Writing While Healing - Indie Author Interview: Devon J Hall

Welcome to the newest post in Writing While Healing, a series where I speak with indie authors who’ve found light through writing during their darkest times.

Today, I’m honored to feature Devon J Hall, a mental health warrior and a great part of the writing community on Twitter. You can learn more about Devon here.

Please introduce yourself!

My name is Devon J Hall, and I am the Founder of The Loud Mouth Brown Girl dot com, and I focus my blog on sharing my "Mental health after trauma" Journey with the entire world, for, you know...fun.

Please tell us a little about yourself and the kind of stories you write.

I write a lot of stories about what it's like living with mental health, and the things I have done to move forward. I write about the things that I struggle with, and I try to show folks that mental health issues are not only understandable but also relatable.

Would you feel comfortable sharing a bit about your mental health journey?

Absolutely. I have been diagnosed as "Psychotic," which covers a large range of different mental health issues. It's a pretty big umbrella, which means "We don't really know where you fit because your stories of trauma are both deep and complex, but we don't really believe you." I worry about my diagnosis quite a bit because of what I am struggling with. Lots of people hear the word "Psychotic," and they think "Violent," but that's neither true nor accurate; it really just means doctors don't know where you fall on the spectrum, so they try out everything.

How has your mental health influenced your writing process or creativity?

I used to write fiction, but I had to stop during COVID because the world had shut down. So many folks who had never dealt with mental health issues before were suddenly looking for help, and I was one of the few Biracial Black people talking about mental health on a public scale at the time. Especially in Canada, it seemed a lot more important to take my mental health issues and use them as a catalyst to start conversations about ableism, racism, and other isms that affect marginalized communities.

Do you find writing to be healing, challenging, or a bit of both?

Ha ha ha ha, I had to laugh at this because if it wasn't a challenge would be worth doing? And if it wasn't healing, then why do it? You know what I am saying? I write because if I didn't write, I'd be stuck in my head. As much as I love and adore my friends, and as willing as they are to carry parts of me, I can't ask them to carry the whole load, even I can't do that on my own. Writing is healing because it allows me to speak to the audience as if no one is there. And when they respond? Suddenly, I really am not alone anymore.

Has your experience with mental health shaped the themes or characters in your stories?

I think watching the world slowly destroy itself (or quickly, depending on where you live) has made me really think about the kind of legacy that I want to leave. Nothing is forever, but my hope is that Loud Mouth Brown Girl dot com will serve as a blueprint for other girls who want to take their voices and build a brand that helps people on a scale that isn't about money or fame, but just doing the next right thing.

Are there any writing routines, boundaries, or self-care habits that help you stay grounded?

Not really? Coffee, weed, write, repeat.

What advice would you give to other writers who have similar struggles as you?

One of the things I learned early on as a writer is that even though you're a writer, people want to hear you speak. They want to hear your voice, the sound and cadence of it, so they can put vocalization to the words they read. Be prepared to have lots of people turn to see what you're doing at first, and then to have them all turn away when they get comfortable with you. It's not all shits and giggles, some days are amazing, some days suck, on the days that suck I ride the wave and connect with my circle so I don't feel alone, and yes, I fucking ask for help.

Have you ever taken breaks from writing to focus on your mental health?

I'm doing that right now. I spent six solid years writing and creating books, t-shirts, clothing stuff, and all kinds of stuff, and then COVID hit and my business took a serious downturn, so right now I am trying to readjust and figure out what the next right step is for me to take.

What’s something you wish more people understood about being a writer with mental health struggles?

We are not "Content Creators." Writers are writers. We are the storytellers of the world, and we only teach the world half of what we know to be true. Which means we're walking around carrying all kinds of trauma that doesn't belong to us, until we can find a time to talk about it or write about it, and release it into the world somehow. So fucking be gentle with us for fuck sakes. We're...really soft people, I promise. But we bite. Hard. Yeah, don't forget that.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers?

I want you to be your best self. That's why I am doing this. I want parents, single parents in particular, to read my blog and to see how to do better than my parents were able to do, so their kids don't go through what my brother and I went through. I want you to know your voice matters, and if you so deign to share it with the world, at least ten people will come running because they need to hear what YOU, in particular, have to say. 

 If nothing else I do matters to know, let this matter: You exist because you deserve to be here. You didn't have to earn your place before, and you don't have to now. All you have to do is be the version of yourself that makes YOU happy, and no one ever did that alone.

Where can readers connect with you and your work? (Socials, website, books, etc.)

You can visit my website here, which is my social media and shop portal. From there, you can grab my books, shirts, clothes, or reach out to me at social events around BC and on social media. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my articles. <3

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Thank you for reading!

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