Subject: Building Creative Confidence in Sci-Fi, Creativity Book, In-person Opp ❤️ 📚

🚀 Empowering you with core principles, mindset tools, and doable roadmaps for science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction writers & creative entrepreneurs serving writers to build your sustainable creative career on your own terms. 🐲

Building Creative Confidence in Sci-Fi, Creativity Book, In-person Opp ❤️ 📚

Let's jump right in!

Weekly Podcast

This week's How To Write The Future podcast episode:

🎧 Ep. 170. Building Creative Confidence in Sci-Fi with Author, Michael Colon https://www.buzzsprout.com/2012061/episodes/17806493-170-building-creative-confidence-in-sci-fi-with-author-michael-colon
- Video version -- visuals are fun! (YouTube)
- Transcript here.

Also in this newsletter:

📚Weekend getaway in upstate New York for avid readers (a friend's event)
🖊️ Call for involvement, a book on creativity (from a friend)
🎉 Happening soon, summit: The Thriving Creative - How to Build a Bold Business That Feels Like You (also from a friend)
☕️ Coming soon: in-person book marketing co-working

❤️

** This email is long, so you may need to click to expand and to read the full email. Or read online.

Friday, September 19, 2025

Hi Friend,

Back in your inbox with news and events.

This week I did 3 podcast interviews and re-recorded a fourth that had sound problems due me being sick last week, and my cat chiming in. (Our cats -- Instagram)

❤️

On to the weekly podcast...

170. Building Creative Confidence in SciFi with Author, Michael Colon

“The Gift from Aelius is a sci-fi tale that explores the meaning of purpose and life and what it means to be alive.” -- Michael Colon

In this How To Write the Future podcast episode, I chat to sci-fi author Michael Colon.

Michael shares:

His journey of creative confidence and authentic storytelling through science fiction.
How his novel explores AI-human relationships with a refreshing, optimistic perspective.
Why he challenges traditional sci-fi narratives while inspiring writers to trust their unique creative voices.

Listen on Buzzsprout

Watch on YouTube

Read the transcript on Writers Fun Zone blog

Apple Podcast

Spotify

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace.

Enjoy!

🤩 Sneak peek

In the next episode, Ep. 171, I talk to scientist-turned-strategist, Ewelina Kurtys, about bio-computing.

⭐️ 🎧🎙️ All previous episodes of How To Write The Future podcast listed here.

❤️

📚 Weekend Getaway for Avid Readers

Weekend geteaway for avid readers, offered by LA Bourgeois, in upstate New York, Sept. 26-29. Perfect for travelers who love to read and want a weekend getaway. Check out all the details here. Space very limited.

❤️

🖊️ Want to be a part of a book on creativity?

My friend and fellow writer Catharine Bramkamp is writing a book on creativity ad needs your help!

She's interested in our compulsion to create as well as how the practice of art improves our lives.

She's asking people to take a five minute survey on your experience and story about your art practice.

She invites you to be as verbose as you like and gives you the option for your story to be featured in the upcoming book, Take up Space (working title), tentatively scheduled for release in 2026.

Go here to take her survey.

More about Catharine here.

Catharine's articles on Writer's Fun Zone blog.

❤️

🎉 A fab event for creatives!

Rita Avellar — writer, filmmaker, and creative entrepreneur.

A filmmaking colleague just let me know about her amazing event. And I had to sign up. (And got the affordable premium pass!)

The Thriving Creative - How to Build a Bold Business That Feels Like You

BTW, I'm not an affiliate, just a participant.

Sign up for the event that's start really soon:

https://www.ritaavellar.com/summit

❤️

☕️ Coming soon! In-person book marketing co-working! Want to join?

☕️ Coming soon!

In-person book marketing co-working!

Want to join?

For years, I've been craving in-person co-working around book marketing.

I get stuff done when I get to meet regularly with my peers.

So soon I'll be co-creating a monthly meeting in my Oakland neighborhood in conjunction with my local California Writer's Club branch, the Berkeley-Oakland branch.

It will probably be an afternoon or evening during the week in the Piedmont Ave. neighborhood.

Question for you:

If you're local, would you be interested in gathering with us?

Let me know!

❤️

Happy Writing!

Best,

Beth

🌟 If you find my resources helpful, please forward them to a friend who may need them too. Thanks!

Beth Barany
Creativity Coach for Writers

Teacher, Speaker, Workshop Facilitator
bethbarany.com

I not only teach and coach novelists, I am one too!

I'm the author of 12 published novels of *Magical Tales of Romance, Mystery, and Adventure* author.bethbarany.com

Into The Black (Book 1) - On sale: $0.99 - limited time only

__________________________

Writer's Fun zone blog by and for creative writers, published by Beth Barany

Subscribe to be notified when each blog post goes live. Or wait for the weekly round-up in this newsletter. *Write for us.

Latest WFZ posts

Support This Creative Entrepreneur

My mission is to support your adventure as a creative and step into your next best self.

If you want to support my mission, I invite you to:

📚 buy my books: Fiction | Nonfiction

☕️ buy me a coffee

Or share my work with your friends. Thanks!

Beth Barany is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy novelist, and certified creativity coach for writers.

She specializes in helping writers experience clarity, so they can write, revise, and proudly publish their novels to the delight of their readers.

Here be the legalese: In connection with the operation of this newsletter and business, Creativity Sparks includes affiliate links to trusted partners. Barany Consulting earns a commission from the Affiliate Links which commission is based on the number of sales that are made as a result of users of the Newsletter clicking over to the Affiliate Link and purchasing from the Affiliate Link a product and/or service. Thus endth the legalese.

I live in the territory of Huichin, part of the stolen land of the Chochenyo Muwekma Ohlone, the successors of the historic and sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County, in Oakland, California, the San Francisco Bay Area. Northern Hemisphere. Earth.

The Solar System. → Carina–Sagittarius Arm in the Milky Way galaxy. Milky Way subgroup → Local Group → Local Sheet → Virgo Supercluster → Laniakea Supercluster → Local Hole → Observable universe → Universe.

I stand with people of Ukraine and all peoples 🎗️ in their fight for freedom from oppression and the right to self-determine. Yes, all peoples. Not just some.

No longer want to receive these writing and publishing tips? I totally understand. Blessings on your path. You can unsubscribe below. However, please do not report us as spam. This negatively impacts our ability to send emails to your fellow subscribers -- the 3,800+ people who enjoy these tips each week -- and I'm sure that's not your intention.