Summary: Today, we have a special conversation with Azul Terronez. Our chat was originally recorded for Azul’s podcast, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/born-to-write-learn-about-writing-from-authors/id1303212874?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Born to Write.</a><br> In our conversation, we talk a lot about the hurdles that aspiring authors face. The biggest of these might just be fear, and we discuss just how debilitating this can be. Azul believes that overcoming these fears is essential in accessing the vulnerable and valuable part of our humanity and sharing our ideas with the world. We hope that through our conversation those wanting to write — but struggling with some of these obstacles — might find solace in solidarity, and see the commonality in our experiences.<br> Key Takeaways From This Episode:<br> <br> * How Charlie and Azul got into writing<br> * The value of writing as a platform for empathy and communion.<br> * Personal perspective and how individual experience is expertise.<br> * Dealing with negative feedback and the fear of rejection.<br> <br> <br> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/born-to-write-learn-about-writing-from-authors/id1303212874?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>Find Azul’s books on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Azul-Terronez/e/B00JFMYNE8/&tag=authorhour20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a>.<br> Listen to more on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/born-to-write-learn-about-writing-from-authors/id1303212874?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Born to Write</a>.<br> <br> <br> Why Charlie Got into Writing<br> Azul Terronez: Did you always have a sense that you wanted to be a writer or that you had it in you?<br> Charlie Hoehn: I never wanted to be a writer. I still don’t necessarily want to be a writer. It’s more of a necessity and the fastest way to create.<br> I think of myself as an ideas person, and it’s the best way to materialize those ideas and give them shape. The fastest, most efficient way to do it is through writing.<br> Whether that’s putting out a thoughtful article or an essay of some sort or a collection of some ideas that I see taking shape in a different industry, or even if it’s just writing a comedy sketch that I end up filming with my friends.<br> <br> Writing clarifies your thinking and allows you to communicate ideas with another individual.<br> <br> I think even faster and more efficiently than when speaking.<br> Azul Terronez: What’s the story underneath? Because that’s the part that interests me the most.<br> Charlie Hoehn: That’s how we’re hardwired. You want to tell a story and you want to hear a story, you don’t want to hear somebody’s advice.<br> Speaking is not as efficient because you have all these obstacles that you’re having to deal with in real time. You’re having to deal with your own internal emotional state while you’re presenting your ideas. You have to be good at judging your audience and making sure that they’re on board with you while you’re communicating. It’s way harder.<br> But when you’re writing, all you have to do is communicate the idea or the story well, and then whoever reads it is listening to you. They’re actually giving more weight to whatever it is that you’re saying. It’s building empathy and compassion for people through writing.<br> Relating to Storytelling<br> Azule Terronez: I think that’s a little bit about what writing does, right? You step through the lens of other people.<br> Charlie Hoehn: I got in a heated argument fairly recently, because someone said fiction books are kind of a waste of time. How could you possibly say that?<br> Fiction is not only exercising the imagination—every movie basically comes from a fiction book first, and all of us love fiction movies. More importantly, you are still gaining compassion, empathy, a new perspective on the world.<br> <br>
