We’ve all heard the old dictum: “Write what you know.”
In a very general sense, that’s probably true, but there’s much more to writing novels than sticking with those areas with which you are familiar by virtue of training or education.
Listening to the Soul
As a novelist and psychiatrist, I listened to Eleanor Longden’s lyrical presentation with a mixture of awe, admiration and humility.
She hauntingly described the “toxic, tormenting sense of helplessness” accompanying severe mental disturbance. “My voices were a meaningful response to traumatic life events. Each voice was related to aspects of myself…that I’d never had an opportunity to process or resolve, memories of sexual trauma and abuse, of anger, shame, guilt, low self-worth.” I found these statements deeply insightful.