[Vanessa Lillie, inner stuff]: Getting clear on the stories you're meant to tell Ep 1276

In part two of my conversation with bestselling crime fiction author Vanessa Lillie, whose books include "The Bone Thief," "Blood Sisters," "Little Voices”, and “For the Best,” we're breaking down all the mental hurdles that can get in the way of your writing, and how to overcome them, including:- Fighting erasure by weaving her family’s story into her books- The thrill of writing about your culture, and worrying about getting it wrong- How Vanessa steadies herself when that anxiety crops up- Embracing the challenge of writing a page turner- Dealing with the fear that your current work isn’t as good as your previous work- Seeing ideas as a butterfly that come and sit on your shoulder (from Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Big Magic”)- Why it’s so vital to get clear on why you are the right person to tell this story- Why being in her 40s feels like such a relief- Some frank talk about early motherhood–-and why it was a theme in her first novel- Letting go of the idea that your success is within your controlThis episode is a replay.Connect with Vanessa on Instagram @vanessalillie, where she hosts a long-running series of interviews with crime fiction authors.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit ⁠katehanley.substack.com⁠.Thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices