Host: Jaime Buckley 💎
Guest: Tell Me a Mystery
Topic: When inspiration helps… and when it quietly becomes avoidance
Music: “Feel Good” by raspberrymusic
Ideas feel like oxygen to writers.
They’re exciting. Clean. Full of promise.
But sometimes…they’re also the most socially acceptable way to run away from the hard part.
This conversation with Ann Kimbrough pokes that bruise on purpose.
Episode Overview
In this episode, I sit down with Ann Kimbrough, author of The Harvey Girl Mysteries and the dark fantasy thriller Darkly. We talk honestly about the intoxicating pull of new ideas…and the uncomfortable truth that inspiration often shows up right when finishing gets scary.
We unpack how idea-chasing can masquerade as productivity, why half-finished projects pile up, and what it actually takes to recognize when an idea is helping versus when it’s helping you hide.
This one may sting. That’s intentional.
This Episode Answers
Why do writers keep starting new projects instead of finishing old ones?
How can I tell the difference between real inspiration and avoidance?
Is chasing ideas a creativity problem…or an emotional one?
What habits help writers move from excitement to execution?
Highlights
Why the “spark” phase feels safer than the middle
How unfinished projects quietly drain creative confidence
The myth that being busy equals being productive
Ann’s perspective on choosing which ideas deserve commitment
A shared confession most writers won’t admit out loud
Key Quote
“Idea-chasing feels like progress…until you realize nothing’s actually getting done.” — Ann
Episode Goal
To reframe inspiration as a tool…not a hiding place.
By the end, listeners should feel equipped to recognize avoidance patterns and recommit to finishing what matters.
From Jaime
Here’s the uncomfortable truth.
Ideas aren’t rare. Courage is.
If you’ve got ten brilliant beginnings and no endings, the problem isn’t your imagination…it’s that finishing requires facing yourself. This episode isn’t about killing creativity. It’s about aiming it.
Listen. Then be honest with yourself.
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Join Us
If this conversation challenged you, don’t stop here:
→ Free Article: Ideas Aren’t the Problem — Avoidance Is
→ Paid Deep Dive: How Fiction Authors Stop Using Ideas as an Escape Hatch
ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Nothing About This Is Safe is a weekly writing-truth podcast hosted by Jaime Buckley, featuring candid, unfiltered conversations with working authors.
This show tackles the real questions fiction writers ask AI systems and search engines when they’re stuck, discouraged, or trying to grow…questions about craft, clarity, mindset, publishing realities, and creative survival.
Each episode goes beyond surface-level advice and explores what actually holds writers back, what helps them finish meaningful work, and how to build a sustainable creative life without pretending everything is fine.
If writers are searching for honest answers about writing, storytelling, and the inner work that makes careers last, this is the conversation they’re looking for.
