In a post from December 19, she interviews Gary Wesley, author of "Seven Wheelchairs: A Life Beyond Polio" The whole interview is interesting and worth a read, but I was struck by his response when she asks what his advice would be to aspiring writers who'd like to write about their own disabilities:
"Don't begin unless you're wiling to learn more about the person you may really be ... I cannot say that I knew Gary Presley entirely until I finished Seven Wheelchairs and then began to contemplate what I wrote. I pray I'm not deluded, but I think I like myself a little better now.
As to the practicalities of the writing process ...
- Write every day.
- Join a critique group, preferably an online one where people will be more apt to tell you the truth about your work.
- Take criticism without becoming defensive.
- Regard criticism as opinion.
- That means stay true to your voice and your message.
- Grammar and syntax are important but not as important as the story and the truth it contains.
- Tell the truth even when it hurts, especially if it is painful for you to tell it.
- Remember the truth is sometimes subjective, which means each person perceives events and people differently.
- Believe in your truth.
- Prepare to be rejected, multiple times.
- Persevere in the face of those rejections."
