Know What You Want- Cinda Gault on Living Boldly and Writing Fearless Women

A joyful rebellion isn’t reckless—it’s intentional. In this conversation, novelist Cinda Gault breaks down a truth most people avoid: the hardest part of living on your own terms isn’t courage—it’s clarity. Because if you don’t know what you actually want, every decision becomes harder. Cinda’s path wasn’t linear. She helped start a women’s crisis center in the 1970s, worked in a men’s prison, earned advanced degrees, raised two kids, and only then fully committed to writing. Along the way, she learned that meaningful work isn’t about prestige—it’s about alignment. We talk about writing bold female characters who refuse to stay small, why historical fiction is really about bringing interior lives back to the surface, and how every generation wrestles with autonomy in its own way. She also shares a powerful distinction: there’s a difference between wanting to write a book and wanting to be a writer—and knowing which one you want can save years of frustration. This episode is a challenge: stop waiting for permission, get brutally honest about what you want, and start building a life that actually fits.   Show Notes & Chapters [00:00] “A rebellion still needs a plan” — clarity vs chaos [01:00] From feminism to fiction: early career and crisis center work [04:00] Prison guard experience and studying power dynamics [06:00] The “joyful rebellion” moment: realizing she hated her dream job [08:00] Writing romance to pay the bills [10:00] Going back to school and building craft intentionally [13:00] Historical fiction: facts vs the invisible inner life [17:00] Discovering real women in history and rewriting their stories [22:00] Building fictional worlds from real historical figures [25:00] Why she writes women who refuse to stay small [28:00] “You don’t need to quit your job to rebel” [30:00] The importance of knowing what you actually want [32:00] Writing about the 70s: memory, emotion, and selection [36:00] How different generations respond to her work [41:00] Wanting to write vs wanting to be a writer [45:00] What’s next: contemporary fiction + children’s book   Resources Mentioned Website: Cinda Gault Free genre-history webinar series (via her website) Historical fiction novels + upcoming children’s book (Beak the Clown)