The secret to creative success is not:

  • time 

  • money 

  • education 

  • “talent”

The secret to creative success is process.

All successful creatives — your favorite authors, filmmakers, photographers, illustrators — have a tried-and-true but adaptable creative process that is unique to them. What’s your process?

Identifying Your Creative Heartbeat is a course that will help you develop a creative process so you can live a creative life. Work through 5 engaging lessons and complete worksheets to think through who you are as a creative person.

This course is for...

  • Creatives with big ideas that they want to accomplish

  • Creatives with lots of ideas but who struggle with follow-through

  • People who want to have a creative career and life but don't know where to start

This is a self-paced, activity-based course

Here's an overview of the curriculum

    1. Welcome to Identifying Your Creative Heartbeat

    2. Get to Know the Storytelling Collective

    1. Myths About the Creative Process

    2. Chapter 1 Activity

    1. Your Creative Archetype

    2. Chapter 2 Activity

    1. Your Creative Toolkit

    2. Chapter 3 Activity

    1. Keeping It In Scope

    2. Chapter 4 Activity

    1. Overcoming Creative Obstacles

    2. Chapter 5 Activity

About this course

  • $12.00
  • 13 lessons
  • 0 hours of video content

Plus, your registration includes:

  • Worksheets to solidify your learning

  • Access to a private Discord channel and course Discussions

  • Help and support from your instructor

  • Support, encouragement, and accountability from the StoCo community

Behind the Name

For me, creativity isn’t a siloed part of my life. It permeates everything I do and guides my work and goals. It’s my purpose. Creativity is a steady, resonant thrum that powers my life — like a heartbeat.

I produced this course while taking a course called Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte. I love the name of that course because a) it tells me exactly what it’s about and b) it’s fun and memorable. One of the course takeaways is that creativity is a conversation, and creatives rarely need to start from scratch and can use the work of other creatives as a starting point (note that this is different from blatant plagiarism; it’s about using existing ideas to kickstart your own, not copying). After some musing, I came up with Identifying Your Creative Heartbeat because that’s what this course is about: finding a creative process that works for YOU!
The illustration depicts a woman wearing an orange shirt and dark gray pants. She leans down on one knee as she draws on a wall, drawing a line connecting three gears. In the gears are a search symbol, a lightbulb, and a chart which convey signs of creativity.

About the Instructor

Director Ashley Warren

I'm Ashley Warren, the founder and director of the Storytelling Collective. I'm a former college English teacher, journalist, magazine editor, and literacy research academic. You might know me from projects including Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden; the Uncaged Anthology; The Citizen's Guide to Research; or my company, Scribemind. The one thing that links all of my creative projects is my passion for process and making creativity an organic part of our lives. I know what it's like to be daunted by the creative process, and I'm here to help. I've worked with hundreds of writers all over the world and I can't wait to work with you!