How to Unleash Your Creativity with Award-Winning Writer and Educator Bonnie Garvin

Seeds of Sunshine - A mother-daughter podcast

Season Three, Episode 109

Join your hosts, Carmen and Sophia Micsa, to learn more about writing, creativity, and making changes in your life with our guest award-winning author and educator, Bonnie Garvin.

Bonnie Garvin fell into writing quite literally. She was pushing 30, married, and in therapy, trying to figure out if she wanted to have a baby. Her therapist suggested going back to university and taking classes that sounded interesting. Bonnie signed up for a class that sounded like it had to do with journalism. It was an advanced playwriting class. The play that Bonnie wrote became a finalist for the most prestigious playwriting festival in the U.S. When Bonnie received that notice, for the first time, she thought she could become a writer!

Bonnie gave up her job, convinced her husband to give up his law practice, and set off for New York so she could pursue a career as a writer. Over the last thirty years, Bonnie continually invented and reinvented herself, creating a more diverse and multifaceted career than she could've ever imagined back then.

On this Seeds of Sunshine episode:

• Bonnie thinks everybody needs to write, but not everybody needs to become a writer.
• Bonnie recalls something she learned as a child that has helped her become the good storyteller she is today. Since her mother was controlling, Bonnie learned early on to lie and cover things up so she wouldn’t be discovered, which translated into her storytelling gifts.
• As a screenwriter, Bonnie learned she could also write personal essays, so she greatly believes in reinventing herself.
• During COVID, Bonnie created a storytelling lab. She had been teaching at USC for a long time and needed something different to encourage her students to write and reflect.
• Bonnie is a huge believer in paying attention to the world around us daily, which helps us tell infinite stories.

To connect with Bonnie Garvin:

Storytelling Lab | unlock creativity

Storytelling Lab (@story.tellinglab) • Instagram photos and videos

(7) Facebook

Bonnie's Hollywood Tales | Bonnie Garvin | Substack

(23) Benita (Bonnie) Garvin | LinkedIn

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Full editing credit & art design to my daughter Sophia Micsa.
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