Fen Wilde's Blog - Posts Tagged "why-i-write"
A blog about a blog...
I have been thinking a lot about why I write recently.
To be honest, at first I just wanted to jump on the crazy romance bandwagon and make some money while having fun. I've always written; it's a process which I love, whether it's an essay, an assignment, letters to friends, or a journal to 'write myself sane' (there is actually interesting research about the proven benefits of this - a topic for another day!)
As I go on, however, I find that what interests me is almost exclusively tied in to my other career. I'm a social worker, and after working in many, many areas, I have settled in to mental health - particularly youth mental health.
This is almost certainly related to my own journey to adulthood, which was littered with land mines. I wish, fervently and passionately, that everyone who feels the things that I felt as a teenager has the resources and supports available to them so that their suffering is short-lived. Mine was not - and while I also believe (passionately and fervently!) that I am the person I am today because of my own journey, and therefore don't wish it away, I also feel like I could have enjoyed a whole decade of my life a lot more had I known that I was not alone, that there was help available, and that change was possible.
So my books seek to explore these themes, in a way that I hope is accessible and that helps people who may be suffering related issues to feel less alone. I hope it helps others to think about things in a slightly different way. My heroines are not perfect, because neither am I, and most likely, neither are you. While I totally understand the desire to escape into a fantasy world where things are fun and light and easy, it turns out that I can't write those books. But that is okay. I consider my books - and my smaller, niche market! - a contribution in the way that social work feels like a contribution. And as I was thinking about this yesterday, I thought that on a related note, I would like to blog about some of these issues - and some resources that I find helpful both personally and professionally - as an extension of my books. It's also something that I really enjoy pondering about. It helps me to clarify my thoughts as well. It may also be a valuable way to hear your thoughts about a character's journey to her HEA (or - the work of love. This is another topic I am really keen to explore. I mentioned Alain de Botton's book The Course of Love in my first book, and I think it is a really valuable concept to explore more in popular culture...perhaps another blog, or perhaps a sequel?!
On that note…my WIP is about a 38yo sex worker, who’s parents fled civil war in Sri Lanka. It touches on intergenerational trauma, racism, whorephobia, interracial romance…set against a kind of thriller murder mystery! You can put it on your TBR list here: Ruined.
If you're interested in these topics, please check out my blog (www.fenwilde.com) or join my newsletter!
This post is the first blog up there, but more ponderings soon - I'm excited!
Fen xo
To be honest, at first I just wanted to jump on the crazy romance bandwagon and make some money while having fun. I've always written; it's a process which I love, whether it's an essay, an assignment, letters to friends, or a journal to 'write myself sane' (there is actually interesting research about the proven benefits of this - a topic for another day!)
As I go on, however, I find that what interests me is almost exclusively tied in to my other career. I'm a social worker, and after working in many, many areas, I have settled in to mental health - particularly youth mental health.
This is almost certainly related to my own journey to adulthood, which was littered with land mines. I wish, fervently and passionately, that everyone who feels the things that I felt as a teenager has the resources and supports available to them so that their suffering is short-lived. Mine was not - and while I also believe (passionately and fervently!) that I am the person I am today because of my own journey, and therefore don't wish it away, I also feel like I could have enjoyed a whole decade of my life a lot more had I known that I was not alone, that there was help available, and that change was possible.
So my books seek to explore these themes, in a way that I hope is accessible and that helps people who may be suffering related issues to feel less alone. I hope it helps others to think about things in a slightly different way. My heroines are not perfect, because neither am I, and most likely, neither are you. While I totally understand the desire to escape into a fantasy world where things are fun and light and easy, it turns out that I can't write those books. But that is okay. I consider my books - and my smaller, niche market! - a contribution in the way that social work feels like a contribution. And as I was thinking about this yesterday, I thought that on a related note, I would like to blog about some of these issues - and some resources that I find helpful both personally and professionally - as an extension of my books. It's also something that I really enjoy pondering about. It helps me to clarify my thoughts as well. It may also be a valuable way to hear your thoughts about a character's journey to her HEA (or - the work of love. This is another topic I am really keen to explore. I mentioned Alain de Botton's book The Course of Love in my first book, and I think it is a really valuable concept to explore more in popular culture...perhaps another blog, or perhaps a sequel?!
On that note…my WIP is about a 38yo sex worker, who’s parents fled civil war in Sri Lanka. It touches on intergenerational trauma, racism, whorephobia, interracial romance…set against a kind of thriller murder mystery! You can put it on your TBR list here: Ruined.
If you're interested in these topics, please check out my blog (www.fenwilde.com) or join my newsletter!
This post is the first blog up there, but more ponderings soon - I'm excited!
Fen xo
