When writing about particularly sensitive topics (trauma, child abuse, suicide, war, rape, racism, sexism, any kind of phobia, any political issues, etc.), make it palatable for the reader. 

How? Wrap it up in a metaphor. 

We’re only beginning to learn empathy as a society. We still react with anger and hatred vs. responding with understanding and compassion. We don’t know how to talk about our pain, how to listen to others talk about their pain, and how to facilitate this conversation as a people. 

This is where metaphors come in. Steal them from fairy tales. 

Fairy tales for centuries have been the safe and the enticing way to teach children the dangers of life and how to deal with them. Read The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim if you want your mind get bent and never look at a fairy tale the same way again (for example, did you know that Jack and the Beanstalk is a story about masturbation?).

It’s very easy to blurt our what bothers you, even if it's through your characters speaking. 

It’s much harder to present it as a metaphor. 

It’s worth it every moment. Together we can help each other love one another a little more. Through our stores. So write yours with the help of metaphors, and you’ll have more readers, and therefore will make a bigger impact on all of us. 

Thank you.

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