How to Write About Difficult Subjects

2020 has been a very difficult year so far. There've been a lot of heightened emotions, and when we put a question out to some of the writers in the group about how do I write about basically difficult subjects? What's your take on approaching very difficult subjects that are still almost like, I want to say wounds to us? Yeah, I think journalism, journaling rather, is quite important for just recording things. And every situation is different. When I was writing about the loss of a twin, for example, I had to wait for a while before I could even really address that. It's percolating into the work, and it will be in the work in future inst

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Episode notes

How do we, as writers, turn raw emotions and observations into fiction? In this episode we interview Diana Evans (Ordinary People, 26a) about her creative process, how she discovered her true voice and how she creates characters. We also discuss practices that help Diana with writer's block, why she treats writing as a job and the importance of having other people read your work and being a part of a writing community.

SHOW NOTES

[03:32] How music influences Diana's writing and how John Legend's soundtrack influenced her book Ordinary People

[07:22] The messy journey Diana went through to discover her voice and what she does and doesn't want to write about, which began in journaling

[10:43] Diana shares some of her practises to help her with writer's block, including reading poetry, leaving your work for a while, and forcing her way through writing

[12:38] On treating writing as a job, and some of Diana's writing rules and habits like having a schedule and not beating yourself up when you don't meet your target

[19:07] Diana shares why she distances herself from the characters and the world she's writing about

[20:41] How Diana's peers helped improve her writing and how sometimes, the simplest way to write and tell a story is actually the easiest way

[23:05] The importance of having other people read your work, and being a part of a writing community

[25:39] Diana’s writing philosophy, the importance of journaling and why it's our responsibility to write about our experiences

[28:00] Diana shares her creative process, and how white American authors writing about ordinary life inspired her to do the same for her book, Ordinary People

[31:12] How Diana come up with her book characters, including writing down lists and brainstorming

[34:40] Why planning everything is important for Diana, and why she prefers that her writing is led by a character and what the character is experiencing

[37:44] Our responsibility as readers and writers in documenting the world around us

QUOTES:

“I think journalism, journaling rather, it's quite important for just recording things. I think it's, it's our responsibility as writers actually, to comment on the world and to reflect the world around us, whether that's historically or today because we are mouthpieces of society.”

“And I feel that there is so much in the world that is real and alive, and that is happening both in my life and around me, in the lives I see around me that is, you know, rich in story and in drama. I'm really not a world builder. I'm a world observer.

I investigate the world and try and analyze it, and encapsulate human life. So that's where the writing comes from, but in order to achieve a distance, I have to kind of place myself in a position that is somehow apart from the characters and the world that I'm writing about. So I have to find a way to do that in order to tell the story."

RESOURCES

Diana's Books: