How Chronic Pain Changed My Writing Process

By Heather Sweeney

When I first started writing, I was very particular. I needed either complete silence or music with no lyrics that would jumble the words I was trying to compose. I needed to reacquaint myself with whatever project I was working on because I didn’t like jumping right in where I left off. And most importantly, I needed a long block of uninterrupted time.

Whether I wrote after tucking my young children in bed for the night or parked myself at my desk for hours of marath...