Using Memories in Writing.

I’m in the middle of writing the first draft of a story that I hope will one day become the first book in a new middle-grade series. I had originally planned it to be junior fiction thinking I wanted to write something shorter and completely different to my Adamson Adventures series, but it quickly became evident that my writing style is too detailed and more suitable to that slightly older age group.

This process has had me thinking about memories and how they become a deep part of your story writing. This time around I have decided to set the story in a little fictional seaside country town and I realised it has come together through an accumulation of my childhood memories and some of the memories made when my own children were growing up.

Author friend and fellow blogger, Julie Gorges wrote about songs from our past and how they shape our memories in her blog last month. If you would like to read it the link is here - Boomer Songs, the Stories Behind the Music. I found it a fascinating read especially as I was including certain songs from the same era in my new work-in-progress.

This lead me to question just how much of our memories should we put into our stories? Especially when we are writing for children of a different era. It’s a bit of a juggling act, you need enough detail to make the story authentic, but not too much that it well get bogged down in the description. Does it help the story or is it too much? This is where you need to be brutal and, as the saying goes, ‘kill your darlings.’ But that can wait for a later draft. During the first stage of writing, it all goes in, if you start pondering whether a scene belongs or not because you have included too much description, even though it may slow the pace, if you stop and edit now, you’ll never finish the first draft. I admit I did hesitate, against my better judgement, I shared my first chapter with one of my writing friends. I value her support and advice. It was helpful to get her opinion that the descriptions based on my memories were just what my story needed so far, and that they set the scene so well that she was curious to want to read more. Note, I haven’t shared any more with anyone just yet but I look forward to the day when it will be ready.

At one stage while I was writing, (without giving too much away) I started to think about all the “Big’ attractions around Australia that I had seen. This brought back so many memories, I didn’t know where to begin, or what to include in my story. The obvious one that started the ball rolling for me, was the ‘Big Merino” at Goulburn because it is the closest to home and I have been there many times over the years. It’s a giant cement structure over 15 metres (about 49ft) tall. Visitors can walk into the shop inside and read information all about the wool industry in Australia. This always sparks further memories of my childhood as my dad was a wool classer and I have fond memories of the smell of the lanolin in the fibres and climbing all over wool bales during their annual work Christmas party.

The Big Merino at Goulburn. My original picture books, Emma the Eager Emu and Frazzled Freya once graced the gift shop shelves.

We have driven to Adaminaby many times in recent years, but I’m still no clearer as to where I originally saw the Big Trout when I was a child.

Another iconic “big” attraction near me is the ‘Big Trout’ at Adaminaby. It stands at 10m (32ft) tall and is made of fibreglass. It’s colours reflect the vibrancy of a rainbow trout. While Goulburn is about an hour to the north, Adaminaby is about 90 minutes south of where I live. I think the ‘Big Trout’ was probably one of the first of these big structures that I had seen. I remember a 3 day school trip when I was in year 6. It was the first time I had been on a plane. We flew from Sydney to Canberra, then bused down to the Snowy Mountains to see the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme. My memory is however a bit foggy on the details. Both old Jindabyne and old Adaminaby were flooded to make way for Lake Eucumbene as part of the hydro electricity scheme. My memory is that the trout was at Jindabyne, as I can see the lake behind it in my mind, but when I research it, it has always been at Adaminaby and there is no lake behind it. If anyone can help clear up my confusion, I would be grateful.

The first time I saw the ‘Big Banana’ at Coffs Harbour, I was ten years old and on a family holiday. I remember walking into the shop and the smell of banana instantly hit. We had the best banana ice-ream sundae ever that day.

Funnily I remember the ride in the ‘Nutmobile,’ a tractor train in the shape of macadamia nuts more than I do the ‘Big Pineapple’ where it was located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. I do recall climbing to the top of the big pineapple from inside to see the amazing view out over the sugar cane fields, and the banana and macadamia nut plantations. I was 12 when we visited it, and like the big trout, my memories are definitely a bit fuzzy.

The following images are all free stock photos as I can’t find photos from my childhood and surprisingly, I could not find a photo of the Big Galah in my saved images even though I know I took one.

The Big Banana Coffs Harbour NSW

The Big Pineapple near Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, Queensalnad, Free stock image.

The big attraction that is the clearest in my memory is the ‘Big Galah,’ located halfway across Australia in the small rural town of Kimba. I remember it vividly as we were driving across the Nullarbor to Perth to visit our son ten years ago. This happened to coincide with the biggest storm that South Australia has ever experienced where it took out the power to the whole state for several days. I can tell you some incredible stories about that time, with everyone scrambling to find fuel , food and accommodation with any cash they may have had as all the ATM’s and eftpos machines were unusable as were petrol stations that didn’t have a back-up generator.

The Macadamia Nut mobile at the Big Pineapple, free stock image.

The Big Galah, Kimba South Australia, free stock image.

While Julie Gorges (and I did this too) used songs from her past to engage her memories, there are other strategies you can also use.

