We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Athena Ryals a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Athena , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I think my resilience comes from realizing what comes with the alternative to being resilient. In my writing, so many obstacles have come my way: corrupted and deleted files, lack of support from friends and family, rejection from publishers and award sponsors, exhaustion, the loss of writing friends along the way. Allowing writing to fall away from my life has always been an option in response to all of these obstacles, but the trade-off is clear: I would no longer get to write.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Most people don’t look at me and think “writer” right off the bat. As an ex-engineer and a current paramedic/clinical educator, I can be pretty rough around the edges and tend to lean more technical in my 8-5.
What I really look forward to, though, is the time when I can take off my business casual attire and slip into some sweatpants – and into the fictional worlds of my own making.
I’ve been writing for my entire life, but it’s only in March of 2020 that I self-published my first novel, Honor Bound. What began as a fun story shared among some friends quickly grew into a six-book series (with a completed prequel) that I wrote while processing my complex feelings around family, trauma, and surviving under a system that seems to want you dead at every turn. It follows a diverse, ragtag band of found family misfits who do their best to fight against the system that crushes all but the ultrawealthy – all while navigating the traumas of their pasts.
While all but the sixth and final book of this series are complete, only four books have been published so far. Please keep an eye out for Honor Bound Book 5 in early 2024!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. The ability to harness energy/inspiration when it comes. Inspiration is fickle, and it tends to come around the most at the beginning of a project (at least for me!) When it arrives, do what you can to take advantage. Grab your laptop and write down a few lines. Scribble some notes in a notebook. Driving? Take out your phone and record yourself speaking the words. Ignore the voice in your head saying you’ll remember it when you stop… you won’t! Write it down when it comes to you.
2. The ability to write like an expert. When writing about a topic you don’t know much about (or anything about, for that matter), search “what Hollywood gets wrong about ____” and then dive in. You’ll be learning from experts who actually know what they’re talking about and who are correcting the stereotypes, so you don’t fall into those pitfalls. Then, if you know an expert in that field, send them the piece after you’ve written it to check it for you and give you pointers.
3. Trust your audience. My editor has to remind me of this regularly. The audience will appreciate it if you let them come to a conclusion on their own. If you show you trust them, they are more likely to trust you!
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for people to write with. It’s hard to find a good, dedicated group of people to write with because people are always getting busy, losing interest, or changing schedules. I love meeting people who share my interests and passions, and I think regular writing groups are a great way to keep yourself accountable. Otherwise you’ll never write, because you’ll trick yourself into thinking that there is always something else more “important” to do!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.athenaryals.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athenaryals/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AthenaRyalsAuthor
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/athenaryals?lang=en
Image Credits
author portrait by Lucy Schultz Photography, permission provided
