Hannah Diviney is a leading writer, actress, and disability and women’s rights advocate in Sydney. Her debut book “I’ll Let Myself in” was published in 2023 and is proudly a part of Sydney’s Writers Festival is a book about self-discovery and advocacy. It delves into her life experiences of disability which celebrates the strength and resilience to overcome them.
Before the festival, I had the opportunity to interview Hannah Diviney about her incredible and motivating book, her writing processes, ideas and inspiration behind it. It was an honour to interview such a humble, wise and positive person.
Date- Thursday, May 23, 2024
To start with, how are you feeling about being a part of Sydney Writers Festival?
I’m really excited, I love the festival. This is my third time performing here, I guess. I don’t know if you call it performing, but we’re going with this. This is the first time that I’ve actually had a book to promote at the festival, and I’m really looking forward to getting to talk about it, getting to kind of break it down for people and then hopefully if anyone wants to meet me in the signing queue afterwards, I would love that.
That’s great. Coming to the book, what inspired to write your book?
I wrote ”I’ll Let Myself In” because I’d never seen anyone who looked like me on television, in stories, in movies, in the games that were available on the shelves, in the toys that kids were playing with. That created a really deep and somewhat painful hole in my sense of self and identity that I’m still trying to work around, which is quite daunting, I guess.
I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was 4. I’ve just always loved storytelling, reading, talking to people, making things up, making them laugh and doing all that. So, I always thought that like, if I become an author, I would write a novel that people loved. I wanted to be the next JK Rowling. This was of course before the transphobia showed itself. Now I am like, stay away from me please. But back then as a kid you wanted to be as beloved as Harry Potter and as popular, I guess. So, I always thought that I’d write a novel.
When I was about 17, I had just finished high school and had a pretty significant… breakdown. And it kind of occurred to me that maybe before I tell other people’s stories, I need to get comfortable with my own. I tried to ignore that voice for as long as I possibly could, but it kind of kept insisting… so I decided that I needed to tell my story and I hoped that if I did, it would help people feel less alone and more represented. It would also selfishly, I guess, give me some closure and help me to process what’s happened in my life so far.
I already feel like I could update some chapters I only published last September because things have already changed so much. I guess that’s what happens when you’re in your 20s. I’m trying to convince my brain to listen to some of the characters that seem to be dancing around it at the moment. So, we’ll see how that goes. But yeah, I’m hopeful that book two will be soon rather than later.
That’s inspiring! We look forward to your other novels as well. How do you think “I’ll Let Myself In” will impact readers?
Well, I hope two different things. I hope that this book feels like a safe space for many. For disabled readers, anyone who’s felt marginalized, who’s felt like they struggled at school, or they were a wallflower, or they’ve had issues with their mental health, or they've had thoughts about their body that might not be so nice. And I hope that it makes them feel seen, makes them feel heard, and makes them celebrate that fact that they are going through life with their struggles, which is something to be proud of.
If they are readers who can’t relate on a personal level... I hope they’re open to learning. I hope they’re able to look at the experiences that I’ve written about… which are obviously just mine and aren't representative of disabled communities. We don’t have one experience. There’s a million and one different layers of intersectionality as well, depending on colour, disability, sexuality or whatever it might be. I hope that maybe it forces people to reconsider their expectations of how the world is built for disabled people in quite literal ways. And hopefully it leads to more open conversations in the prioritizing of accessibility, the prioritizing of representation and those kinds of things.
That’s nice. Okay, the title of your book is a big part of your narrative. How did you come up with this title?
That’s an interesting question because originally the book had a different title. It was called “The Daffodil Project” because the day I was born, the 20th of August 1999, happened to be Daffodil Day. So, I’ve always loved daffodils and their bright colours, and the idea that flowers can grow no matter the conditions. Flowers are resilient, which is also why on Instagram I’m @hannahthewildflower cause wildflowers can grow anywhere and they’ll just persist no matter what. They can be in the cracks of the ugliest pieces of pavement, or they can flourish in the most beautiful environment. But when I pitched that title to my wonderful agent, she thought it might be a book about cancer and that’s not my experience. She doesn’t want me to feel like I’m being… misunderstood or misrepresented. So, she asked me to think of a different title.
I wrote this kind of feverish fast paced list of maybe 50 or 60 titles, and I was like… no, they aren’t quite right. I have a friend who is a political speech writer and explained to her the idea of having to put myself into spaces because no one else is going to hold the door open for me. So, she suggested to me… how about I let myself in? And I knew in that moment, that was definitely the title. She gets full credit for that in the acknowledge of the book, so, shout out to Katie. But yeah, it’s the perfect title. Now I couldn’t think of anything else.
It is definitely a perfect title. I am very much into writing, and I have written a few short stories during high school but haven’t published any of them yet. What one piece of advice would you give to upcoming writers like me?
Wow! So, the important thing is that I still feel like an upcoming writer. Even though I have a book out with my name on it and it’s my favourite book. I still get kind of nervous and I’m still figuring out things like, can I actually do this? And I’ll want to do it again, but I don’t know if I have ideas, I don’t know if I have characters that are interesting. What if I have said everything I could say? But for me, I try to remember that every story that matters to us across the world, no matter what culture you’re a part of, started in the same way. It started with someone having an idea and they put words down on the page. I’m trying to teach myself that it’s better to put “bad” words on page and then edit them than stare at a blank page. You can’t do anything with a blank page, but you can fix a page of nonsensible strings of consciousness and first drafts.
Some people work on novels for 10 years before they get the version that we read. You just have to be patient with yourself… pace yourself. Don’t treat it as a sprint, treat it as a marathon. I would say, start with a story that’s inside you, that makes the most sense for you to tell. I think that’s the easiest thing instead of asking what’s the most interesting idea? What’s the most outlandish idea? What idea hasn’t been done before? Keep it simple. Just trust an idea and try it out and if it doesn’t work, there’s always the backspace key.
I really like that advice, and I’ll definitely consider it. Can you tell us about any of your new projects or books?
So… I thought book two was going to go one way, but in recent weeks it seems not. There’s going to be kind of a character that comes before the character I had in my head, which means I'll hopefully tell the story I thought I was going to, but maybe not the same way. I realise that I’m speaking in riddles. I think what I would love to write and then hopefully turn into a film is a situation where the female character is disabled and the male lead, for one of the better phrases, is abled. It would be what’s called an Interabled relationship. I want to explore what it would look like for those two to be in a relationship, because sometimes I watch romcoms and I go, getting together is the end of the movie, but what happens now? What would they be like on Sundays when they’re making breakfast or what are they like when they have an argument? But I kind of want to write about this young woman who is finding herself… finding love and growing and glowing because of it.
That’s interesting.
Yeah, I also want the male lead not to be viewed as a hero for dating the disabled girl. I want him to be complex too. So, I am in the process of sketching out what I think this would look like. But again, that could change any day. I am very flexible and open to whatever my brain decides its intrigued by. I think that’s another piece of advice: if something makes you curious or sparks your interest… follow that thing. It doesn’t matter where it leads you, just follow the stuff that makes you curious, intrigued and excited.
So true. I wish you luck for the upcoming novels. Thank you so much for your time today!
Thank you!
It was a huge honour to have a conversation with Hannah Diviney about her inspiring book. Her debut book “I’ll Let Myself In” has inspired and will inspire millions more out there, and her wise words will motivate future writers. I eagerly and excitingly look forward to reading her second novel. If you would like to get inspired by her great mind, follow Hannah Diviney on Instagram @hannahthewildflower.
