What Your Younger Self Can Teach You About Writing

We’ve all done those self-actualizing and inspirational exercises where we write a letter to our younger self, haven’t we? Where we look back at our frazzled crazy teenage personas, and wish we could tell them to relax, or stop worrying, or focus on the big picture instead of who has the best hair or whether you’ll have a date for New Year’s Eve.

But I wonder now whether an equally good exercise would be to have our teenage or twenty-something selves write our current selves a letter. Because in analyzing when my life has taken a turn toward success, each and every time it’s been because I was something I was more likely to be when I was younger. 

Brave.

Do you know how I got my first job in broadcasting? It was 1970- keep that in mind – – and my career as a political activist seemed doomed, since, after three campaigns, no candidate I ever worked for actually won.

So 20-year-old me decided I wanted to be a journalist – – that I would change the world by being a reporter. I marched into the biggest radio station in my hometown, Indianapolis Indiana, and said: “I’m here to apply for a job as a reporter.” The news director, affable but amused, quickly realized I had no experience whatsoever. Not as a reporter, not as a journalist, not in radio, television, newspapers, magazines, or even the high school newsletter. 

He finally smiled down at me, sympathetic, but with his mind made up.”I’m so sorry,” he said. “I can’t hire you because you’re completely inexperienced! You are totally unqualified for this job.” Then he paused and looked at me, assessing. “Can you give me one good reason why I should hire you?” he asked.

Indeed I can I said, or something like that. I said: “Your license is up for renewal at the Federal Communications Commission right now, and you don’t have any women working here.  And with the new Equal Opportunity Laws now in force, I’m not sure you want to risk that.”

And the next day I had my first job in broadcasting.

That’s a great story, and I am so fond of it, but thinking about it now, I burst out laughing.   Threatening your potential new employer with a lawsuit during your job interview is probably not the best career advice. But I knew I had done my homework, and I knew what I was saying was true, and important, and relevant. And, somehow, I knew I would be a good reporter.

I was naïve, sure, as only a 20-something can be. But I was also brave. I took a chance that day, I walked through a door that should have been closed to me, and I found my calling. I’ve been a reporter ever since.

Would I have been so confidently brave today? I have to admit, I’m not sure.

It happened again, maybe 30 years later. One day, as the veteran investigative reporter at the NBC affiliate in Boston, I had a good idea for a mystery novel. It was one of those experiences, and I’m sure you’ve had them, the goosebumps-raising moment where you think: this is a good idea! 

I came home and announced to my husband: “I’m going to write a novel! I have a terrific idea for a mystery plot!”

He’s always adorably supportive, and although I could read the surprise on his face,  he said: “That’s great sweetheart!” But I could tell he was skeptical.

He paused, just for a beat.“Do you know how to write a novel?” he asked, in the most gentle voice he could manage.

“How hard can it be?” I crowed. “I’ve read a million mysteries.”

Of course, I soon learned how hard it could be, but I didn’t care. I was obsessed, devoted, compelled, to write my book. Even though it was a huge leap of bravery, wasn’t it? I had no idea what I was doing. But somehow I was brave enough to pursue it. Persevere. That book became PRIME TIME, and it won the coveted Agatha Award for Best First Novel.  And now, my eleventh thriller THE MURDER LIST is a bestseller.

All because I was brave.

When I was a little girl and was curious about something, I would ask my mom for the answers. And she would always say to me: “Honey, go and find out. Go and find out for yourself.” That was brave of her, wasn’t it? To push me to try on my own? 

Thinking about that now, I realize what a gift that was, the gift of go for it. The gift of discovery. And if what we learn as an adult dilutes that joy, makes us worry and wonder what if something bad happens?  Well, what if it does? What is the worst possible thing that could happen if you go for it? Someone may say no. And what if they do? You’ll just try again.

Sure, my younger self had her issues, and I wish I could have told her not to worry, that everything will be okay, and that if the ending is not happy, then it’s not the ending.  But now I realize she has a message for me as well: “Be brave, grownup self, and you’ll be amazed at what can happen.” 

—

 HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, winning 36 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors. Nationally bestselling author of 11 thrillers, Ryan’s also an award-winner in her second profession—with five Agathas, three Anthonys, the Daphne, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. Critics call her “a master of suspense.” Her novels are Library Journal’s Best of 2014, 2105, and 2016, and her highly-acclaimed TRUST ME was chosen for numerous prestigious Best of 2018 lists. Hank’s newest book is THE MURDER LIST. The Library Journal starred review says, “Masterly plotted—with a twisted ending—a riveting, character-driven story.”

http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com

Insta  @HankPRyan

Facebook. @HankPhillippiRyanAuthor

Twitter  @HankPRyan

THE MURDER LIST, Hank Phillippi Ryan

“An exhilarating thrill ride that keeps you turning pages.. Ryan deftly delivers a denouement as shocking as it is satisfying.” —Liv Constantine, bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You

Law student Rachel North will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She’s smart, she’s a hard worker, she does the right thing, she’s successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston’s defense bar, and her internship with the Boston DA’s office is her ticket to a successful future.

Problem is—she’s wrong.

And in this cat and mouse game–the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.

The Murder List is a new standalone suspense novel in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and B. A. Paris from award-winning author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips