I'm just about to send the first few chapters of my latest non-fiction book to my agent who loved the earlier draft. All I need is a title. If you can think of one, I'd sure appreciate hearing from you.
Just drop a line via the contact page of my website: www.michelegierck.com.au
About the manuscript
It's a post-injury come-back tale in which the bush, the ocean, a bloke (a fellow) and travel all play their part.
Here's the pitch.
When Michele, a broken down sojourner, meets Mac, a dedicated river scientist, she is drawn into his orbit, the gravity of which propels her onto an uncharted trajectory. And yes folks, it's a true story!
If you'd like to know more about this book, including the title that we choose or publication date, just sign up to the newsletter on my website.
Image and text copyright Michele Gierck
Creative Writing: How to Start -- How to Take that First Step
So you want to write your story.Wondering where to begin?
Here’s three questions to get you going. Take time to consider them.
1) If you were to choose six parts of your life to write about -- they could be events, experiences, life stages, transitions or times when you've learnt something significant – what would those six things be?
2) Why do you now feel the urge to write? Is it because you promised yourself you would before you turned 30,50,60 or 75? Is it because you want to hand stories down to family members? Or to reflect on your journey so far? Is it to tell the story of others through your eyes? Or perhaps just to let your creative self flourish, and see what emerges?
3) Who would you like the audience for your writing to be? Are you writing it for anyone in particular? Or just for yourself? Would you like it published?
Once you’ve answered the questions, write down the six things you want to write about. And then write about them! It's okay if you only write a paragraph on each. Or you could write pages and pages.
Then, once you've got that writing done, take a good look at it. Then put it down, leave it for a bit. And look again. What are the threads that are common to each of the six pieces? What might hold them together? What would you like to replace or add?
This might give you an idea of what you really want to write.
And at least it's given you a starting point.
The rest of your writing could easily develop from this.
Rather than pressuring yourself to write a book, you might consider writing an overview piece that links the pieces you’ve written. Or perhaps you'd prefer to write on one of the pieces that just seems to grab you.
You never quite know what’s going to happen once you start on your own personal writing adventure… So, be brave, be creative, and allow the story to emerge.
Go for it!
Michele
ps. for all those who say they can't write, then speak it, record it, and get hold of some apps or technology that types it up for you! (See, there's no excuse not to write.)
pps. You won't believe how good for your health writing can be!
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Text and Image copyright Michele Gierck
Michele Gierck is author of 700 Days in El Salvador, Fraying: Mum, memory loss, the medical maze and me, and co-author of Peter Kennedy: the man who threatened Rome.
Michele's website: www.michelegierck.com.au
Michele is a member of The Australian Society of Authors.
Writing your own story can be like scaling a mountain. It takes a lot of effort. Lots and lots. Along the way there will be times when you chug along; times when you sweat it out; and moments when the peak seems so far off in the distance that giving up seems more than reasonable. (My attempt scaling Mount Aspiring in NZ springs to mind.) Here's some ideas to get you going -- writing not mountaineering.
Thinking about the following questions before you depart, might be one way to ensure you make it to the mountain top. (Or help you figure out, before expending loads of energy, that it's not for you.)
If you're thinking of embarking on that journey -- of autobiography, biography or memoir -- here's some questions that might help.
1) Do you really want to do this?
2) Why do you really want to do this?
3) Who is your audience; who are you writing for?
4) Which voice do you want this written in?
5) Am I happy to do this even if it's not a best seller? Or published by a major publishing house? Or I have to self-publish?
6) If I could only tell six stories/scenarios/scenes or reflectionss, which ones would they be?
7) Why do those six stories/scenarios/scenes or reflections stand out? Are they linked?
ps It's quite normal to change your answers as you venture along the writing track.
I hope this helps.
Remember, nearly every book, whether for the family or the wider world, starts as an idea and a blank page!
This is such a stunning book: so insightful about the meaning and purpose of our lives, so beautifully written, and incredibly honest. Basically it's bloody fabulous (as we would say in Australian parlance). And so sad when the 37-year-old author, a neurosurgeon and scientist, dies. It's an absolute must-read, especially for anyone facing their own mortality, (that's all of us isn't it?) and for those who surround and love them.
An inspiring story that will live on long after the last page is read.
Long live the memory of Paul Kalanithi. Que Viva!
After my latest book, Fraying: Mum, memory loss, the medical maze and me, was published, I was often asked to speak about end of life. Fraying was written from the perspective of a daughter, with no medical qualifications; a daughter struggling with the medical maze and the decisions to be made. When Breath Becomes Air is from a medical professional's perspective, one who becomes the patient. The questions Paul and his wife, Lucy Kalanithi, must face, and dare to ask, are confronting. But they are also, in essence, questions about what it means to be human, and at what point living becomes too much of a burden.
This book is a precious gift to readers.
Michele's website: www.michelegierck.com.au