A friend and I had a video chat recently. She is quite ill but wants to chronicle the significant parts of her life so her young grandchildren will know more about their nana.

 

With a sense of frustration she said that every time she sits down to write, the words never seem to flow. “I feel pressure because time isn’t my friend. I have much to say but I feel like can’t get it on paper.”

 

If you get stuck in an interview tell me a story

 

I asked her to tell me a story. “Tell me about the happiest day of your life and why you were happy. Give me all the details – where we you, what were you wearing, who was with you?”

 

She began to recount in vivid detail her happy day. It was her wedding day. She remembered in vivid detail the morning of the wedding, her dress, her attendants, the food and the words she spoke to her husband. She remembered all of the  friends and family who surrounded her and even the color of the flowers she picked from her garden. She remembered what she ate and recalled friends who could only be with her in spirit.

 

I said, “You just wrote a chapter of your life.”

 

Let your voice be your voice

 

When you get stuck and it seems as if you can’t write, talk. Let your voice be your voice.

 

Sometimes I get stuck and can’t write. That’s when I talk to my dog. He doesn’t care about the ”rules” of a split infinitive. To him, everything sounds ok.  He gets especially excited when I blurt out something that resembles “go for a walk.” That’s when i know I nailed it.

 

As I talk, I work through what I need to write. If something doesn’t sound right when I’m talking to my dog, it probably won’t read well either. I keep talking and talking and soon the words start to take shape.

 

Forget about verb tense, run-on sentences or dependent clauses.  You’re not delivering the Gettysburg Address. Let the words tumble out if you have to. If what you’re saying doesn’t make sense, have another go at it.

 

Once you think you’ve got a workable oral version of what you need to write, sit down and transcribe what you’ve been telling the dog.

 

And if you can’t remember something, take the dog for another walk. It will do you both some good.