Welcome to the Creative Pen podcast. I'm Joanna Penn, thriller author and creative entrepreneur,

bringing you interviews, inspiration and information on writing, publishing options and marketing ideas for your book.

You can find the episode show notes, your free author blueprint and lots more information at

TheCreativepen.com. And that's Penn with a double N. And here's the show.

Hello, creatives. I'm Joanna Penn. And this is episode number 704 of the podcast, and it is Friday the 21st of July,

2023, as I record this. In today's show, I'm talking to Michael Brent Collings about writing

from the shadow side, and we talk about what that means for us and how we differ in terms of what

we were told was unacceptable

by our family, our culture, and for me, one of my school teachers,

as well as helpful and harmful expressions of the shadow for ourselves and others.

But before we get into the intro section, I wanted to clarify what the shadow is,

because I've seen some comments that imply people think it's just the stuff that goes in horror novels,

but it's not.

Here's a quote from Dr. Connie Zviig, whose book The Inner Work of Age,

shifting from role to soul, I'm reading right now.

So here's the quote.

The shadow is that part of us that lies beneath or behind the light of awareness.

It contains our rejected, unacceptable traits and feelings.

It also contains our hidden gifts and talents that have remained unexpressed or unlived.

As Carl Jung put it, the essence of the shadow is pure gold.

So it's not just about writing about death or in the horror or erotica

genres. Death and sex are indeed often considered taboo, but the shadow could be many things for you.

...