'I used to... and now I...' writing exercise
This post previously appeared as a newsletter, and you can take a listen below!
This exercise is from Joyce Maynard, and it is great for non-fiction writers in the house. I actually used it with someone recently on a group call, as she was working on some language around her upcoming offer as a leadership coach. But it is also a perfect exercise if you are working on a memoir. I could even see it working in a fiction context! And it’s another simple one. The prompt is - I used to… and now I… This can be something that you used to do, feel or have, that has changed over the years, and this gives you the opportunity to reflect on what or how that has transformed.
This exercise gets to the truth of the matter - so many of the stories that we read and that impact us - whether making us laugh, or cry, or change our lives for the better - these are stories of transformation. And this prompt is a great way to express this transformation in a simple way that we can then unpack as we write.
For example - I used to write on the back of a postcard, and now I write books. I was recently talking to a friend about how I began writing non-fiction many years ago. She was reading one of my blogs, and expressing how her writing could never sound like that, and I was telling her - mine didn’t start out that way!!
I told her how I went on an amazing trip in Europe with a friend from university while studying in England and it was incredible. I thought I would remember it for the rest of my life. But six months later, I could not even remember the towns we had visited. I was disappointed with myself, and determined that would not happen again. So the next trip I took with my bestie I bought a postcard in every city we visited, and on the back of it, I wrote the names of the places we visited, who we met, what we saw, the exciting parts and the dreadful parts! All on the back of a postcard. When I got back and I showed it to a friend, she asked me if I could send her an email update next time I travelled. And so I did! Writing those newsletters as I travelled was where I fell in love with writing non-fiction - even though I always thought I would be a fiction writer.
My writing went from words on the back of a postcard to a blog, to a book, to a business that is all about sharing words with the world.
You see how one little exercise can form the backbone of a story? Here are a few more of mine!
I used to run, but now I walk. (true story - I once trained for a half marathon!)
I used to be a rigid recipe follower, and now I am a little more playful in the kitchen! (I have friends who absolutely wouldn’t believe this!)
I used to be a wallflower, and now I strut the catwalk.
And so much more. I am always amazed at how the simplest exercises can transform our writing. I’d love to know if you try this out, and what inspiration it sparks!! If you are able to write a story while using it - I’d love to hear it!!
Next week I wrap up this mini series with my fourth favourite writing exercise. If you have any topics that you would love me to write about in this newsletter, then hit reply and let me know! And if you have any friends you think would love to read or listen to this newsletter, then please share it with them!!
Have an amazing rest of the week folks!
I send you big love from a small island.