#002 The Fascination of One Fact in Non-fiction: YOU ARE NOT ALONE by Doug Lawrence, published by Silver Dawn Publishing on January 17, 2022.
https://www.overdrive.com/media/7052433/you-are-not-alone
What made you decide to write this non-fiction work? A number of people approached me and asked if I would consider writing a book on mentoring and mental health. I had/am dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so it was a sensitive and raw topic for me to explore.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd
Can you talk about your experience of researching this non-fiction work? And the dates of when you began researching and when your research was complete? Researching was two fold. The first was targeted on gaining a more in depth understanding of mental health and mental well being. The second was that in doing that research I realized that I was a victim of PTSD. Part of my research was telling my own story of PTSD. I am a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer having served for 25 years. My research began approximately a year- year and a half ago and as it relates to the book – I would have completed that research a couple months ago. While I was writing I was still gathering information that could be added to the book.
What is the date you began writing this piece of non-fiction and the date when you finished writing the piece of non-fiction? I actually was writing and continuing my research as I wrote. I would have conversations with various people on their mental health and/or they would bring something to my attention that I would want to include in the book.
I finished writing the book about 2-3 months ago.
Where did you do most of your writing for this non-fiction work? I work from home so the majority of the writing was done in the comfort of my home off my dining room table. I will sequester myself for the next book so there are less distractions.
What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on laptop; specific time of day? I had to schedule time in my calendar to write as I was easily distracted. I was still conducting business and found that I could get pulled away from writing because of that. I used cue cards to capture ideas but all the writing went directly on my laptop. I would periodically take a break and have a coffee but I found that when I did that it was hard to get my mojo back and to keep writing. I had to do all my writing in the morning, the earlier the better as by mid afternoon I had lost my focus and what I was writing wasn’t making sense.
Please include an excerpt of one FACT or one set of FACTS that you were most impacted by in this non-fiction work. The excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer.
Why was this one fact or one set of facts so compelling for you to discover and to write about? The fact that had the most impact on me was that I realized that I had PTSD as a result of my service with the RCMP. I became a stranger to my family and to my inner circle of friends as I did not have the coping skills to deal with my mental health. As I was researching and starting to write I experienced triggers that brought back memories of various traumatic events and acted out as a way to deal with those triggers. I also turned to alcohol as a way to mask what I was feeling and to mask my behavior.
I think the reason that it is so compelling is that it hit so close to home – it impacted my inner circle and the relationship that I had with my trusted colleagues. It impacted my family – my spouse and two children and I came very close to losing them.
Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? And can you please include a photo of your marked up rough drafts of this excerpt. There were no deletions and I do not have a photo of any marked up rough drafts. I recall when I was writing this piece it was like opening the flood gates as words appeared on the page flooded with tears and disappointment that I was not able to deal with this better.
Click on the below link to view Doug Lawrence’s website
#001 The Fascination of One Fact in Non-fiction: A BLESSING TO EACH OTHER: A NEW ACCOUNT OF JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RELATIONS by Rebecca Moore, published by PublishDrive on October 15, 2021