S10E7 Heart, Be At Peace: Donal Ryan on dealing with rejection, polyphonic writing and time

“Every single thing I ever wrote was rejected by myself. I burnt nearly everything I wrote throughout my twenties because I was so ashamed of how bad it was.” ~Donal Ryan

Donal Ryan is an author who’s not only dealt with rejection, but has flourished despite it - winning awards, writing bestsellers and becoming one of Ireland’s best loved authors. But what did it take for him to succeed against the odds?

Donal’s latest novel, Heart, Be At Peace reintroduces us to the original cast of characters from his 2013 book The Spinning Heart. Meeting the inhabitants of this small Irish town 10 years later, we get to see how they’ve changed and grown - now dealing with a new demon… drugs!

Discussing the book and his fascinating approach to writing, Donal explains why he chose to tell this story through so many voices - taking on a polyphonic approach. He explores the way he manipulates and plays with time, creating a beautiful rhythm to his writing. And, as someone who experienced a lot of rejection early in his career, he describes how he pushed through.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why it’s our job as writers to shine a light on darkness. 
• How to approach writing the second in a series of novels.
• Why you sometimes need to take your art into your own hands!

Find out more about Donal here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

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You can view the full transcript here.

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