Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley cover art

Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Written by: Kate Hanley
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Finding the Throughline: Conversations about the Creative Process invites you into the minds of writers and other creatives as they open up about their process, their doubts, and what kinds of changes they’re thinking about making. The questions are mildly invasive, honestly, and the answers are unvarnished…and so refreshing! Whether your creative work is writing, painting, making music, parenting, or simply living, Finding the Throughline can help you get—and stay—inspired. Invigorated, even. For detailed show notes on each interview, visit katehanley.substack.com. And if you’d like to hear these interviews in one ad-free episode (as opposed to broken up into three shorter episodes with a few ads sprinkled in to keep the lights on), become a paid subscriber once you’re there. .Copyright MsMindbody, LLC 2026 Self-Help Success
Episodes
  • [Deesha Philyaw, practical matters]: Making the leap from writing as a hobby, to a way to pay the bills, to a major career Ep 1290

    [Deesha Philyaw, practical matters]: Making the leap from writing as a hobby, to a way to pay the bills, to a major career Ep 1290
    Oct 12 2026
    This week my guest is Deesha Philyaw, who has been called “a bonafide literary treasure” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.Deesha's short story collection, “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” was a 2020 National Book Award finalist, a Penn Faulkner Award for Fiction winner, and an LA Times Book Prize winner.Now, her highly anticipated novel, “The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman,” has just come out. It follows Sharice Freeman, wife of the pastor of one of the largest black megachurches in America, as her hopes of winning the First Lady USA pageant are threatened when secrets from her previous life are revealed.In this lively conversation where we dug into her creative path and process, we covered:- Growing up in the evangelical church- Doing all the “right” things and still being unhappy- Starting writing as a hobby, then getting serious about making money as a writer post-divorce- How she first started writing her brand-new novel over twenty years ago- Her forthright–and funny–motivation for continuing to write- Meeting her agent via a neighborhood potluck- Why writers need to leave the house- The $200 she and her writer friends kept loaning to each other when they were all trying to make ends meet- How she went from a $5000 advance for her first book to a seven-figure two-book deal- The financial realities of a seven-figure deal- Her hard-won time-management strategies- The gadget that prevents her from losing precious hours to social mediaFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 mins
  • Six writers share how they get their writing done Ep 1289

    Six writers share how they get their writing done Ep 1289
    Sep 21 2026
    Welcome to our third and final compilation episode where I share answers from six different writers to just one of my questions from the Finding the Throughline questionnaire. This week that question is: How do you get your writing done?Let's find out how the sausage gets made!Allegra Goodman, Octavia Randolph, Eric J. Dolan, Sheree L. Greer, Susan Scarf Merrell, and Daisy Florin give us a peel at both the practical side of whether they write every day, what tools they use, where they are, what time it is, as well as the mindset side of how they think about themselves and their work that helps them be both creative and productive.I hope hearing these answers will make you want to crack open that notebook or create a brand new document and get going. Or that they help you appreciate a little more the labor that goes into the books, articles, and essays you love to read.The writers you’ll hear from today are a mix of novelists, essayists, historians, and writing mentors. One thing that jumped out at me listening to what they had to say is that everyone’s approach is so individual… which says to me that there’s no one way to get your writing done, and if you have the desire to write, there’s a way for you to be able to do it, no matter your working style, preferences, or tendencies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • Six writers share how they stay inspired Ep 1288

    Six writers share how they stay inspired Ep 1288
    Aug 31 2026
    This week I've got another compilation episode for you to enjoy while I take the rest of the summer off from producing new episodes.In today’s episode, I’m sharing answers from six different writers to the question: What is your favorite part of the writing process? What really lights you up and keeps you going?The writers you’ll hear from today are a mix of journalists, novelists, essayists, memoirists, and historians–and sometimes they tick multiple of these boxes. They include Christine Chitnis, Christopher Castellani, Elizabeth Gonzalez-James, Minda Honey, Kenneth C. Davis, and Lisa See, and I selected this group not just because I loved our conversations and know you will too, and not only because they’re a diverse mix of genres, ages, genders, and races, but also because they were really eloquent about the parts of being a writer that really light them up.As important as I believe it is to talk about the hard things–like dealing with doubt, and finding a way to make money–it’s equally important to focus on the parts you love so much it makes the hard parts easier to handle.Hope you're enjoying the last bits of summer--it lasts until September 21st, despite what the school calendar may say! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    18 mins
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