Writing from the Shadowland of the Human Condition

There is a wonderful quote by the Roman, Seneca. He says, “Nothing human is alien to me.” I think that is such a powerful quote. If we are to find our true voice as writers, we cannot be afraid of the dark side of the human condition. What is really powerful writing is writing that explores the shadowlands of the human soul. We all have dark and we all have light within us. If you’re afraid to write about sex or you’re afraid to write about violence or you’re afraid to write about homosexuality –– if you’re afraid to write about anything, anything at all, then that’s stopping your creativity.

All aspects of the human condition have to be open to us. You can choose not to write about something, but there’s a big difference between choosing not to write about something and being afraid or actually unable to write about something.

As creative writers we need to explore all the primal passions; only then can we make choices in our writing.