Meet Emory Hornaday

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emory Hornaday. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emory below.

Emory, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever had any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

Throughout my career I have been an actress, a spoken word artist, a writer, a poet, a director, and many odd jobs in between! There have been numerous times, especially in my early years, where I hit a wall and felt like I couldn’t write myself out of a paper bag, or act a scene without falling flat and losing the audience. I had one recently, while working on my latest book … I couldn’t find a way to land the plane on an idea so I scrapped it completely and began to write something else altogether. Then a friend stepped in and suggested that my original idea was the right way to go and urged me to keep working at it. I wrote lines that were quickly deleted. Over and over again, a few keystrokes, then delete-delete-delete. And then I realized I was letting an unwillingness to fail dictate my creative process. Once I named the culprit, I was able to move past my fear of failure and write without editing until I found the right words to land the plane.

I believe that everyone is innately creative. Creativity isn’t a special gift doled out to the few, but each and every individual has the ability to tap into their inner creative. What most people face when it comes to getting in touch with their creative gift is generally a combination of fear, doubt, unwillingness to fail, and/or an unwillingness to do hard things. Learning how to face these will position you to tap into and grow the creativity that exists uniquely within you.

I don’t believe that writers block or creativity blocks are some external resistance coming against us. Creativity or writer’s blocks usually can be traced back to these internal issues, so taking the time to identify what is holding you back is a key way to tackle the block. If I’m going to create something (be it artistic, or in business, whatever the case may be), then I must maintain my agency. I cannot become a victim to circumstance, or someone else. As a creator (and as a human!), I always have agency. There are steps I can take to ensure I can continue forward motion.

For me, overcoming times of feeling blocked involved two things. One was understanding that I always have access to my gift. I don’t have to wait for inspiration to hit – I can access what I am capable of at any point in time. The second was committing to show up whether I felt like it or not. For those of us in the creative fields, we sometimes wait for inspiration to begin the work, allowing how we feel to dictate our output. However, I’ve found that it is in consistently showing up and doing the work that creativity is truly unlocked. Part of being an artist and practicing creativity is showing up to do the job day in and day out, whether or not we “feel like it” or are inspired. This consistency, this showing up daily to a blinking cursor or an empty canvas, this is what punches fear, doubt, and failure in the face. This proves to yourself that you can do hard things.

I have sat down and written really terrible words, lots of them! And then I take a break, come back to my words, and find things I can tweak, edit, and foster into something beautiful. But if I didn’t show up to write the terrible words to begin with, I’d have nothing to examine and pull beauty from. And sometimes, I write things the world will never read, and that’s ok! Because I showed up and was true to myself. Every time I commit time to my craft I am honoring my gift, myself, and minimizing fear and doubt.

In short – we must commit to the stirring up of our gift of creativity. If I’m not inspired, I will write until I am. I will read until I am. I will keep showing up, fanning the spark into a flame, for my creativity is not just for me, but it is a gift to be shared, and it is in my commitment to consistency and expression that I leave my mark on this beautiful world.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’ve been acting since I was seven, and knew that whatever I did in life would somehow involve a stage. I love performing, speaking, connecting with an audience. When I was in my early 20s I started a non-profit dramatic arts company and began sharing one woman performances for faith based events. I absolutely loved connecting with people at events and sharing my faith through my craft. After a few years of performing I felt the tug to try something new.

I was a part of several events geared toward students and I noticed there was a lack of interest in, or awareness of, the power and beauty of Scripture. I wasn’t overly familiar with slam poetry or spoken word at the time, but I knew I wanted to find a way to communicate the Bible in a creative way that would engage students on a deeper level. I began to craft spoken word poetry from Scripture, focusing on topics that would connect with that age group. As I began to introduce these pieces at events the response was incredible! “I didn’t know that was in the Bible,” was a common response. One young lady emailed me to say that hearing me perform inspired her to memorize Scripture on a regular basis!

Even though my days of travel dwindled over time, I never stopped writing. I wrote in my phone, on my computer, in my journal … any opportunity I had record what I was experiencing and feeling I took it. Over time I began to use creative writing and poetry as a means of emotional processing. I moved to Los Angeles from the Nashville area in my early thirties and used poetry to process and document my dating experiences. Writing helped my big emotions funnel through the creative process and that helped me gain perspective and manage my emotions in a healthy manner, as well as be able to identify areas of growth in myself. The LA dating scene gave me some fantastic stories, which I thought would be all for myself … little did I know those stories would become my first book.

A move to Northern California connected me to another spoken word artist who inspired me to perform my romantic pieces live. Prior to this I’d only shared in faith based settings, so this was a stretch! I did a ten minute set for the most incredible audience and their response to these poems that were never intended for others to hear convinced me to release them. I compiled them into my first book, Seasons Change: A Poetry Collection. After taking some time off due to a chronic health condition, I’ve just released my second book, Unto Us a Child is Born: A Christmas Devotional. My faith is pivotal to who I am and it’s incorporated in all that I do, one way or another!

Now that I’m well again I’m ready to get back to speaking and performing! Words are a currency, a key, a way to connect, and how we share them matters. I hope to continue contributing beautiful words on paper and from the stage for years to come.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I’ve found the single greatest area of knowledge that has had the greatest impact on my journey has been an awareness of my mindset and belief systems. It is incredibly easy to slip into a victim mindset, yet no matter our situation or circumstance we always have agency. When faced with circumstances out of my control, I may have a moment of frustration, fear, or even tears, but I then ask the question: “What can I do from here?” There is always something you can do to move forward no matter what life throws your way! I have found that what I believe about myself and my circumstances will inform my speech and my actions, so I have to constantly examine my beliefs and mindsets to ensure I am believing at the highest level possible. If I believe I won’t succeed … then I won’t. But if I believe I will find a way to be successful, then I will. This very mindset helped guide me while writing my most recent book. I could have been a victim to a very real illness, but my belief that I could do hard things, and that I wasn’t running out of time to accomplish something, helped me persevere.

Which leads me to the next quality that I believe is imperative for anyone who desires to do anything in their life … perseverance and endurance are your friends, your teachers. They can be a tough teacher, but they won’t let you down. Most people don’t achieve what is in their hearts or minds because of these two areas: mindsets and the ability to endure or persevere until the achievement comes to pass. Perseverance builds trust with yourself, once you know you can do something you weren’t sure you could do, then you have a milestone to reference for the next challenge that comes your way, and come they will. Building endurance involves sticking the hard thing through, even when you want to give up. Even when the odds are stacked against you, even when quitting would bring relief. (Please note I am speaking solely to growing in your business or creative endeavor – this is not meant to be applied to any abusive situation or relationship). If you reach a moment when you don’t feel you can go on, look at your calendar and ask yourself if you can do another week. At the end of that week, look ahead to the next. If what you’re aiming for is something you really want to achieve, you can persevere to see that dream come to fruition!

Finally, I have found the qualities of humility and teachability to be keys in my journey. I don’t know it all, but if I want to know more, I must humble myself and be willing to learn. I may be quite knowledgable in an area, but I don’t want to be so confident in what I know that I am not willing to learn from someone who knows even more. I desire to remain a lifelong student, that even as I gain expertise in writing and creating, I’m always looking for ways to grow and learn more.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

There’s a story in the Bible about a prophet who has this massive successful experience, and then the critics start coming for him, so he runs away and hides and tells God he wants to die. Tale as old as time, right? And what does God do for him? He sends him a snack and tells him to take a nap.

One thing battling a chronic illness revealed to me was that my lifestyle wasn’t sustainable. I lived in a consistent state of overwhelm. I was overcommitted, stretched in every area, and had little to give those I cared about, much less myself. Over the last two years I adopted the word “rhythm” as my word of the year. I wanted to find a rhythm that served me, that helped me accomplish the things I want in life without sacrificing the living of my life. To this end, I’ve made a few changes in my lifestyle, but one key investment I made was attending a course called Habit Lab by Jenna Zint. She helped me break perfectionism and align with, as she calls them, “offensively small” changes in my life to create sustainable change. I now have a morning routine that prepares me for the day ahead without me feeling rushed and exhausted before I make it to my first task. Thanks to Jenna’s course, I’ve developed habits around exercise, food preparation, even relationships that have helped me create the life I want to live.

Another change I made was intentionally slowing myself down. I block off dates in my calendar for myself where I don’t book anything at all and I can spend the day however I need to. That may be resting, freelancing, a recreational day with my husband – that day is there to serve me. I also set aside time every evening for an evening routine which includes reading fiction books. I reserve non-fiction books for my morning reading, but my nights are for fiction that inspires me.

Though I’ve always been a structured person, attending Habit Lab was a game changer for me as it helped me make “offensively small” changes that were actually manageable, and over time, stacking those habits into routines has helped me create space in my life. When I feel overwhelm creeping in, I immediately assess what I can let go of, or what due dates can be shifted, and then I allow myself the quiet, down time I need to evaluate my mindset and correct any belief systems that aren’t serving me. This process calms my nervous system and helps me respond to the issues at hand more efficiently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.emorycolvin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emorycolvin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmoryColvinBraveWords
• Youtube: https://www.YouTube.com/EmoryColvin
• Other: Seasons Change: A Poetry Collection: https://a.co/d/bwLtkLnUnto Us a Child is Born: A Christmas Devotional: https://a.co/d/bFl74J5

Image Credits

Cayton Heath Photography, Bethel Creative, IG @emorycolvin