’ll wonder how you navigated without it.
→ MyGrowthCycle.com
© 2025–present Katherine Vanden Bos. All rights reserved. The Growth Cycle™ is a trademark of Katherine Vanden Bos. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without prior written permission. Content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute professional medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. This content may not be used to train artificial intelligence or machine learning models.
Life: By Design | katevandenbos.com
