Craft Advice with Alua Arthur

On creating composite characters, the flexibility of the tenses, developing themes, the importance of transparency, and a prompt on getting unstuck. Plus insights on depression.

Intimate conversations with our greatest heart-centered minds

As a “recovering lawyer” and first time author, Alua Arthur had to feel her way through the writing process so I found her insights particularly illuminating. She also had to channel real life client stories from her death doula practice into composites for each chapter. Quite a skill to have! We talked about how she pulled off this and so much more to create her gorgeous new memoir Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life By Getting Real About the End.

Toward the end, we circled back on some aspects of the book that didn’t fit into the first part of our conversation. I think you’ll find it quite compelling.

If you missed part one of our interview, you can read it here.

And exciting news! Alua’s book has landed on the New York Times Nonfiction Bestseller list in the #7 slot!

Thank you once again to all the glorious paid subscribers who help support The DeTommaso Dogs. We were able to make another beautiful donation last month and get more sweet doggos (and some kitties!) off the streets and land them in safe, loving forever homes!

Where do you write?

Everywhere the inspiration stricks.

You don't have to be in a certain place, at a certain time?

No, this is my first writing anything. I'm a lawyer by training, so I wrote legal briefs. I've kept journals my whole life though, but aside from that, I haven't written creatively before. So I'm still learning. I don't consider myself a writer. Let's start there. I just wrote a book.

It’s so beautifully written! So you can write at a friend's house or a coffee shop or at home?

I need silence but if I'm in the midst of something and there's an idea, I'll write a sentence real quick.

From your hand motions, does that mean you write it into your phone?