Reader,
Since my last Say No With Love letter, about 100 new creatives have joined this space. That feels worth pausing for. Worth acknowledging. Because if you’re here, something in you is already asking for a different way of moving through your creative life.
So let’s start there.
I’m Chelene. I’m a writer, author of 5 books, and creative practitioner. I love cooking without recipes, dancing to 90s playlists, and laughing with those closest to me. Laughter is a big part of how I move through the world today. I have a son, a partner, and a dog named Chester who is completely obsessed with cucumbers.
Some of you have been here since the very beginning. Back in 2019, this all started as a small writing community called Learn Writing Essentials. It slowly grew, stretched, and reshaped itself into what is now Breathing Space Creative.
When I think about why I started this work, I always return to a very specific version of myself. I was a new author working on my second book. At the time I was a single parent. I was working two day jobs and running a magazine whenever I could find time and energy. I was immersed in the writing and publishing world, and yet there was this persistent question I couldn’t shake.
Why do I only enjoy being a writer some of the time?
I remember working on a new essay years ago when a family member called, needing something. I tried to say, I’m writing right now, maybe later. And they said, “Oh, that’s just a hobby. You can do that anytime.”
There it was. A moment to show that I valued my work. Because we can’t expect anyone else to value it if we don’t. I could have said so many things. I could have held that boundary.
Instead, I said,
“Okay.”
And just like that, I let the moment pass. A small opportunity to shift how this work is seen, even if only by one person.
And I’ve done it more than once.
Not long ago, a neighbour was chatting with me. I mentioned I was working on a novel, and he said, “That must be nice. Just sitting around writing all day.”
ahhhhh!
Meanwhile, I had a full-time job, a child to care for, bills to figure out. I was holding a whole life together while trying to make space for the work. And still, I just smiled.
I silently kicked myself.
Because that was another opening. A chance to speak to the invisible labour, the discipline, the uncertainty, the deep belief it takes to keep going when nothing is guaranteed.
Both moments could have been small seeds of change. But this was just another reminder that solutions don't always show up right away.
Something was still missing.
At first, I thought maybe it was about support. So I started working with publishers, hoping to help ease the pressure on writers. But I kept getting pulled in at the wrong moment. I was brought in after things had already gone sideways. It felt like damage control.
That was never the work I wanted to do.
I wanted to get in earlier. I wanted to build care into the process from the beginning. I wanted to created the CONDITIONS for writers to make aligned decisions that made sense for them. I wanted to think about values, structure, and sustainability before things broke down. I didn’t have the language for that at the time, and honestly, most people didn’t quite understand what I meant. But I couldn’t let it go.
So I kept going.
psssst, Publishers, if your'e here, I've still saved some space for you! But bring me in ... early.
And what that has become, years later, is this.
I help writers build creative lives from the inside out, and then protect the heck out of them.
It sounds simple, but it’s deep, demanding work. And if I’m being honest, I feel like I was built for it. It lives in my bones.
Not just writing practices that fit into the gaps, but creative lives that actually fit into their full lives that are always changing. Lives where their personal world is not separate from their creative work, but shaped by it. Impacted by it. Strengthened by it. YES PLEASE!!
This work is cyclical. You return to the same work, but with more awareness. More language. More choice. Your perspective has widened and you have some very good data from all the mistakes made. PS mistakes are valuable here at Breathing Space Creative! We don't waste any of 'em.
In many ways, I’ve come back to where I started. Only now everything is different.
We build foundations. We get clear on what matters. We design practices that include failure instead of fearing it. We look at everything you’ve created, even the things that didn’t “work,” and we find value there. Your rejected grants, your unfinished drafts, the workshops you’ve taken. All of it holds creative net worth.
We keep making a living from the work in view, but we don’t make it the North star.
That part matters.
Because when money or output becomes the North star, everything else starts to collapse under it. The joy, the curiosity, the reason you started in the first place. We all have bills to pay and groceries ain't cheap, but we need to get creative about HOW we navigate this piece and boy oh boy do I have an apothecary of tools and ideas ; )
And here’s the shift that changed everything for me.
We spend so much time trying to squeeze writing into our lives.
But what if your life is something your writing can actually move through, shape, and belong inside of?
I know how easy it is to build a long list of reasons why that feels impossible. I’ve lived them. I’ve said them. I’ve believed them.
I grew up in circumstances that could have kept me down. For a long time, it felt like they might. Choosing otherwise was the hardest climb of my life.
And still, I’m grateful for the choices I made. Even the ones that didn’t work out.
But underneath all of it, there is always choice. (ps this is the underlying message in a new novel I'm working on and it came to me through ... living life. Interesting how that works).
Not a perfect choice. Not an easy one. But an aligned one.
Choosing to write does not mean ignoring your family, your responsibilities, or the world around you. It means understanding how your creative work connects to all of it. How it becomes part of the way you move through your life, not something you have to escape into or fight to protect.
Your way of fitting this in will not look like mine. It shouldn’t.
And you don’t need to have the full answer right now. You don’t need a perfect system or a clear how.
That’s part of what we do here. Together. Please stay on this list because very soon I'll be sharing one of the biggest and most beautiful offers ever. Something that I think I've been working toward since starting my studio.
Welcome to my Say No With Love letters.
with love, Chelene
Founder, Breathing Space Creative
Reflect + Rewrite
This Week's Reflection Question: What’s something in your creative life that took several tries before you finally got it right?
After answering the reflection question, revisit what you wrote.
Is there a single line—just one—that surprised you?
Maybe it stirred something. Maybe it made you pause.
Copy that line out. Sit with it.
As always, if you feel called, I’d love to see it. Hit reply and share it with me.
