Our inner monsters

"We're looking into ourselves, looking at the world around us, and letting our monsters out." Lenora Champagne

This way of looking at writing really resonates with me. We turn inward and force ourselves to face the sort of things you only whisper in the dark. I think that's where many a writer's core themes reside, in the darkened corners of our thoughts. At least that's where mine are. Most of my work has a theme of a missing parent. It might be from death, divorce, or just an emotional absence, but someone who is supposed to be loving and supportive is usually not available in my stories. I grew up without a dad, without ever knowing him or his family so the concept of family is really important to me and the pain of a missing part of the family comes from the heart of me, the monster I try to keep hidden and the monster who still threatens to make me cry.

I try to write about families with two parents but so far it's just not working. The pieces of me the make it to the page are the parts of me that are still trying to find out where I fit into a family equation. It seems my characters are often struggling with the same monsters.

What are your monsters and how do they affect your writing?

A bit of shameless self-promotion. Author Ellen Jackson interviewed me for her column Secrets Of Success. Here's the interview, my very first one online. Thank you, Ellen.

Write on right now.
Susan