Try writing your life as fiction
a great way to play with telling an old story in a new way
Hi friend,
Have you been aching for a book idea but feel like you don’t know where to begin? I totally get it. Sometimes, the options are so endless we have no idea where to start. I recommend starting with your own life and the lives of those around you. As Flannery O’Connor brilliantly wrote, “Anyone who has survived childhood has enough to write for their entire life.” Our memories and the memories of others are goldmines for book ideas. I recommend creating a few lists to generate ideas:
+ A list of key memories and moments from your childhood
+ A list of stories you’ve heard from your mother about her life and family
+ A list of your father’s key stories and upbringing
+ And a list of what you’ve heard about generations before you
»»» Write down everything, big and small.
From there begin to mix and mash them, flip the stories on their heads. Turn that story of grandpa on the farm into a thriller or that story of how your brother broke out of rehab as a story of someone woman’s journey of recovery. Your very own life can serve as gold for fictional book ideas.
Try it out and write short sentence-long summaries of each and see where they take you. :)
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