Meet Diana Morgan

We recently connected with Diana Morgan and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Diana, thank you so much for joining us today. There are so many topics we could discuss, but perhaps one of the most relevant is empathy because it’s at the core of great leadership and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your empathy?

I’ve always had an innate ability to relate to others. I can usually understand what they feel and think, and understand their point of view. I think it comes from growing up neurodivergent and often being misunderstood. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, but a lot was unknown about how the condition affected girls. My interests were very different from those of my peers, and adults didn’t know how to handle me. I struggled with social skills and had difficulty learning how to interact with people. I hate the idea of being misunderstood. I recently discovered I am autistic as well, which has given me even more insight into how I communicate and connect with people. I try to understand how they feel and why they think the way they do, and approach with compassion.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Writing is my passion. I love exploring science fiction and fantasy worlds that I create. In 2021, I published my first book, Alliances. I’m currently finishing book two of that series and working on several others.

Media, especially science fiction and fantasy media, is my biggest special interest. I enjoy discussing movies, books, and television shows. I love all the different ways stories can be told and spend time speaking at conventions, sharing my favorites with other fans in the science fiction community.

Most recently, I’ve started trying to use my experience living with ADHD and autism to help others, especially writers. I’m also the mother of an autistic and ADHD child, which gives me another perspective from which to offer experience. I offer services as a sensitivity reader and consultant for writers who want to write more accurate representations in their works. I also speak on panels about writing neurodivergent characters and analyzing characters from other media. Stories have to power to change people’s lives, and I want to help others share their stories and help people with ADHD, autism, and other disabilities feel better represented in media. It feels like bringing my two favorite passions of writing and media analysis together in the best ways.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Creativity

I’m always bursting with ideas. Whether it’s a new project or one I’ve been working on for years, every time I sit down to write, there’s something new I want to explore. It goes even beyond the page. My brain is constantly running, playing scenes, trying out dialogue, and analyzing new themes. It never stops. I see my stories like movies in my head playing on endless repeat, just waiting for me to get them onto the page.

Patience

Writing is a time-consuming process. Even when you’re devoting all your time to it, it can take weeks, months, or even years to get a story ready for publishing. I’ve never been able to devote my full time to it. As a single mom of a disabled child, there’s always been a day job, therapy, school, activities, and a million other things to do. Being patient and making time for what’s important is hard. I’ve had to set my passion aside many times to take care of my family, but I’ve always come back to it.

Resilience

I’ve had a lot of challenges in my life. Being diagnosed with ADHD as a child and dealing with the challenges to my learning and mental health in an environment that didn’t always believe my disorder was real, to leaving an abusive relationship and raising a disabled child. I’ve had to start over many times, and every time has been a challenge.

The thing that has helped me the most is community. My family, friends, neighbors, all those who’ve helped and supported me along the way. Especially my friends in the writing community. They have been valuable support, knowledge, and connection. The most important thing you can do is develop a network of friends and colleagues you can turn to for help and support.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

As someone with ADHD, this is a complicated question. I’m always looking for opportunities to learn and expand my skills. There are so many things I want to learn more about and so many causes I want to support. I often find myself seeking new things to try, be it hobbies, books, shows, or opportunities to learn.

But having so many outlets can also become overwhelming. I want to do so many things, yet splitting my focus often means I don’t become well-versed enough to be strong in any of them. I’m willing to try and learn almost anything, but I’m not someone who naturally picks up new things and becomes an expert immediately. It’s frustrating because I truly want to learn and grow as much as possible, but when I’m dividing my attention between too many things, I end up lacking confidence talking about any of them.

For me, it’s better to take a step back and look at the skills I keep coming back to, the ones my interest and focus have returned to over and over again. This is where my real strength lies, and sometimes it’s better. to continue to focus on that and develop true expertise.

Finding a balance between always wanting to learn and grow and focusing on where my strengths are is an important balance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dianamorganauthor.com
• Instagram: @dianamorganauthor
• Facebook: @dianamorganauthor
• Youtube: @dianamorganauthor
• Other: Threads: @dianamorganauthor
  TikTok: @dianamorganauthor

Image Credits

Headshot: Brittany Renee Photography https://www.facebook.com/PhotographySilver