Starting at Home Plate
In Little Women, Professor Baer tells Jo to “write what you know.” I loved that book when I was a child, and when I decided to become a writer I took the Professor’s advice to heart. In all my books and articles, my experience has served as a source of anecdotes and examples. What do we writers know better than ourselves? And if we don’t have a personal interest in our topic, we’d better find one. It’s what keeps the juices flowing and the audience interested.
Telling a Story
In addition to numerous articles and speeches, I am the author of three books. Two are about health topics. The third, and most recent, is a family history. But all, in a curious way, are about me.
- Direct Experience: Coping: A Young Woman’s Guide to Breast Cancer Prevention aims at helping teenage girls separate fact from myth in regard to this highly charged subject. To set the stage for an informed discussion, I mention that I am a breast cancer survivor and have been cancer-free for 18 years at the time of publication.
- Background Information: When I was in my teens, I had a double fusion to correct my advanced scoliosis (curvature of the spine). My personal experience was invaluable in giving me background and helping me locate teens currently coping with the condition, whose stories I could tell. I did not stress my own story in the book, as it was ancient history.
- A Link to History: The book on my family starts when I was six years old and unwittingly referred to my father’s side of the family as “my family,” a fact my mother never let me forget. But then it goes back to my first known ancestor and traces the family history, using my personal experiences sparingly.
Conclusion
We are not the sole subject of our stories – but we can add warmth, humor and gravity by drawing on our own experience. Experience – used judiciously – is a wonderful resource. “I” can be the beginning of inspiration.