Daniel DeMersseman | Valdosta Daily TimesJanisse Ray discussed the craft of writing with Valdosta State University creative writing professor Dr. Deborah Hall and audience members at the VSU University Center Theatre.

VALDOSTA — “These stories are untold and they need to be told,” said writer, activist, and naturalist Janisse Ray.

Ray discussed the art and the importance of storytelling Wednesday afternoon at the Valdosta State University University Center Theatre.

“If you have any artistic leaning, we need you more than ever,” she said.

Ray wrote an essay, recently published by online magazine “The Bitter Southerner,” about coal ash being stored in rural Southern communities.

“The day that story went live, it was unbelievable the response,” Ray said. “Thousands of people had called me or responded where the story was posted online, the true story of mercury and arsenic leaking from coal ash.”

“Coal ash is produced primarily from the burning of coal in coal-fired power plants,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency website. “Without proper management, these contaminants can pollute waterways, ground water, drinking water, and the air.”

Coal ash is one of many ecological topics Ray has covered in her writings.

She has published books of non-fiction, fiction and poetry and was inducted into the Georgia Writer’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

Ray shared some of her secrets to writing.

“I get up at 5:30 or 6 in the morning and go to my upstairs office and write for a few hours until my daughter wakes up,” she said.

Ray said the most important thing is to sit down and write.

“That’s one of the hardest things to do — nailing your feet to the floor below your writing desk,” Ray said.

She also said it was important to read more books.

Ray wants others to share their stories, too.

“I’m hungry to know who you are and what you are,” she said.

Ray will give a public talk 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the UC Theatre. The talk is open to the public.