What does it mean to live a creative life? with Lucie Stevens

"I’m fascinated by what happens when a creator is deeply immersed in flow state, and they’re creating in ways that are seemingly unplanned and spontaneous"

Warami and welcome to the What does it mean to live a creative life? interview series.

Here we look at how fellow creatives are living a creative life and what that means to them. We all measure success in different ways and we all have differing priorities, but there’s much we can learn from one another, so let’s dive in!

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Meet Lucie …

I’m a children’s author who grew up in a semi-rural area of Dharug Country, north-west of Sydney. After working in Australian publishing houses for many years, I moved to Berlin, where I helped make education outreach programs for the UK and European Space Agencies. Now, having resettled in Gadigal Country, I work as a freelance editor. I’ve authored and co-authored several books for the education market, on topics ranging from mudlarks to Mars. R.I.P. Nanny Tobbins is my first novel for children.

Lucie, what creative things do you do? Tell us about your creative pursuits whether you classify them as your job or hobby or side hustle, we’d love to hear about all of them.

My biggest and most consuming creative pursuit is my novel writing, which I try to always approach with the same level of professionalism as my day job. As part of this pursuit, there’s a lot of non-writing activities that support and foster creativity, like being part of the kidlit community, being a member of a writing group and a multi-disciplinary creative group, and also participating in other fun activities to fill the creative well.

I also love crafting and making things. I’m a terrible drawer and I can’t paint to save myself but I really enjoy collage and other paper-based craft. And when I get the chance, I love weaving on a floor loom. It’s my dream one day to have my own room with a loom.

Where are you at with your creative pursuits right now? How do they fit into your life?

I’m currently a week out from submitting the sequel to R.I.P. Nanny Tobbins to my publisher. I was fortunate enough to sign a two-book deal, so it’s been a wild year-and-a-half, sending R.I.P. out into the world and becoming a public-facing author, while simultaneously writing the sequel. Because my freelance work is mostly project based, meaning it has one set deadline, I have some flexibility in how I organise my days. Typically, I can schedule in a few half or full writing days per week, alongside client work – although this often means I don’t have weekends the way other people do, or means that I work very long days to create space for writing.

I do find my work as an editor creative as well, especially when I’m editing long-form fiction or doing manuscript appraisals. It’s deeply satisfying to support authors in identifying narrative solutions and finding ways to elevate their work. It also informs my own writing, drawing my attention to areas of craft that I need to work on more, or to bad habits that I need to be aware of.

What does living a successful creative life look like to you? Are you living that right now? Or working towards it?

For me, a successful creative life is one that can sustain ongoing creativity so that there’s always at least one major project on the boil. That may not necessarily equate to writing every day, but it would mean that a specific creative project was always in development and occupying my attention. It’d also mean being an active member of the creative community, and having the time, space and energy to support that community and the sector more broadly.

I’m definitely still working towards my dream creative life but securing publication has been a giant leap forward.

Are there obstacles you feel are in the way of you living a successful creative life right now? If so, what are they? What do you think would help move past those obstacles?

Like most people with creative ambitions, more time and space would definitely support me in living a successful creative life. Unfortunately, time and space generally seem to require that other all-important resource – money! My home environment – which is also where I work and write – isn’t ideal for my well-being due to certain things that are beyond my control, and this also impacts my creative capacity.

In an ideal world, I’d be in a financial position to move somewhere that better supported my needs (and perhaps had a room for a loom!), so that I could boost my energy and creative output. But of course, this is a huge challenge that most people in Australia face, given the cost of housing.

And time is another obstacle. As a freelancer, it’s very difficult to turn work down because you never know when your workflow will dry up. I’ve become better over the years at not overbooking myself and trusting that I’ll find a way to navigate through the lean seasons but being able to reduce my overall client work without jeopardising my financial security would definitely create more space for writing.

How do you prioritise your creativity? Do you want to prioritise it more or are you content with where you're at?

