{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Plenty with Kate Northrup","title":"175. How to Keep Going When Your Dream Hasn't Happened Yet: Debut Novelist Andrew Forrester on Creativity, Faith & Fortitude","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3088,"description":"What keeps you going when the dream you’ve been working toward still hasn’t happened?\nIn this episode, Kate sits down with debut novelist Andrew Forrester, author of How the Story Goes, to talk about the ten-year journey that took him from his first finished manuscript to finally becoming a published author. Along the way, Andrew wrote multiple manuscripts, spent years trying to land an agent, had several books that never sold, raised four kids, and worked a full-time job—all while continuing to write.\nAndrew shares why he never fully gave up, how writing became something he genuinely craved rather than something he had to suffer through, and why community, accountability, and giving himself permission to try something different ultimately mattered. He also gets practical about his creative process, including his thousand-word goal, writing late at night, and using the Pomodoro method to get himself started.\nKate and Andrew also explore creativity, faith, and the mystery of where ideas come from. Andrew opens up about growing up Southern Baptist, how his relationship with God has evolved, and how learning to live with questions instead of needing every answer has shaped both his life and his writing.\nAt its heart, this is a conversation about creative resilience, permission, and continuing to show up for the thing you can't stop thinking about—even when it takes much longer than you imagined.\n“It's accountability. It's encouragement. It makes you feel like you're allowed to take yourself seriously when someone else is doing it.”     - Andrew Forrester\n🎤 Let’s Dive into the Good Stuff on Plenty 🎤\n00:00 Ten Years to Get Published\n02:16 Ten Manuscripts Later\n04:23 Why He Never Gave Up\n07:05 Knowing This Was the One\n10:07 Becoming a Better Writer\n12:38 The Power of Writing Community\n26:26 Creativity After Group Therapy\n29:18 Finding Time to Write\n31:32 Where Ideas Come From\n38:06 His Pomodoro Writing Method\n40:54 Faith, Doubt & God\n47:07 Giving Himself Permission...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/o03JRta_QRrWYpVnGEniH9ofqOD9uyABk7kkXvT0B_E/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQ1MzMzLzE2OTUz/ODkwNzQtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}