We write for pleasure, but whose pleasure? Our own? Do we want to keep our stories to ourselves or do we want to share them with others?
In our group our objective is to produce an extract from our work in progress and turn it into a publishable short story for our end of year anthology.
Today, for me, is ‘Back to Normal’ day. Our fortnightly Memoir Writing Group workshops begin today for the next semester. The house, post burglary, is protected within and inch of its life. With much help and guidance from Paul, we now have, along with new deadlocks, ‘Ring’ Video doorbells that chime when someone is at any of our doors and takes a video which is stored in The Cloud. We are locked up tighter than Fort Knox. I know, it’s a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, but it feels like we have done the best we can to protect ourselves. It’s time to move on.
Today our Memoir Writing Group resumes at the Godfrey Street Neighbourhood House in Bentleigh and I can’t wait to hear what members have been doing over the holidays. We all have writing projects ‘on the go’ which we share with each other for help and feedback. When we meet, we also write a 15 minute splurge where we just ‘go for it’ and write whatever comes into our heads. Before we start we knock that editor critic off our shoulder and tell it to take a holiday. There will be plenty of time later to revise and get things right.
I believe that everyone has a story to tell. The memoir writing group assists and encourages us to do so in a safe and friendly environment. Members read and discuss historical and personal events from their own point of view. They may wish to write a memoir for their family, or to publish for wider distribution. I am in awe of the talent in our group and can’t wait to hear the next installment of their work in progress.
We are all passionate about writing and I try to make the class handouts on the craft of writing as relevant to our writing as possible. Later in the year, with their permission I hope to showcase members and their work in progress. I’m sure you too will fall in love with their unique and different stories.
Why not grab a pen and start recording your life story in the pages of an exercise book? In the beginning, don’t worry about time lines or order. Just jot things down as they come to you. You can always sort it out later.
The book that most changes your life is the one you write.
