One of the things I love most is when I discover a writer whose writing appeals to me so much that I want to read everything they’ve written. And one of the side effects of doing that is that I usually see a trend emerging in that writer’s writing. There’s some theme or question that they’re exploring in everything they create. It may morph and take on different shades of meaning as their works progress, but it’s still there. The question. Or as I’m referring to it here, their demon.
It’s that thing that haunts the writer. They hash it out from every angle, exploring the nuances of the issue until, hopefully, they can find a way to understand it.
So what is it?
It could be anything, of course. The demon is as unique as each writer. For Shirley Jackson it was the constant isolation and ostracism that she felt from the New England village where her husband taught. She wrote about it as a violent tendency that established groups have towards outsiders. And as a psychological imbalance that left her feeling unsettled and displaced.
Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles are essentially a chronicling of her own journey to understand her faith (and sometimes a lack thereof). Outside of the Gothic realm, Steinbeck and Dickens were distraught about the injustices suffered by the poor.
Some writers are haunted by a family dynamic that left them scarred and which colors everything they see and do. Others see the human tendency for violence and write about it as an impending doom that we can’t escape. Others question the rights of different groups of people or the balance of power in the world.
You can see how these demons can take any shape or size. The point of this post isn’t to identify the ghosts that haunt other writers, as fun as that is. It’s to ask, what is mine? What is yours?
As a writer, what is that one question that you carry with you, that won’t leave you alone?
That’s what you and I should be writing. And yes, it requires a lot of vulnerability. But that’s what will have the greatest impact on readers.
I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, but this weekend I was camping with some friends and around the campfire, over a couple of bourbons 🙂 we asked ourselves that very thing.
So, how do we uncover our demon? I can think of a few ways that would help to pin it down.
Look at Your Hot Buttons
Typically, we think of a “hot button” as something that sets us off, or angers us the most. But in this case, think of it as anything that consistently triggers an intense emotional response in you. What makes you the most afraid? Or the angriest? Or the saddest?
Dig deeper, past the snakes and office politics and animal rescue videos. Look for perpetual triggers. Look for the most intense response. Look for the thing that affects you so deeply that you’re afraid to write about it. Maybe it feels the most vulnerable, or the most volatile – as if you can’t even handle the issue without losing control of your emotions.
That’s the thing you’re looking for.
Look at Your Past
I have a friend who often writes about domestic abuse because that’s her story. Not that she was abused, but that she prevailed. She was in a bad place in the past and she found her way out of that. She wants to give that hope to others who are going through something similar.
Perhaps you’ve believed a lie about yourself, something that your family, or other influential figures taught you. This may take you back to your childhood. Is there something that you’re carrying? Something that haunts your current decisions and relationships? Something that still tries to tell you who you are?
That’s the thing you’re looking for.
Look at Your Mistakes
Is there something you do…over and over and over again. Other than brushing your teeth. Maybe you consistently sabotage relationships because you believe that you aren’t worth loving. Maybe you superimpose your own feelings onto others so that you constantly second-guess their motives and assume the worst of them. Maybe you’re self-destructive.
That’s the thing you’re looking for.
Ask Yourself Why
When you find that something, dig into the why’s. And it’s ok not to know for sure. The key is to ask yourself what the answer could be. What might be the root.
If you’re self-destructive, dig into why that is. Are you looking to escape something? Do you hate yourself, and if so, why? Is there something that you’re afraid to face?
If you’re sabotaging relationships, is it because of something you’ve experienced – a betrayal, or a disappointment – that left you certain that no relationship will ever last.
Write It
Then take that thing and work it into your writing. Write it from every angle you can find. Turn it over and explore it until, hopefully, you find healing from it. Until it leaves you free and clean from its influence.
That’s the writing that makes the deepest impression on me. That’s what stays with me as a reader. Because it isn’t just an adventure to find the hidden stone, or a mystery to solve. It’s a deep, soul-wrenching exploration of the kinds of questions that plague us all.
Give the world the truest version of yourself.
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