“I can’t write,” is the response I often hear from people who have had an interesting life but shy away from writing about their experiences. That’s too bad, because many of us have lives filled with lessons and stories that others can benefit from, provided someone shares them. True enough, lessons can be related orally. The audio-video age has been most helpful in that regard. But there’s a timeless quality in writing them down. Like Voltaire wrote, “Writing is the painting of the voice.”
A teller of tales worth telling can portray the lessons of life in ways that a reader can digest deeply and maybe emulate in some fashion. So, I say “you have a story to tell.” Tell it. Put another way, there’s a book in each one of us.
“I don’t know where to begin,” is frequently the next lament that surfaces from the depths of a person’s hesitation to write. How do you start? Just begin writing. I suggest to people that they write a letter to themselves, in the simplest manner, with what’s on their mind, the story held in their heart and mind, and why they want to share it. The letter’s length is not important. What is valuable about this process is to capture what is in your heart to tell, the gravamen, the argument, the story that you have held in for years, but now takes the form of nouns, verbs, adjectives, mistaken usage or not. Then it’s before you, poured out, and ready to shape into a narrative that will be your contribution to the generations that follow. It’s not your book yet. But it’s the beginning of the beginning. It’s your heart made known to you in language, and the basis of a narrative others will come to appreciate. The prose will follow soon enough.
Some would call that an outline. It could be. Others a thesis. Maybe. I call it beginning. Recently a veteran colleague and I—we are both published writers—presented out thoughts to fellow veterans who might be encouraged to write in the military genre. There is much to learn from the experience of a person who has seen combat. Yet no learning occurs unless the lessons are shared, and we’re encouraged to write them down. “There’s a book in you,” was our call.
This spring, Colonel (Retired) Greg Fontenot (US Army) and I shared some thoughts about writing with veteran colleagues with an interest in writing. Greg has published several books, and his latest, No Sacrifice Too Great: The 1st Infantry Division in World War II, is very excellent.
Here’s what we presented to would be authors. First, if you can talk, you can write. The worst that can happen is your reviewers and editors will drive you to derision, but the pain is short-lived, and you get a book in the end. Nevertheless, take the plunge, and in doing so consider perspectives and ideas that have yet to be chronicled.
Second, read what others have written about your prospective topic. You might have a better approach. Tell your story as if you were talking to a friend. Use an active voice, not passive and avoid jargon and acronym soup. Relax and write what you care about. Start by writing that letter to yourself about what you want to say. If it’s your story, it’s a valid story.
Third, you do not have to be either a great typist or speller, but rather a person with a perspective to share. Having a person to read behind you will help you along the way.
Finally, there are so many lessons that can be helpful to others. You know them and should not assume others have figured it all out before you. Your story may also be a legacy for your family. Write “So, they will know.” It will be a gift to them long after you have broken the bonds of this fallen world and gone on to a better existence.
Not convinced yet? Then consider what others have said about writing.
“My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” Psalm 45:1
“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” William Wordsworth
“The writer is an explorer. Every step is an advance into a new land.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream by night.” Edgar Allan Poe
“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and look at it, until it shines.” Emily Dickinson
“Writing is the painting of the voice.” Voltaire
“Just write.” Fontenot and Lingamfelter
You’ll be glad you did. So, start “painting.”
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