“Where do I start?” 
I hear this a lot. I am writing this to give you a few little paths into the rich universe of your material.
In a nutshell, here is everything I know about writing: It begins where you begin. Write about what wrangles you, what frustrates you, and what makes you laugh your head off and cry your eyes out. Write about the memories you can’t put down, the questions you never got adequate answers to, the rooms you walk through again and again in your mind. Write about whatever comes up first in the swampy, gorgeous mess of memories and feelings and ideas that is inside you. All writing – be it speculative fiction, abstract poetry, or rants to MPs – everything comes from there.
Lists can get us started. Right now, get out a pen and put five things under each of these headings. There’s no way to do this wrong, and you can scrunch it up later if you want to. Just get your pen moving.
1. People you adore.
2. The first memory to come to mind about each of those people.
3. Meals you will never forget.
4. Times when you have been angry.
5. Times when you remember looking at the sky.
6. Great kisses.
Now, before you lose the energy of that list-making, pick one memory from one list, write it at the top of a fresh sheet of paper and begin with the line: “I remember the colour of…” Write for five minutes, quickly, whatever comes to mind. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling or even making sense. Just let it flow.
… How was that? I’m willing to bet that there’s a story in there. You may have just touched the edge of it. You may want five more minutes, and then five more after that. If so, take them. Keep on writing.
Here’s another idea: Read through and pull out your favourite lines, whatever they may be. They could be whole sentences, or single words. Copy them onto a fresh page. What happens? What do they look like when you read them together?
Try starting another five-minute write with, “What I mean by___” and then inserting one of those favourite lines.
As you may be able to guess, you could do this whole process 100 times and you would come out with 100 new, original pieces of work. You can do it with friends, on the subway or in the middle of the night. Make a list, choose a memory, write for five minutes, pick a line, write for five more. Miracles will happen.
If you want to switch it up a bit, throw on some music! Having music in the background can bring up surprising new material. It can amplify emotions and it can quiet our inner critic. Here’s a song by Edgar Mayer and Bella Fleck that I love to write to: Sliding Down. Note: I am hoping I don’t get sued for posting this. Please support musicians! They need to make a living, too. Here is more about them.
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Still hungry? Here is a memoir-writing inspiration pack. I send these out every second week to the participants in Memory Threads, my satellite memoir-writing class. This will give you the chance to give into one of your life stories, from the comfort of your sofa.
Also, here is an interview I did on Jamie Ridler’s fabulous podcast, Creative Living with Jamie. This podcast presents interviews with creative spirits from around the world. You can listen to the interview by clicking below, or click here to find out more and see Jamie’s wonderful work.
~ Download Jamie Ridler’s interview with me
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