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You're Too Sensitive

You're Too Sensitive

by HJ Hennen

Personal Journals

Season 2

Permission to be Creative Granted

In “Permission to be Creative Granted,” writer HJ Hennen discusses a memorable Ted Talk from 90’s Icon Ethan Hawke called “Give Yourself Permission to Be Creative,” why we should envy the creativity of eight year-old sandcastle architects, how creative storytelling helps us share our humanity in a world that desperately needs it, and how being creative is one of the bravest things a person can do.

"The End of Reading" Is As Scary As It Sounds

In “The End of Reading Is As Scary As It Sounds,” writer HJ Hennen discusses the article of the same name by Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch why the best writers are avid readers notes how people actually say things like “Rosa Parks was a fraud because her husband owned a car” out loud anti-intellectualism in America is nothing new but stilldeeply tied into fascism and obedience all the awesome things that devoted readers enjoy that non-readers don’t

The Reader Versus the Writer

In “The Reader Versus the Writer,” HJ Hennen tests out a practice to approach the arduous, widely hated task among all writers of first-pass self-editing, the value of Stephen King’s writing advice to people who are too scared to read his horror books, and why “kill your darlings” is the most relevant advice a writer will ever follow.

The Cat Becomes a Lion

In“The Cat Becomes a Lion” Writer HJ Hennen provides a TL:DR answer to the question “Why do I write” that has vexed many a writer, discusses the African proverb that answers that question much more efficiently, and why calling upon brave artists and writers to create is more difficult now – and more necessary as a result - than perhaps at any other time in history.

The Artist's Superpower of Sensitivity

Season TWO of “You’re Too Sensitive” begins tonight with episode number one. In “The Artist's Superpower of Sensitivity” Writer HJ Hennen catches up on the last year’s worth of literary successes and failures which are now officially termed "learning lessons," the everyday hidden struggles of creative artists that go unnoticed, and how sensitivity isn’t the thing standing between artists and their greatest creations; rather, it’s the source of the greatness.

Season 1

Not My Story To Tell

Episode 43 - the final episode from the inaugural season of “You’re Too Sensitive” is live in your podcast feed. In “Not My Story to Tell,” Writer HJ Hennen discusses the gift of writing trauma with empathy, why celebrating your client’s journey during the biographical process is vital to keeping them engaged, and always keeping in mind that in the process of creating a biography, the writer is merely a tool.

I Woke Up Like This

You’re Too Sensitive is back in your feed with– Episode 42,“I Woke Up Like This” Writer HJ Hennen discusses the creative spark that hits at the most inopportune times, the Australian Indie-Folk band that helped to name this routine-busting process, and why, not surprisingly, taking care of a writer’s physical and mental health makes the writer better. By “writer” here, I mean me. I’m the writer.

They're Killing the Helpers

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 41, “They’re Killing theHelpers” is out now. After another extrajudicial, state-sanctioned murder ofan American citizen and a resident of Minneapolis at the hands of federal law enforcement, the creative community is needed now more than ever; to articulate the shared pain, to envision the hope for a better future, and to speak truthto unjust, undemocratic, and un-American power.

The Story is Right in Front of You

In this week's episode, writer, poet and creative HJ Hennen updates on life in the bowels of occupied South Minneapolis and dealing with 3000 uninvited visitors, how the greatest writers have a well-honed and practiced knack of the talent of observation, and borrowing from Toni Morrison’s toolbox to write the – a – any story you could conjure.

Just Leave Us Alone

You’re Too Sensitive – Episode 39, “Just Leave Us Alone”is out now. Didn't intend for the first podcast back after a break to be a venting session about living in an occupied city in the United States during the year 2026....(in dramatic voiceover) but here we are. In an episode with no script, no bullet points, and no real plan other than to try and put words to devastation and disbelief, HJ Hennen reads a poem titled "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs," written by South Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered yesterday in Minneapolis by a Federal Law Enforcement officer. This poem by Good won the prestigious Academy of American Poets prize in 2020.

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