Jan Marquart's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-trauma"
Writing Trauma
No one likes to write about their trauma; our natural instinct is to turn and run like hell. To write about pain awakens the hell we have lived through and who wants to do that? I get it. It's agonizing. It feels cruel to ourselves. But let's not overlook something crucial here. Even the most painful and soul ripping experience holds something in it that we can use to transform and heal our lives. I believe that the experiences we hold, when put into words, have power to make us whole again.
Who says we must write about trauma in the first person, even though that is the first voice we think of writing in? Consider this: you can give it away when you write.
Writing trauma through another's voice is equally as powerful as writing it in the first person. Therapists use dolls to help children access their trauma. The child is more likely to speak through a doll than through its own. Pretending the pain belongs to another allows the mind to reveal information it would otherwise hold onto in order to avoid the pain and protect itself. The third person's voice puts distance between ourselves and the pain and is beneficial because our hearts like the added protection of space around it.
Energetically, trauma impacts our bodies. By writing about it we put out that energy with words and visions onto paper. That process is healing for the triad mind/body/spirit. Personally, I have found the process of writing both from the first person and the third person equally healing. I've been asked why I write non-fiction and fiction. The answer lies in what it will take for me to get to the heart of the matter in order to feel better. No one likes carrying the shadow of pain and trauma around with them. Before you know it, you feel as if you have lost control of your life. Writing can get you back in control.
If you don't know which you would rather use, first person or third, try this. Write one page in the first person - then re-write it in the third person. The process itself will show which one reveals more of what you need in order to release the pain.
I wrote The Breath of Dawn, a Journey of Everyday Blessings in the first person but hit too many stumbling blocks. Writing about nearly dying from a paralyzing illness took everything I had. So I then re-wrote the 400 pages using the third person. I was shocked at the words that hit the paper. Suddenly I remembered moments that shook me to my core - then I re-wrote the manuscript again back to the first person. It was an amazing an enlightening experience. Because The Breath of Dawn was a memoir, I wanted it to read in the first person. This process worked for me despite being time consuming. I knew that unless I found a way to get to the impacting and traumatic moments, there was no point trying to write it. Re-writing it in the third person tricked my mind, and released more of those hot moments.
In The Basket Weaver, I kept my pain in the third person. It worked much better as a novel, however, it did not lessen the healing quality of the writing process. By writing in the third person it gave me a chance to be creative and have some fun with the pain I'd been carrying for too long. Fiction allows your mind to take what is real and re-write it so only you know what you are truly doing with your pain.
I hope I have given you food for thought. Now, pick up your pen, set your pain free, and write ...
Until next time,
Jan
Who says we must write about trauma in the first person, even though that is the first voice we think of writing in? Consider this: you can give it away when you write.
Writing trauma through another's voice is equally as powerful as writing it in the first person. Therapists use dolls to help children access their trauma. The child is more likely to speak through a doll than through its own. Pretending the pain belongs to another allows the mind to reveal information it would otherwise hold onto in order to avoid the pain and protect itself. The third person's voice puts distance between ourselves and the pain and is beneficial because our hearts like the added protection of space around it.
Energetically, trauma impacts our bodies. By writing about it we put out that energy with words and visions onto paper. That process is healing for the triad mind/body/spirit. Personally, I have found the process of writing both from the first person and the third person equally healing. I've been asked why I write non-fiction and fiction. The answer lies in what it will take for me to get to the heart of the matter in order to feel better. No one likes carrying the shadow of pain and trauma around with them. Before you know it, you feel as if you have lost control of your life. Writing can get you back in control.
If you don't know which you would rather use, first person or third, try this. Write one page in the first person - then re-write it in the third person. The process itself will show which one reveals more of what you need in order to release the pain.
I wrote The Breath of Dawn, a Journey of Everyday Blessings in the first person but hit too many stumbling blocks. Writing about nearly dying from a paralyzing illness took everything I had. So I then re-wrote the 400 pages using the third person. I was shocked at the words that hit the paper. Suddenly I remembered moments that shook me to my core - then I re-wrote the manuscript again back to the first person. It was an amazing an enlightening experience. Because The Breath of Dawn was a memoir, I wanted it to read in the first person. This process worked for me despite being time consuming. I knew that unless I found a way to get to the impacting and traumatic moments, there was no point trying to write it. Re-writing it in the third person tricked my mind, and released more of those hot moments.
In The Basket Weaver, I kept my pain in the third person. It worked much better as a novel, however, it did not lessen the healing quality of the writing process. By writing in the third person it gave me a chance to be creative and have some fun with the pain I'd been carrying for too long. Fiction allows your mind to take what is real and re-write it so only you know what you are truly doing with your pain.
I hope I have given you food for thought. Now, pick up your pen, set your pain free, and write ...
Until next time,
Jan
