Zena Shapter

Balancing Out A Writer’s Life

Squee: (verb) To squeal with glee

Do you squee? Or does it irritate you to the point that you loathe those who do? Believe it or not, but there are some who’d like to remove the word from the world’s vocabulary by decree!

But I still squee. And I believe it’s important to do so too. Let me tell you why…

Pain.

Through great pain comes great art.

It’s a maxim I adhere to in my own writing. It’s also what I teach writers further behind me in their own writing journeys. If you can access the pain of your past (which we all have), and turn it into something beautiful / thrilling / entertaining, then I believe you’ve succeeded as a writer. You’ve vanquished old ghosts. You’ve cut your veins and bled them onto the page. You’ve reached inside and shared what you found there.

Of course, if you want to write great art all the time, this means Continue reading →