I’d definitely like to prioritise it more by swapping out time spent on client work for time at the writing desk. At the moment, my social life is what gets sacrificed. When I’m in an intense work period – say, as I am now in the lead-up to my submission date – I essentially cancel everything except my core client work and my creative project. I live alone, so this isn’t a particularly healthy solution to coping with deadline pressure. But luckily, I have an author neighbour who’s on hand for cups of tea and walks to stop me becoming a complete hermit.

Do you have short- and long-term plans for your creativity? If so, what are they? If not, do you think you need one? Why/why not?

I don’t have a formal plan, in that I haven’t written a three-or-five-year plan, although perhaps that would be a good thing to have. But I do have a general sense of what I’d like to achieve and what might theoretically be possible. In the short term, I want to do the best job I can at establishing a readership for R.I.P., which in turn will support my upcoming sequel. In the medium term, I’d like to be aiming for a new novel every second year, along with some teaching. I’ve taught creative writing in Berlin and to students in America – something I really enjoyed – so I’d love to be able to do that in Australia too. And in the long term, I’d love to do a creative doctorate. My ultimate dream is to one day be one of those very few authors who makes a living from their creative work.

Lucie, in a previous conversation you mentioned 'creative intuition' – I'd love to hear more about that and how it fits into your creative world.

This is something I’d love to research as part of a doctorate. I’m fascinated by what happens when a creator is deeply immersed in flow state, and they’re creating in ways that are seemingly unplanned and spontaneous. I didn’t do much planning or research when I wrote the first draft of R.I.P. and I was astonished by what happened on the page when I gave myself permission to sit deeply with a character in a scene and watch what unfolded without many preconceived ideas. I’m conscious that there was a lot happening in the background in those moments: years of technical training at university and learning through practise, as well as the insights that I gained doing generative writing exercises facilitated by Sarah Sentilles. I suppose that’s what really excites me – the intersection between training and instinct, being guided by knowledge that tells us what might work best from a narrative point of view but also being entirely receptive to what’s unfolding in a scene. It’s a dream of mine to interview creatives working across disciplines about their equivalent experiences, in a bid to identify creative practices that give us more direct and clearer access to our creative intuition.

What's one big dream you have for your creativity? Share your wildest, grandest dream even if you think it's unattainable.

I’d love to have the creative energy and means to write a novel a year, and for those novels to become increasingly compelling, imaginative, well written and well received.

Do you have any exciting news/events etc. you'd like to share?

My upcoming sequel is my big news at the moment. It sees Nanny Tobbins and Albertine off on another adventure to help Albertine’s friend Blot, who’s been wrongly accused of committing a serious crime. It’s been such a delight to spend more time with sweet little Albertine and epically weird Nanny. Look out for it mid-2026!

Thank you so much for joining me, Lucie!

I can 100 per cent relate as a fellow freelance editor trying to juggle working with clients on their creative work while also trying to work on my own. It can be so hard sometimes to figure out that balance between ensuring financial stability while also prioritising building a creative career. I have no doubt you’re well on your way, though, and I am SO ecstatic to hear that the sequel to R.I.P. Nanny Tobbins is due out next year!!!

I’m also rooting for you and your loom room! The housing and cost of living crisis in Australia is affecting many people, and though I feel somewhat lucky and am not affected anywhere near as much as others, my family is not unscathed. It’s a very real and present issue, and one that freelancers and creatives are especially feeling the impact of right now.

On that note, readers, you can connect with Lucie and her work via the links below, and don’t forget to do your thing to show your support – tap that heart, restack, share, subscribe, comment, borrow or buy Lucie’s book and follow Lucie along on her creative journey! Every bit of support helps and is very much appreciated!

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Connect with Lucie and her work

The best place to connect with me is via Instagram or to visit my website luciestevens.com.

Feel free to reach out for collaborations, commiserations, ruminations! Being part of the community is central to me living my creative life, so I’d love to connect with anyone out there who feels they’re on a similar journey. And thank you, Melissa-Jane, for the opportunity to be part of your series on living a creative life!

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I acknowledge the Darkinjung people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I am writing from today. I walk, talk, write, and create with respect on this land, and I acknowledge the enduring connection the Darkinjung people have with this Country; I thank them for their care of this Country, and I pay respects to the Elders past and present, and extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here reading or listening.