Ask the Author: Ricky Monahan Brown
Answered Questions (3)
Ricky Monahan Brown
Weirdly, just getting into the habit of writing lots of stuff seems to help. I've found that putting down lots of words – whether it's the blog or short stories or little experiments for myself or poetry (I'm a pretty lacklustre poet) – has taught me that not everything has to be great. But anything might spark an idea for later. Or might be fit to be whittled into something better later. For me, the process of just keeping the writing muscles exercised seems to help for when the time comes to write something that I'm more invested in.
Ricky Monahan Brown
I love writing fiction and trying on different hats, like the title character in the old children's TV show, Mr Benn. In each show, Mr Benn would visit a fancy dress shop, try on a costume – say, a caveman's furs – and be transported to that life. Writing, as well as reading, is a great tool to explore empathy, and it's a great privilege to have access to that.
Ricky Monahan Brown
Stroke: A Love Story was inspired by my suffering a catastrophic haemorrhagic stroke and being in love! At some point after 'the lights came back on', my partner gave me my phone back in hospital. Being able to tweet about my experiences and have people in the outside world respond was a huge part of my recovery. I subsequently found that many stroke survivors' supporters find comfort in the absurd humour that comes from the lack of inhibitions that a brain injury may cause. And many stroke survivors develop a keen interest in empathy. I wanted to share my stories, and hear other people's.
Put it all together, and you've got the inspiration for Stroke: A Love Story.
Put it all together, and you've got the inspiration for Stroke: A Love Story.
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