Art as Shadow Work
When mental health won't "let" you be consistent
If your dial goes from 1 to 11 with no in-between, this one's for you.
![[ imagine a better world ]](/content/images/size/w1140/2025/08/AubrieAtGGG_65-3.jpg)
[ imagine a better world ]
I'm an artist, wannabe author, and content strategist based in the US Pacific Northwest. This blog is a digital garden chronicling my journey to authorship, from idea to published work.
I also write about creating, living, and working with auDHD and CPTSD. I'll sometimes share methods of managing executive functioning, overcoming depressive episodes, and how to improve your prospects in life through meditation, intentional living and shadow work.
Rich or poor, we create our own realities in the end. That's what I believe, anyway.
Looking for my communications portfolio? It's here. I'd love to help develop your comms strategy on a freelance or contract basis.
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Art as Shadow Work | A newsletter for creative alchemy
Art as Shadow Work
Starting messy (but starting anyway)
It doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to exist.
Art as Shadow Work
Art as Shadow Work #002: Expanding a world that's too small for you
Featuring: How to jostle yourself out of a creative rut; the art of being a badass; and learning scary new things
Blog
Character Clinic
When your deuteragonist should be your protagonist
Have you ever watched a show that made you go, "Wow, why isn't this one the main character?!" Same.
Autism and Creativity
AuDHD writers, intentional consumption is your friend
AKA, how a 25-year-old film broke my writer's block
Urban Fantasy Craft
How to use central themes to create relatable narratives
Common advice for baby creative writers is to frame the action of the story around a question. Why not take it further?
Character Clinic
Creating urban fantasy magic systems using liminal space
Horror stories love those in-between spaces for a reason. What else could you do with them in an urban fantasy?
Neurodivergent Writers
POV: You're truly the starving artist
Do you ever feel like you're "too pure" to make real money?
Writing for Humans
AI is forcing autistic writers to censor themselves
Call me dramatic, but the semicolon should be hailed as a piece of neurodivergent culture.
Autism and Creativity
I need to yell about autistic representation
Please, let's evolve our ideas around good characterization.
Reading List
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
Brody's updated framework claims it can help me finish this novel without getting lost in subplots and planning. Can it?
Suleika Jaouad
The Book of Alchemy
One of the year's earliest best-sellers is a book about journaling!
Grace D. Li
Portrait of a Thief
Five young Chinese American art students are recruited to steal Chinese artifacts from Western museums and return them to China.
Anne-Laure Le Cunff
Tiny Experiments
Extinguish your perfectionism; LeCunff advocates replacing linear goal-setting with small, low-stakes trials to spark creativity and build confidence in your craft.
Productivity tools for neurodivergent creatives
Time Management
TickTick
Time blocking didn't stick for me until this app. Syncs with most calendars and has a priceless habit-tracking feature.
Second Brain
Capacities
My ADHD brain needed this searchable daily note-taking tool, so I never forget a conversation or to-do.
Project Planning
Notion
Easily write outlines and manage your characters' POV distribution.
Worldbuilding
Obsidian
Indispensable for developing worlds, politics, and magic systems, and keeping track of who does what.