How To Address A Letter Using Po Box

today's video is a collaboration withava jae, author of beyond the red and host of bookishpixie here on youtube! iwill link her below and somewhere in the corner... we'll figure it out. todaywe're talking about chronic illness and how it influences our writing. i haveneurofibromatosis, which is a genetic condition that causes very very painfulmigraines.

How To Address A Letter Using Po Box, it's a lifelong condition and genetic,so i've had it since birth. i've mentioned my health a couple times onthis channel, so most of you know that i deal with pretty much daily headaches. mybiggest issue in managing my writing with my health is managing my time. if idon't plan to write i might get a headache

before i can get my words in and then myday is pretty much shot. i think my headaches have been a pretty big factorin transitioning from a pantser to a plotter. when i was younger, i used to goheadfirst into a story with no plan whatsoever. i don't do that anymore. if i geta headache it suddenly becomes a lot harder just to figure out what words iwant on the page, let alone create scenes out of nothing. nowadays, i'm a prettyheavy outliner. a lot of that comes with taking my writing more seriously. i getvery anxious about the quality of my work, so having a plan helps me rememberthat i'm working towards something good.

and if i have a plan then if i get aheadache i could just work on what i know now and save the rest for later. i take advantage of every opportunity towrite. i made a whole video on finding time to create. i will note somethingdown whenever it comes to me, even if my head is killing me. i would say myhealth informs my writing more on the page than it does in time management. i'm not lily: the headache girl. i'm lily:the writer. my condition informs my choices in many ways, but it does notdefine me. when i'm creating a character, i think of the sum of their parts.

who are they? what do they know? how do they live? what do they need to learn? if characterhas limitations or is disabled, i do not consider curing them as a goal in mystory. i can't cure my own condition. but i live with it and i live with itwell. my dreams, my goals, they aren't negated by what i can and cannot do. i can stilldo them. it might take me a little longer, i might have to work harder, but i canstill do them. no one is perfect. in fact, i'd say the best characters are far from it. it's our jobs as writers to have empathy. i feel like myillness helped me in that regard.

i definitely know what it feels like towant and work for something that you just can't have, as well as i know howrewarding it is to succeed when you work really hard for something. how do your experiences inform yourwriting? let me know in the comments. don't forget to check out ava's videoand if you're new here please subscribe! i make videos on writing and books andhappiness pretty regularly, as in like every week. thank you for checking out myvideo. thank you ava for doing this collab video with me and i will see yousoon. thank you. bye.