{"id":9010,"date":"2020-02-20T07:42:47","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T14:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/?p=9010"},"modified":"2020-02-20T09:39:03","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T16:39:03","slug":"9010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/9010\/","title":{"rendered":"Belinda Pollard: Personal Stories Enhance Your Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Inspiration from Belinda Pollard on how to use memoir writing in any of your writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excerpt from “Putting Your Self Into Your Writing, Exercise 1,” by Belinda:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memoir is a popular genre these days, as people tell their personal stories and inspire others to overcome obstacles, cope with life, or laugh at someone\u2019s funny antics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But personal stories go much further than memoir. They are\ngreat additions to many types of non-fiction, especially self-help. They are\nwonderful in travel narratives. How-to can also become more engaging and effective\nif you tell about your own ups and downs as you learned a particular skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And your fiction writing can improve as you learn to tell your personal stories well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve edited biographies and memoirs, and other types of books that use personal story. One of the elements that work really well is when the author finds a way to give readers the gift of experiencing the events in a rich and personal way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how do they do this? And more importantly, how can YOU\ndo it in your personal stories?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exercise 1: Time Travel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one simple exercise to help you access the wonderful stories that live and breathe inside of you, and get them out of you and onto a page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Set aside 15 minutes when you won\u2019t be interrupted. Keep\nthe expectations reasonable and you\u2019re more likely to do it! Plus, it can\nsometimes be quite draining, so keeping it short is wise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Settle in a safe and comfortable place, where you can be relaxed. It can be indoors or outdoors. You can be alone or there may be other people around, such as at a library, but it\u2019s usually best if it\u2019s quiet. Do whatever is comfortable and easy for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Choose one story you would like to tell.  It might be related to the book you\u2019re writing, or it could be a story you have chosen for this exercise. It might be from many years ago, or yesterday. If you have trouble choosing, just begin the exercise and get started, and a story will probably come into your mind. (If it doesn\u2019t, don\u2019t stress. Just try again another day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. For 5 minutes, close your eyes and imagine you are back\nin \u201cthat place\u201d and \u201cthat time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let the \u201cmovie\u201d of that event play in your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happened? What can you see? Hear? Smell? Touch? Taste?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you feel? What are the reactions in your body that occur as you experience these different emotions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are other people interacting with you? Think about their\nvoices and facial expressions, their dress and manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are places or buildings or vehicles or animals or\nweather contributing to what\u2019s happening?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Now, open your eyes and write for 10 minutes. Write fast. Don’t edit. Don’t question yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t try to be neat if you\u2019re writing by hand, or accurate\nif you\u2019re typing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ignore grammar, spelling and punctuation, just let the words\nflow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write only for 10 minutes. Keeping the time limited makes it\nmore likely you\u2019ll do this exercise again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Later, take the piece you have written and examine it. The\ngoal is to help you get in touch with the elements of writing that can help\nmake a \u201cscene\u201d in your book come alive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be critical of your writing! It\u2019s your story. Be glad\nyou have that story inside you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Link to the entire article, “Putting your Self into your writing, Exercise 1,” by Belinda Pollard<\/a> and her follow-up article, Exercise Two<\/a> of Putting Your SELF into your writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Belinda Pollard<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I help people change the world, one word at a time.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n