Warning: I have thirty or more different reasons to feel sad...

I suffer from bouts of depression. We all do. It's a bloody sad, sad world. However,I feel as writers, we have to be MORE careful.

Why?

Because writers, like you and I, have something I call 'CHARACTER EMPATHY'. When my real, non-imaginary life is going badly, I feel sad... depressed even. The same as everyone else.

However, when anyone of my thirty or more characters in any of my novels or short stories feel's sad or depressed, I can also, for them, fall into sadness or depression. Take my character Sophia, whose head I'm in most, she' a strong character but even she gets sad sometimes and that makes me sad.

My character Theo, whose wife was in a car accident, is also feeling down. From his POV I'm sad. In fact, because I live the exciting life of my books, happiness and satisfaction are rarely felt, hence the excitement part. My life is a constant climax of events.

SO A TIP: take time out from writing each day just to go to that happy place. Look at a happy picture. I buy Britain magazine and look through the wonderful hotel adverts. Ah, to be in the Cotswolds or the Peaks.

Don't fall too deep into Character Empathy. Be happy. Think happy place.

ann