Whatcha reading?

This episode is all about reading, which we all know is crucial for strengthening our writing skills. But there are also some surprising benefits for both our mental and physical health, whether you're a writer or not. We'll go over some of the ways reading can help your writing, as well as all the other benefits that will help make you a happier, healthier person.

We then move on to talk about strategies for fitting more writing into your busy day, and finish up with ten (ish) book recommendations so you can add to your TBR pile and find the next great read to dive into.

Come along to learn all about reading and how to make it work for you!

Resources shared in this episode:

On Writing by Stephen King

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

Apps: Goodreads, Storygraph

Book Recommendations:

Matt Haig: The Midnight Library; The Life Impossible

Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveller's Wife

Emily Henry: Beach Read; People We Meet on Vacation

Carly Fortune: Every Summer After

Katherine Center: What You Wish For

Kristin Hannah: The Women; The Nightingale; The Great Alone

Tatiana de Rosnay: Sarah's Key

Gail Honeyman: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Taylor Jenkins Reid: Daisy Jones and the Six

Lisa Genova: Still Alice

Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl

BA Paris: Behind Closed Doors

Freida McFadden: The Housemaid; The Boyfriend

Ann Napolitano: Hello Beautiful

Liz Moore: God of the Woods

New year, same old me?

If you're starting 2026 feeling a little down, or if you started the year with a bang but are already losing your mojo, then you are not alone. In this episode, we'll go over five strategies to help you out of your January blues, so that you can feel more hopeful and excited about the year ahead.

We then jump into some fun and positive ways to frame 2026. I'll share seven different activities that will help you to create a vision for who you want to become and what you want to achieve, and to focus on all the happy moments and achievements you make along the way.

Tune in to find ways to approach the new year with hope and happiness, and to create your best year yet!

Resources shared in this episode:

Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach

The Adventure Challenge:

https://ca.theadventurechallenge.com/

The Cafe Passport:

https://thecafepassport.com/

In Part 2 of what to do to get through a terrible, no good day, we go over how thoughts contribute to how we are feeling and how we see the world. We explore the top five patterns of twisted thinking (distorted ways of seeing the world that make you feel worse than you need to) and review some strategies and remedies for each one. Then we cover a few other thinking traps that can lead us to the bad place.

We also explore self-care and how important it is to keep your life in balance, not just when you're going through a difficult time, but on a regular basis, so that you are being proactive and can keep future bad days from hitting as hard.

Come along and listen so that you can learn how to break any harmful thinking habits, and how to take care of yourself, not only to help work through a crisis, but to make sure that your days going forward are just a little bit easier.

Title Credit to: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Have you ever had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?

Those types of days are inevitable, both with writing and in everyday life. In this episode, we highlight three areas you can focus on to get through a bad day (your feelings, thoughts, and self-care).

In Part 1 of this episode, we focus on feelings, and the importance of acknowledging and processing all the hard emotions that can come up when you're going through something. Although many of us want to push those feelings away, we explore ways to get more comfortable with them, so they get resolved and you can move on, and keep them from building to a breaking point.

We'll also go through several strategies for becoming more aware of your feelings, as well as working through them, so that you can not only get through a bad day, but can develop a routine that will help prevent a future bad day from happening.

Tune in to learn ways to become more comfortable with your feelings, as learning to feel what you feel will lead you to be more healthy, hopeful, and resilient, and ready to face whatever comes next on your writing journey.

Resources shared in this episode:

• The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron
• The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (30th Anniversary Edition) by Julia Cameron
• Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman

Title Credit to: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Writing Therapist!

They call it the querying trenches for a reason.

In this debut episode , I share a little bit about me and who I am, as a writer and a registered therapist, and how this podcast came to be.

Then we jump into querying. There are lots of ups and downs in this part of a writer's journey. In this episode, we explore ways to reframe the process, not only of querying itself, but of publishing in general, to give you more control, more choice, and more hope as you work to get your words into the world.

We'll also go through six tips, taken from my counselling work, or from writing advice I've learned while following my own journey, to help you frame querying in a way that can make it feel a little less daunting and stressful.

Tune in to find out ways to build your resilience and add some hope to your journey. The less bumps you feel along the way, the more likely you are to stick with it, and to make sure your writing dreams come true.

Links shared in this episode:

Mel Robbins Episode 39, Feb 8 2023:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fhhQ9qDbuUzbBxjjMet6U

Chuck Wendig's "25 Things Writers Should Know About Rejection"

https://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/12/13/25-things-writers-should-know-about-rejection/

Welcome to The Writing Therapist Podcast!

As an aspiring author and registered therapist, I have created a podcast that not only provides a space to explore all the ups and downs in the writing journey, but also presents tried and true therapeutic strategies to help you get through whatever it is you're facing.

Tune in to the trailer to get a brief description of what lies ahead.

Weekly episodes will be posted starting January 5, 2026. I hope you'll join me and follow along.

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thewritingtherapistpodcast/ where you'll be able to provide input for future shows.