Writing about heartbreak is supposed to be the writer’s forte.  It’s something most people just expect.  Writers have the unique ability to turn a heart-smashing, psyche-damaging event into something beautiful and moving.  Right?

Well, maybe.  But we’re also human, so we have to go through that heart-smashing, psyche-damaging event just as much as the next person.  We have to get through the days where we can’t get out of bed, where we can’t listen to the radio because a specific song might remind us of someone or something…basically, a writer’s time frame of emotional healing is not superhuman.  Perhaps we notice tiny details and jot them down so we can remember them later, but writing about the heartbreak while it’s still fresh is probably not something even the greatest Writers can manage.

Because, imagine it.  Imagine trying to take something that feels so one-sided, so close to you, and putting it down on paper objectively.  It wouldn’t be possible.  The small injustices would still be crawling underneath your skin, blinding you to how things really went down.

The question then becomes, when is it okay to write about heartbreak?  When is it okay to turn our deepest tragedy (or even a minor one) into our greatest work? Read more »