Photo albums are often a good place to start. Use specific photos to trigger memories by brainstorming things you can remember from that day. What was the weather like? How does it make you feel now and how did you feel then? Does it spark memories of sounds or smells? For example, If the picture is on a beach, can you feel the sand between your toes, is it cold and damp or dry and hot? Can you hear the waves crashing to shore or seagulls soaring in the sky above or fighting over a hot a chip that someone has thrown to them nearby. Is the wind blowing the salt air in your face? You can do this with any photo, just keep asking more questions each time you answer the first.

If you have diaries or journals, read through those to spark a memory. Have you kept birthday cards or special gifts given to you as a child? These too, can provide an avalanche of memories if you ask the right questions.

Sometimes a smell will create a memory. Have you ever walked into a kitchen where someone is baking something that takes you back to your childhood? Remember where you were and who you were with. What was happening? My Hubby can walk into a bistro and if he sees butter coiled on a dish on the table, he is instantly transported to the sea-liner that brought his family to Australia from Scotland when he was 4 years old. He can instantly recall many of the smells and sounds from his months on the ship.

What helps spark your memories?

What other strategies do you use?

What other ‘Big’ attractions have you seen that I haven’t mentioned here?

What I Have Learnt As A Writer That Can Also Help you.

If there is one thing I have learned over all the years I have been writing, it is as Aristotle is famous for saying - ‘The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.’

A quote from Aristotle that is apt in all that we learn. Thanks to azquotes for this image.

I admit I have gained some worthwhile knowledge in my writerly journey but there is always so much more out there to learn and share. Here are a few tips that I now know and wish I new earlier.

When writing a blog post, make it helpful to the reader.

Mix it up a little.

Write posts that will help readers gain information. They will be more interested to read further if you assist in their learning about something of their interest. Pique interest with anecdotes about yourself but don’t make it all about you. Even in my earliest blogs I wrote about topics to help others.

In one of my original blogs back in 2013 I wrote about the Classic Middle Child Syndrome

While it was an attempt to discuss the characters in my first self-published book Gingerbread Aliens, it was also a way of helping my readers understand the differences of each sibling in their family and the importance of treating each sibling as unique individuals.

The next post was also an attempt to help families with a light-hearted look at our neighbours and how to live in a community together without living in each others pockets. Curiosity Killed the Cat

Looking back on these, I realised I started off my blog writing journey in the right manner, but somehow lost my way for a while and forgot this important message. Today I now know the importance of making sure I am focussed on my reader. If I were to write these now, I would have written them slightly differently. I should have used my characters as examples to make my point after my discussion, not the other way around.

Gingerbreadaliens can be found here

Dot points/Headers and links.

Readers like to scroll.

Remember your reader is often time poor and will only glance at your post. You need to give them a reason to pause and read further. Dot points and headers draw attention to the point you are making.

Embedded links are important for your SEO. They provide pathways to help reach a larger audience.

You can see in the two above early blog posts that I neglected to do either of these.

Photos/Images.

Images whether they are your own or found online are another way to help your reader pause and consider what you have to say. Add links to the original source if it doesn’t belong to you and make sure it isn’t copyright bound.

Publishing Takes Time.

While Gingerbread Aliens was the first book I self-published, it was not the first story I wrote.

I remember my first ever piece I had published was a poem I wrote when I was sixteen. It won a state-wide writing competition and was published in a magazine. I was so proud of that piece, yet after all of these years I have no record of it. I do not have the original hand written poem, nor do I have a copy of the magazine publication. I have written to NSW RSL in hope that they may have had it archived, but had no luck in receiving a response. My advice here, is to always keep a copy of your writing, you never know when you might want to revisit it.

A Good Story Needs to Percolate.

It can take a long time from original idea to publication.

When I first wrote Secrets Hidden Below it began with a different title, - ‘The Map, the Cave and the Volcano.’ At that stage I thought it was ready for publication and even found some interest with publishers. Sadly it didn’t make it through acquisitions , which was probably a good thing as I eventually made many improvements to the original story. Not knowing anything about self-publishing back then, I had a handful printed through Officeworks and gave copies to my family members. I am glad that is all I did , as I allowed it to sit in a drawer for years while I learnt more about the craft of writing and eventually produced a story that was traditionally published and won a shortlisted award in the Australian Speech Pathology Awards 2019. My patience, persistence and commitment paid off in the end.

Don’t rush your story, allow it to take time to germinate properly, edit and rewrite until you can make it the best story you can. Then have a professional editor help you. Never be afraid to ask for help and be prepared to listen to advice.

A copy of my original story, “The Map, The Cave and The Volcano.’ that finally became Secrets Hidden Below

You can find more information about Secrets Hidden Below here.

I am sure there is so much more I could share, but another thing I have learned is not to make my blog posts too long.

I hope you have found this not only interesting, but helpful too.

What is one particular thing that stands out to you that you have learnt over the years. Please comment below.

To read more about what some other authors have learnt since their early days writing, please click on the links below.

3 Ways Writing Made Me a Better Person by Julie Gorges

What I've Learned as a Writer by Rosie Russell