My name is Lore Alexander (they/them). I'm a freelance editor and creativity coach living in the Pacific Northwest. I want perfectionists to just do the damn thing—the “damn thing” being to let go of the illusion of perfection and make your art!—because I would have found myself a helluvalot sooner if I had.
For most of my adult life, I didn't consider myself creative. I was a play-by-the-rules, check-all-the-boxes, stay-on-the-path type of person. And I was scared and MISERABLE.
I started Scribe & Sunshine in 2021 thinking I was just going to be a freelance copyeditor, but then I actually
started
the business (networking and marketing and social media, oh my!), and I froze. I felt like it all had to be perfect OR ELSE, and that left me in this constant state of feeling like I wasn’t enough. Having already quit my other job, all that was left was to work through the feelings coming up and keep moving forward one step at a time. And that’s when I started making intentionally ugly art.
My business was progressing at a glacial pace because I was spending so much time stuck in my fear response. I would spend hours reading and rereading an email or a social media post, absolutely terrified that it would be imperfect and I would be cast out from editing society, a bitter failure.
I was working on these fears with a therapist, and I knew my maladaptive perfectionism was the problem, but knowing that didn't stop my body from reacting like there was a bear about to attack me anytime I went to put myself out there.
Then one day, I took out my bone-dry watercolor paints from the back of my closet. Instead of trying to make something specific, I wanted to just watch the colors blending and moving on the page (there maaay have been a substance involved here) and I was entranced, transported, delighted! When I looked back at what I had made, it was an absolute disaster. It looked like something my 3-year-old nibling would make. No clear shapes, no cohesive colors, much of it was brown. But the feeling of making it remained, and I wanted to make more!
So I started making ugly art regularly. I would sit down, verbally give myself permission to make something ugly, and put my marker on the paper.
I’m an introverted weirdo and recovering perfectionist who’s dedicated to demystifying the creative process. I want to help you deconstruct the mental barriers that have kept you feeling stuck and access your full creative potential.
I specialize in editing stories of transformation in contemporary fiction and creative nonfiction; these can include stories of disillusionment, religious deconstruction, big life changes, and coming-of-age stories, to name a few.
Lead unconventional art workshops that encourage perfectionists to sidestep mental roadblocks, practice tolerating imperfection, and embrace play and curiosity.
Delight in creative failures and mishaps and occasionally (ahem, frequently) cause them on purpose!
Inspire people to deconstruct mental roadblocks and unleash their creative potential.
Break down the conventions of capitalist society and return all humans to their wild creative spirits.
The world is not so black and white, all or nothing. There are so many gray areas we can explore together.
It is no small task to move through our creative fear into the void of vulnerability. Let's be brave.
There will never come a time when we no longer struggle. We must continue to show up and try, again and again.
We are not alone. We work together to bring about change within ourselves and in our communities.
Scribe & Sunshine offers workshops, coaching, and editing services for authors and other creatives
who are stuck in a creative rut. Based in Tacoma, WA, serving clients everywhere.