And I’m also most afraid of that voice because of what I am offering readers: me. I’m most invested in non-fiction because my strongest voice is the one I can trust to tell it like it really is. It takes trust to believe in your own story and in how you tell it. It takes confidence to delete that sentence or to keep it. But, from draft to final, the emotional investment in our own words is often an invisible tax. It’s often easier to edit someone else’s story because we were not part of its creation. Second, trusting myself in my work with my work.
It’s an ongoing challenge there are more days where the words don’t come, and others where it all but bursts out. I stopped treating my writing as a hobby – something I did for leisure – and began regarding it with respect, like the job that it is. I’ve finally married myself to the fact that while creativity is sporadic, carving out consistent time to write is an even bigger part of the craft. The notes app on my phone has become invaluable over the last couple of years my story ideas and thoughts around structure and angles have been jotted down before other thoughts are able to push and shove them around. And it’s a challenge to draw out that creativity at less optimal times when there are so many other demands on your day. Ideas hit when they hit and we have to pin them down. What are the most challenging aspects of your creative process?įirst, it’s a difficult thing to try and structure creativity, there is never the perfect time to fall into a new story. After reading The Loss of Eldorado (by Naipaul) I began writing for fun at 13 years old.
Naipaul and Danielle Steele eventually joined the shelves next to a handful of Goosebumps and The Hardy Boys. Those encyclopaedias were a stiff sort of fun, encouraging me to want more information, more pictures more explaining. Her piece, “Afternoon Tea”, can be found in EPOCH Issue 02: Aftermath, available to purchase here.įrom as young as I could remember, reading material in my home was a mixture of Bo Anansi and Tar Baby (West Indian folk tales in Trinidad), Alice in Wonderland, The Cat in the Hat and a set of encyclopaedias. She is a BAME advocate and hopes to be a catalyst for the progression of colour in the publishing arena. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Carlene Fraser-Harris is a writer continuously navigating the realms of identity, womanhood and success.