"Well, You're a Writer": A Psychologist Explores Her Path to Writing YA Romance
Jodie Benveniste joins Cave of the Heart and answers 5 questions about self-trust
Welcome to Cave of the Heart, an interview series where writers trust-fall into the depths of inner-knowing, creativity, and the craft of writing. Are you ready to get curious about the cultivation of self-trust, give a warm nod to our child selves, and celebrate inspiration in all forms? Come with us into the cave of the heart.
Jodie Benveniste is a writer and psychologist, author of four non-fiction books and the creator of a Substack, Just Between You & Me…a space for sharing, reflection, musings, and deepening about our inner universes. Her debut young adult contemporary romance, Never, Not Ever, is about family dynamics, finding yourself, and falling in love (and has some sneaky wellbeing in there too).
Describe the setting where you’re answering these questions.
I’m writing this from my home office, downstairs, with views to the city past the treetops on my left and a beautiful gum tree lined valley to my right. There’s birdsong, a bright sun, even though it’s autumn here now and should be raining, and an occasional car passing on the road below. I’ve meditated and journaled and now I’m at my computer writing this with a pot of tea and essential oils burning on the desktop next to me. So, yes, I’m in my happy place!
Childhood
Amanda: Given a choice, were you the child who would run barefoot outside or were you inside reading?
Jodie: I was the child who was both running outside barefoot and inside reading. We grew up in country South Australia - small country towns with lots of wide open space, gum trees, sunshine and a sense of freedom. I remember many days of roaming with my friends, creating cubby houses in the backyard by throwing a blanket over a branch and creating a nook against the tree trunk, making mud cakes, serving up tea to my dolls in the shade, dressing up the next door neighbour’s dog in a skirt and top, and setting up my portable chalkboard outside and teaching class.
But I was also a big reader who always had a book on the go. When I was 8 years old and we lived in a smaller country town, I’d actually read everything in the local and school library so they had to send me books from the city library to read. I also used to borrow books from family friends who lived in the next town and they always joked that I’d have read the big stack of books by the time we got home.
I was big into my imagination. We weren’t overly monitored or coddled growing up because we lived in a safe community and it was also an era where ‘parent’ was more a noun than a verb. ‘Parenting’ hadn’t been invented quite yet, certainly not in the way it is now. That allowed for a greater sense of creative freedom and imaginative play - both outdoors and indoors, playing and reading.
Influences
Amanda: If you had to choose one person from your past that most influenced who you are today, who would that be and why? This can be a person from history, an animal, a fictitious character in a book, TV or movie.
Jodie: I had three important teachers in my life who recognised something in me that I hadn’t understood and others hadn’t seen or articulated either. When I was 7 years old, my Year 3 teacher picked me out as a sharp and observant reader and writer. My English teacher in my first year of high school called me a writer and put me in the advanced English class where I got to delve more deeply into books and story. And a teacher in a post-school writing class said bluntly, “Well, you’re a writer.” I didn’t believe any of them. Not for years. Even though I’d published four non-fiction books, I still didn’t believe I was a writer. Until one day, something clicked within me and I started to own it. It then took me several more years to turn my heart to my true love, fiction writing.
Creative Spark
Amanda: What do you think about the concept of a “creative spark”? Is it something we all have access to?
Jodie: I truly believe in creative sparks, that intuitive hit that resonates so deeply within that you have to listen. I say hit, but oftentimes, it’s more like a whisper for me. For a lot of my life, I ignored my intuition, not always, but certainly when it came to my creative practice.
I had this driving desire within me to create something that would have impact, help people and make a difference so I sought out what seemed like safe and stable ways to do that. That’s why I studied psychology, started a business in parenting education and support, and developed books, programs and speaking topics in that space.
It was worthy work but it didn’t feed my soul. I also worked so damn hard in that business that I burnt out three times and no matter how hard I worked, I never achieved the level of success I so desperately desired.
After a time and A LOT of self-work, I’d created enough space within me to not only hear my intuition but trust it. That’s when I got the nudge to write fiction. At first, I tried to game my success, again, by thinking up an idea for a book series. But it didn’t really hold my interest deeply enough. Then I got this creative spark to write YA contemporary romance. And the book literally poured out of me like it had been waiting so long to finally be realised. It was a joy to write. It’s my new release, Never, Not Ever.
Writing Process
Amanda: What does your writing life look like today, and can you compare/contrast it to 10 years ago?
Jodie: Ten years ago, I’d just experienced my worst, and second bout of burnout, so much so that I had to take a year out of work and put my business on hold. A friend had recently set up an art space in the hills and I took up a room there to “write.” I told everyone I was working on a project but I wasn’t really. I was recovering. I was fortunate to be given one paid project that gave me enough income for the year but that took very little energy and effort. I “pretended” to be working because I still felt like I needed to be productive, doing something worthwhile, contributing in some way. After that year, I rejuvenated my business and continued on. That’s why I had a third bout of burnout because I hadn’t fully learnt my lesson — yet.
Where I am now is the result of a three year process that began with closing my private practice. It was the first time I’d changed my work situation with nothing else to go to, no income, no plan, just a nudge I had to honour, which if I’d ignored, I’m certain would have led to another round of burnout. For the first time in my life, I took a sabbatical and sat in the unknown. It was lovely and a bit uncomfortable. But it’s the reason I’m where I am today, writing fiction, doing project work on the side, trusting my creative insights, feeling the most myself I’ve ever felt. I’m launching my debut novel and I have no doubt that I needed to become the person who could honour this story and represent it well so it can resonate with and find its right readers.
Resources
Amanda: What’s one surprising or unlikely resource that you turn to again and again to bolster your writing life?
Jodie: The most important resource that supports my writing life, and me as a whole is Internal Family Systems. It’s an evidence-based therapeutic approach that I used in my psychology private practice with my clients and it’s also a model for self-understanding. It’s had the single biggest impact on my healing process, it’s the framework through which I live my life and it features in my fiction writing. I’d actually written a non-fiction book that translated IFS into a self-help model, which I never published, because I really wanted more people to know about it. But then I realised that what really sung to me was embedding these ideas in story, allowing the narrative to lead and opening up space for people to connect more deeply to themselves as teen readers or to their inner teens as adult readers. This feels like my true work, what I’m here to do, and it lights me up.
Now to you…
Jodie talks about the importance of trusting one’s intuition. Can you recall a time when listening to your intuition led to a significant decision or change in your life?
YA romance often explores themes of self-discovery and first love. What YA novel has resonated with you the most, and why?
Jodie transitioned from psychology to writing YA fiction. Have you ever made a major career shift based on a passion or interest? What inspired that change?
This was great 😊