Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Helen Dent. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Helen , thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I started writing novels mid-career. Technically, my life as a creative began in preschool (when creativity really starts to blossom for most of us, I think), but in college, all my ideas seemed second-hand, based on the creativity of others. Looking back, I can see that I was simply in the process of finding my own voice, but at the time, it felt fatal. So I taught overseas for a few years, then worked with books in various capacities, and then, finally, had a fresh story idea. Once I dusted off my old composition notebooks, I couldn’t stop writing!

In a way, I wish I’d continued writing creatively during those “gap years” to develop my writing muscles, so to speak. But also, it wasn’t wasted time. I was filling the storehouse of my imagination, and when the time was right, the ideas overflowed.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I write stories with a touch of mystery and magic (think Nancy Drew meets A Wrinkle in Time). My books are typically fast-paced, but with a fairy-tale feeling.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m not sure exactly where I picked up this idea, but for years I was haunted by the thought that “true” creatives don’t have bad first drafts. Instead, they come up with a brilliant idea, then write or paint or sculpt it in a burst of pure inspiration, and voila! Art.

So I wrote first drafts of all my stories, typed “The End,” and stopped. And those stories were never what I wanted them to be . . . until I joined a writing group that gave honest critique. I remember driving home one night after some particularly painful feedback – painful because it was right! – deciding whether or not to quit the group and maybe writing altogether. “One more try,” I thought. “I’ll give it one more try.” I reworked my writing for the next week, and it was so much stronger, so much closer to my vision for the piece.

I’ve come to believe that, at least of me, that’s where creativity blooms . . . not so much in a single burst of inspiration as in the reworking, the feedback, the digging deeper. Like tending a garden, it’s a process, but a fruitful and fulfilling one.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Yes, though it’s not just a one-time story. I really believe that pursuing a creative life builds resilience into a person because there are so many closed doors – you either give up or learn how to keep creating because you believe in the project or because you just love doing it! So when I would receive a rejection on a book, I’d send out more emails to literary agents and editors, and then I’d keep writing my current work-in-progress. And eventually, the right book found its way to the right publisher.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://helendentwrites.com/
• Instagram: @helendentwrites
• Facebook: helen.dent.549

Image Credits

Lena Key