How to Continue

by ELSIE BYRON
29th April 2019

Hi all. I've been working on a story about a little girl living in early 1960s. The story is told through her eyes so to start with it's simplistic and just the way her life is. But things change when her father becomes physically and mentally abusive to her mother, it becomes very dark. My problem is the way I feel about taking this step into the more sinister side of her life. It has to be done and has to be written for personal reasons, but I'm pulling away from doing it. How can I give myself that push I need to sort this out?

Replies

Hi Roslyn. Thank you for your advice I will make sure I'm in the right mind frame before I do any writing on the subject. Thank you again.

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ELSIE
BYRON
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ELSIE BYRON
03/05/2019

Hi, As someone who was part of a research community looking into the painful side of life, I advise you to be careful of the emotional toll it takes on you. Make sure you're in a safe place, both physically and emotionally, when writing.e.g. you don't want to be writing this stuff somewhere public, or when you've got worries over a sick a family member, you've just lost your dog, or you suddenly get a large tax bill Do it in small chunks, and most importantly, give yourself plenty of time afterwards to debrief, i.e. talk through the emotions it stirs up.

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Roslyn
Renwick
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Roslyn Renwick
02/05/2019

Hi Jeremy, what a good idea. I'll definitely do that. I will have a pad and pen next to me tonight, evenings are my best time for thinking about story-lines. Strangely I have always found writing about personal and emotional events easier to do when I write them by hand, it can be quite cathartic. Thank you for your help maybe I can move forward now.

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ELSIE
BYRON
330 points
Developing your craft
Film, Music, Theatre, TV and Radio
Short stories
Fiction
Autobiography, Biography and Memoir
Popular science, Social science, Medical Science
Practical and Self-Help
ELSIE BYRON
02/05/2019