Writing Your Story

Telling your story is a process (Pixabay)
Telling your story is a process (Pixabay)

As New3Creation continues to evolve (and make so many twists and turns in the process) one of the needs that has come to surface is the want or need to write a memoir of sorts. Everyone has a story to tell, but a lot of people don’t know where to start. Well, there are some things to be mindful of and questions to ask before embarking on such a critical journey. When I finally started working on my story, I didn’t know what laid ahead for me. But once a few things were thought over and put into place, things started going in the right direction. When people approach me for assistance in telling their own story, I make sure I present certain questions and points to them so that no work on their part (or mine) is done in vain.

What is the purpose?

Fictional authors make it look so easy. They’re able to whip out novels like nothing. Next thing you know, everybody’s grabbing a copy. But when it comes to telling a personal story, the approach can be a lot more unique. You’re getting ready to reveal some of your most innermost thoughts for anyone to see, some of the most private events of your life. If you’re a private person by nature, this can be even more difficult, making the purpose of the book that much more critical. There can be different reasons as to why you’re telling your business:

  • Liberation for yourself
  • Healing
  • Message of encouragement for others
  • Closure

There can be many more reasons as to why you choose to tell your story. Whatever the reason may be, it has to be clear and real before you embark on starting such a project.

Who will read it?

Who are you talking to while working on your book? Do you want people to be helped as a result of reading it, or are you just providing a good entertaining read for folks? These questions are asked because your story can be told in many ways. It can have a sense of humor or it can be centered around a tragic event that has taken place in your life and how it was conquered.

What are you going to talk about?

Giving intricate details about your date of birth, the town you grew up in and the history of your family tree probably won’t cut it. In fact, no one will care. If you define telling your story as a sequence of events that took place from the day you were born to present, that’s not really doing much for you or your readers. Is there an event that took place that’s inspiring you to write? Are there lessons learned that you want to share with the world? Why?

Know how to dig.

This was especially a challenge for me when I first started putting my book together. There was a lot that I had to say, but I didn’t know where to start, what area to visit or why. It was very difficult. But I had to think about the journey of healing I was on and what needed to be released once and for all. Once I started writing, there were things sitting in me that I hadn’t even realized where still there for so many years. I then realized the book needed to be focused on these occurrences and tell a story about growth and healing. From there the flow was easier and the content was endless.

Be Honest

Are you ready to be truthful? Are you ready to be open? If not, then step back from the pen and paper. If you notice, a lot of the most successful people are where they’re at now because they were vulnerable. They chose to put certain things out there about themselves and not care. This was another area of struggle for me. Was I ready to let people know certain things about me? What would they think? I had to let all of that go. Not that loads of money should be your end goal in telling your business, because success also entails being happy and at peace. But realize what telling your story really means. Because in addition to your book, people will have questions. They will want to know more and see more. Are you ready for that?

Prepare yourself accordingly. Now go write!

Tell Folks about it!