“Write toward your fear. That memory or worry or idea buried inside, that truth about you that you hope no one discovers. The thing you wish you could forget about yourself.
Write directly to that. Repression, sublimation, fear, denial. These are creative energies, but they feed only cruel creations: Writer’s block, thin writing, clichéd ideas, and self-criticism. Hiding your painful truth is a wall without mortar. It takes work to maintain. Hold the stones in place, it might not fall. But good luck, and don’t forget to worry worry worry. That effort saps all others. Let the wall go. Rush at the painful secret, write toward it, then through it. Rein the energy, direct it, feed yourself. Your work will show the vigor of it, and the revelation of the secret pain will turn into something better than simply a story. It will become acceptance and salvation.”
—Sean Ferrell, author of Man in the Empty Suit (Soho Press, 2013)
Photo credit: Guido Venitucci