Zine: Andy J. Pizza’s Five Things to Help Creatives Become (and Stay) Consistent

Another zine is upon us!

This is another podcast zine edition. Specifically, this one is from Episode 500 (!!!) of the podcast Creative Pep Talk with host Andy J. Pizza. I haven’t listened to all 500 episodes because I only discovered the podcast about a year ago (which I guess would mean I could have listened to at least 365 episodes, but alas, I have not).

I’m not even entirely sure it was exactly a year ago, but as I recall, here’s what led me to find this very energetic, very encouraging podcast for creative people:

Around this time, I was giving a lot of thought to what I was consuming (content, news articles, non-fiction books, endless scrolling, etc) and to how it was impacting my energy— more specifically, what I had energy to create (real talk: not much). I was feeling drained and fatigued and I was thinking about how changing the way we spend our time, move our bodies, hydrate, nourish, etc, can change our energy and even our outlook, thoughts, and what we’re thinking about.

In one of those windows of time that seems to be aligned with something comic, that very week I experienced a synchronicity when a blog came into my awareness called Input/Output. Author, educator, and Input/Output creator Caitlin Kunkel is working off of the premise that we not only need input in order to output, but what we input can drastically impact what we output.

In order to explore that theory, Kunkel created a simple spreadsheet where she could track her inputs and outputs to better see the relationship between them. I found this tool incredibly exciting and immediately set out to make my own (you can find the original template here and Kunkel’s post about the idea and process here). While I haven’t yet made the practice of logging my inputs and outputs a habit, the idea of connections between what I’m inputting and outputting is constantly lighting things up in my mind.

But back to the Creative Pep Talk podcast! During that early period (even before discovering Kunkel’s Substack), I decided to make some intentional changes to what I was consuming. I wanted to fuel my creative energy which had waned to barely a sliver during a period of constant travel, debilitating health issues, and an ongoing barrage of social media scrolling and stressful news exhaustion.

I found I had energy for challenging tasks when I was listening to a good podcast— especially upbeat or positive ones— so I did a quick search for podcasts about creativity and came up with a short list. I can’t even remember the other podcasts I tried out now because from the first time I heard Andy J. Pizza’s super-positive, super-encouraging vibes coming through my headphones, I knew I’d found something special.

I love Creative Pep Talk. It’s just what it claims to be: a Pep Talk. More specifically, it’s a place for questions and conversations that come up when you’re on a creative path, which is ever changing, unpredictable, and filled with traps of self-doubt and societal pressures. Sometimes Andy goes deep into a particular question. Sometimes he talks to other creatives about their process. He always shares openly about what he’s learned on his own journey. And he always ends each episode with a CTA— a “Call to Adventure!” 

I made this zine about Episode 500, which Andy titled: “From ADHD Serial Quitter to Podcaster with 500 Episodes.” In it, he shares the five things he’s learned to be able to go from a creative person who can’t seem to stick with anything for very long to someone who has managed to create something that is much greater (and more enduring) than the sum of its parts.

Here’s my zine with— spoiler alert!— the five nuggets Andy shares to help you go from inconsistent creative to consistently creating with a body of work to show for it.

Incidentally, making zines from podcasts (and potentially other inputs I’m chewing on, like articles, videos, etc) is one of my ways of trying to re-establish a consistent creative practice that is low stakes but fun and impactful. So is reviving this blog. :) 

And if all this talk of creativity has piqued your interest, check out the Creative Pep Talk podcast! Episodes are also on Youtube if videos are more your thing— and/or you can sign up for Andy J. Pizza’s Substack.