S8E2 Go As A River: Shelley Read on the rocky path of adversity

“Her story in my mind is sort of a two steps forward, one step back kind of journey. It's not that we face one major challenge in our life and suddenly we are these wise and capable people.”

In life, there isn’t one straight road out of adversity and grief. And so, when charting your characters’ journeys through hardship, authenticity means lingering in the messiness.

Shelley Read’s new book ‘Go As A River’ is a wonderful coming-of-age story, which opens in 1940s rural Colorado. It follows the story of teenager Victoria Nash, and her struggle to survive after fleeing her home to the harsh wilderness of nearby mountains. We also meet young drifter Wilson Moon, who changes Victoria’s life forever. In this episode we discuss the choice of setting and location, we explore Wilson's portrayal - a masterclass in representation, and we dig into Shelley’s writing process.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The power of setting your stories in locations that are close to your heart.
• How to portray a character’s struggle authentically.
• Not to be afraid of pushing characters down the order of importance, or losing their stories completely.

Find out more about Shelley here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.

You can buy copies of our anthology series here. 

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine

Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk