One Day Your Story Could Be Someone Else's Survival Guide.
Have you seen this quote before?
I have. I saw it a while back, maybe a year ago. And I loved it. It was a reminder to me at the time, of why I do what I do. Write.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen and heard this specific quote a few times. For me, it’s a sign that I’m going in the right direction. It’s confirmation. Why? This past week, my book, The Truth is a Lie, came out on Amazon. It is MY story. I fictionalized it and made it readable to a specific audience, mostly young adults. I wanted to create a voice for someone who had no voice. I wanted to be the person that I needed to have when I was going through some of the darkest parts of my life. It is someone’s survival guide.
I moved across county about three years ago, from N. California to Orlando, Florida. I had a series of crappy jobs during that time (which I've written about), but it was my last job, where I worked as an accounting manager (for what I call an emotional tornado) that I decided to follow my passion and write. I also discovered I had a knack for coaching other people to tell their stories. It’s not easy, I know. And if my client isn’t a writer, it’s even harder for them.
Your story can change someone else’s perspective because they get to see life from someone else’s point of view. Sit in your skin and feel your experiences, your joys, and pains. And not all stories have to be bad stories – let's share the good ones too!
Growing up in a cult and an abusive home made me a better writer. If this is you, or partly you, you might see that you’re able to dig deep into the feelings of character, that you have a sense of right and wrong, and you ask questions.
Writers who’ve experienced trauma often write light-hearted, fun stories for kids. These are survival guides too, as children get to imagine these lives as their own. They get to be taken away to a wonderful place, unlike the home they live in.
If you have a story to tell, I encourage you to share it. Write it. Publish it.
As a writing coach, when I start working with my clients, the first thing we do is create a Word document or get a blank journal. Once they have this, it’s time to make a rough outline, just the points they want to cover. Don’t worry if you don’t get them all, likely you’ll remember things as you start to write. Memories will start to pop up. It's fine. Don't overthink it.
Next, it’s who’s your audience? Who do you want to speak to? Is it tweens, teens, or adults? Is it clients? This you need to know before you start writing – this will determine your voice. You wouldn’t talk the same to a tween as you would a 65-year-old man.
Then, you carve out time to write. Put it on your calendar. Make appointments with yourself, and put everything on DND. And then write during that time. Don’t beat yourself up if you only write 50 words, and it’s crap - because that’s 50 words that weren’t there before.
It doesn’t stop here. I’ll be writing more on how to write your story. Basically I am teaching you how to write a book.
I'd love to know what your story is.