When I think about writing a story involving someone with Cerebral Palsy, I always think of a quote by author and famous writer, Ernest Hemingway. When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. Characters are caricatures.
I think about this every time I come up with a new idea for a book. I’m currently working on my new book for teenage girl titled Emelia’s Way. Each novel I have written that features a fictional character with a disability, and that is most of my novels, takes this quote to heart.
By creating the appropriate representation, storytellers get readers’ attention. As a result of this, he feels comfortable enough to fall in love with the characters and learn from their journeys as they grow into who you want them to be. It’s like narrating your own story. It is inevitable that you will have moments in your life that you are not proud of, but you will grow from those bad chapters. When we write a book, we should look at it as if these characters are human, which they are in our own unique way. Each character story is an expression of our identity and an inspiration for art that comes from somewhere.
For example, one of my favorite romance novels published this year, entitled, I love you in a special way, was inspired by a heartbreak five years ago. I published my first book at 16 called James’ Ticking Time Bomb. This was inspired by a friend’s death.
Where my inspiration for books comes from goes on and on, but it comes to show that each person I’ve written about and created is a reflection of where I’ve been and where I’ve gone, and I don’t hesitate to admit that I’ve experienced some tough times on my path. .
But it has made me the person I am today as a writer and disability activist so with that In order for me to create characters that everyone can relate toThrough my creations, I lead the wayThrough my creations, I lead the way, I embrace the moments that I have had to endure in order to do so, such as when I developed the protagonist for my tween series A Not So Typical intended for young teenage boys with Cerebral Palsy last year, I reflected on the struggles I faced as a teenager trying to find my identity.
I was inspired by his obstacles and challenges, which were a reflection of my own, but as Ernest Hemingway once said, “Writing about life without experiencing it is impossible.” Because if it weren’t for my life and the lessons that I have learned, I would not have been able to create these people, and tell their stories from their own very unique perspective, and so I am very grateful for that. The woman I am today and the person I have become makes me very happy. From a young girl with low self-esteem and buck teeth to a beautiful woman who embraces each and every part of herself, and even the scar that she thought was once an ugly scar is now a beautiful scar to her.
So, with that being said, I believe we must live every day, as if we are writers of our own stories, because we are, and we’re developing ourselves as characters to create something worth living in something impactful in all. We have the power to take control of our stories and shape them into something meaningful.
