Q&A With Julia Roberts, CEO of Decoding Creativity

Julia Roberts, MSc helps writers predict and prevent their own forms of writer’s block. Roberts is a certified creativity coach and has Masters in Creative Studies from Buffalo State College/SUNY. She mixes science (the why of it) with coaching techniques (the woo of it) to help writers just write …with less downtime, doubt and delay.  She is also author of three books, including Sex, Lies & Creativity– Gender Differences in Creative Thinking (Difference Press, 2014), and developed assessment, training and coaching programs to help writers better understand the universal creative process, and how they fit or fight that process. 

Tell us a bit about Decoding Creativity.

Decoding Creativity was started to help bring scientific understanding of how creativity works to individual creative people, especially writers. The Creative Process, and how we each fit or fight the process accounts for about 50% of what people might consider resistance, procrastination, doubt, fear and down time. Using assessment, training in Deliberate Creativity, coaching and community, I’ve helped hundreds of people write without the fight, and create without chaos. Once writers and creators understand where and when they’re going to face a delay, they can be forewarned and forearmed with one of many powerful tools that help them continue with clarity, focus and a renewed sense of energy.

What gave you the idea for your business and how did it start?

I was a brainstormer for hire for many Fortune 500 corporations, like: Warner Bros, HBO, American Express, Nickelodeon, Burger King, Kraft Foods, Heinz Foods, Avon, Chesebrough-Ponds and more. When 9/11 came, budgets in NYC were drastically changed, and people who had hired me, lost their jobs and were competing with me. Pretty quickly, that business died after 12 strong years. I was at a loss. I didn’t understand how my creativity “ticked.” I didn’t know my strengths. I didn’t know what I could do. I knew I was very good at sitting in a conference room throwing out ideas, but my fear was that I was a one trick pony. I needed to know. I, then spent almost a decade, and $30,000 looking for answers. It is frustrating, even devastating, to not know how to use your creativity to make the things you want to make in your life. I trained and was certified as a coach with Martha Beck, a creativity coach with Eric Maisel, and finally went and got my Masters of Science in Creativity at Buffalo State College, NY. These insights changed my life, and amped up my ability to write, focus, commit and be published. I used to want to write a book. Now, I’ve written and published 3, and my life is enriched by a great community of writers 4 days a week, with one day a week, just to write.

Knowing you’re creative, but not knowing how is a painful state of being. And once you know your strengths, you want tools and good habits to help you bridge from strength to strength. I started Decoding Creativity to help writers just write… with less doubt, downtime and delay.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

I love talking to and helping writers and other creators face their demons – whether it’s in their creating process or marketing and promoting process. There’s usually honesty, vulnerability, some laughter, of course, and my clients leave happier and ready to return to their projects. I like that I help unique thinkers and artists get their point of view out into the world. We need the voices of weirdoes and people willing to take risks and speak from vulnerability in the world today.

What are your keys to making yourself productive?

A very good question, because resistance is half the battle. I’ve identified the part of the creative process that bogs me down – using the same assessments that I offer my clients. When I’m lacking energy or enthusiasm, it is usually for lack of clarity. I use a clarifying tool, and my goals, challenges and motivations become clearer, quickly. That usually does the trick for me. Each of my clients is likely to have a different switch that sends their productivity off the rails. I help them see that, and address it.

Tell us one long-term goal in your career.

I want to speak to groups of writers more – with my Write Without the Fight motivational speech. And for myself, I want a bestselling novel that gets made into a movie.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned through the course of your career?

It ain’t over till it’s over. Think of Cher or Lady Gaga. You don’t give up when something stops working, you reinvent, staying true to who you are.

What advice would you give to others aspiring to succeed in your field?

Get help from those ahead of you in the process, early and often. Assemble a team who can help you when you get into a stuck place. My VA helps me when I’m overwhelmed or have technical issues. My business coach helps me strategize and assess my upcoming agenda and tactics.

What are your favorite things to do outside of work?

Of course, write. Other than that I mostly like to ride a bike, cook, eat, swim. I’m kind of a simple gal. (Though, I also love to travel.)

Name a few influential books you’ve read and/or websites you keep up with that you’d recommend to readers.

Lynda Barry gets my first vote: Picture This, What it Is and Syllabus. Eric Maisel’s Coaching the Artist Within is unbelievably generous with specific tools and information. And for me, it all started with Julia Cameron’s Walking in This World, The Artist’s Way