Bold Journey Magazine: Meet Margaret Norwood
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Margaret Norwood a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Margaret, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
I believe creativity blocks are signals to think about things differently, or to step away for a moment. One of my strategies is to work on other parts of the project while the part that is stuck marinates a bit. For example, if I’m having difficulty with the plot or the action in my writing, I will move to do character analysis to see if something sparks the solution to what they would do next in facing the plot challenge I am stuck on. Or I’ll do some formatting work. Or research. Or revisiting/recreating outlines.
I also consistently seek out collaborations with other writers or artists to round out my vision as to what is happening in the work. I often get blocked when I can’t see the whole picture from my vantage point. Having input from other people can bring clarity. Sometimes, just articulating my thoughts to another person helps get it out of my brain and onto my tongue. It often surprises me with new pathways in my thinking.
I feel that the creative process is not really controllable. As artists, our job is to show up for the work and explore it as it comes to us. I strive for excellence in everything I do, but I also know that some of my ideas are better than others, and I try to work in the moment with what I have rather than being frustrated with what I don’t have.
Also, I have to be alone. Interruptions are the enemy. My phone must be off and my email must be closed in order to experience any kind of flow state. Since life doesn’t make that easy, I have to create that space somehow and it is become increasingly difficult. Getting up before anyone else seems to be the best time to make this work in my life.
Finally, I nap. When my brain is full, I know that it will be absolutely useless to me until I give it the rest it requires. Sometimes, moving to another activity can help, but more often than not, my brain really needs dream space.
Napping, alone time, and community support are all privileges that I acknowledge are rare and precious. When I don’t have them and the deadline has arrived and I know it’s not my best work, I submit it anyway and hope that the next one will be better!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I have always been a “Jack of All Trades” and my hyphenation is now entirely out of control! I am an actor/director/writer/musician/administrator/editor/photographer/educator/mother. I love knitting, cooking, gardening, painting, and traveling.
Growing up poor, I worked whatever job I could find. This gave me confidence in trying new things and not feeling like I was limited to things I was “good at.” My mantra was always (and is still), “how hard can it be?”
It became clear to me at a very young age that all disciplines share skill sets and the better you get at one thing, the more you can apply to the next thing you try. And then the next thing teaches you things bout the first thing. Each discipline feeds the others and as you learn one, you strengthen them all.
This week, I finished the 2nd draft of my YA novel, “Ellen & the Spider” and will start working with the illustrator. In 2022, I completed a photo book of the embroidery at St. Michael’s and All Angels. In 2014, I co-authored “Sanity in Acting: the teachings of Galina Boulgakova, a Stanislavski-based approach to acting for the screen” with Galina Boulgakova, and I wrote and produced the feature film “independence” in 2004.
Currently, I am the Executive Director at Vintage Theatre Productions in Aurora, CO. This position gives me the opportunity to work through the many disciplines that comprise the art of the theatre and allows me work in the administrative, financial, legal, grant writing aspects of the organization. I’m extremely proud of the work that we do and our place in the community of the Aurora Cultural Arts District. In addition to the 9 mainstage shows we do each year, we support a summer youth camp, a theatre for young audiences tour, additional touring shows, weekday cabaret performances and poetry events as well as a small gallery for local artists to display their work.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Accepting feedback and collaboration. To the greatest extent possible, try to see and critique your work as if it came from someone else. Take your personal attachment to the work away and listen to feedback as dispassionately as you can. You shouldn’t take every piece of advice you get, but be open to entertaining new ideas. See how it MIGHT work to incorporate the feedback and it will often open new avenues to explore.
Perseverance. There is generally a point in every project that is “good enough” and it is tempting to leave it there. The difference between “fine” and “excellent” is in the work you do after it could be finished. This can mean small details that you work on, smooth out, refine, or it can mean analyzing it dispassionately enough to recognize when the whole structure needs to change and being willing to start over and try again.
Empathy. Empathy is a creative activity and starts with curiosity. Imagine yourself in the shoes of the person you are working with. Why are they coming to different conclusions than you are? Why do think the way that they do? Where do they come from? What are their cultural expectations (defining “culture” very broadly helps here…generational, regional, socio-economic, familial, spiritual)? How does this work that I am doing help them? What can I do to make this clearer to them? Are they understanding the language I am using? Am I understanding what they mean in their speech?
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My parents taught me that, although I had to learn how to live in community with others, I was not bound by other people’s expectations or current fads and fashions. I was free to explore without concern for my looks, gender, material wealth, or social status, but I was required to pursue virtue and excellence to the best of my abilities.