Unlocking Creativity: Elissa Altman Reveals the Radical Power of Saying ‘Yes’ in Memoir Writing
MDH: In one of your earlier chapters, you write about the imperative of emotional resilience, I think this speaks to the courage to create in your subtitle. What do you mean by this?
EA: Anybody who writes memoir or personal essay is exposing themselves, and there’s the possibility of exposing other people as well. For better or for worse you are putting yourself out there. All artists put themselves out there. Even if what we are writing is for our journals alone, we’re still putting ourselves out there—because when we put pen to paper, our stories become real and take on their own breath.
