How Raw Writing Becomes Your Story’s Gold

Start with what you already have

I started writing my memoir when I was still a child—though I didn’t know it at the time.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve kept journals.

I learned early on the weight of untold stories when the trauma I experienced as a child was compounded by silence and secrecy. Writing became my lifeline. On the page, I had a voice in a world where I felt voiceless. I could name what I was feeling; I could speak the truth without fear or judgment. Journaling helped me survive, but it also gave shape and continuity to my emotions. It helped me remember.

And I kept nearly everything I wrote. Some part of me always knew I would one day tell.

When it came time to write my memoir, I returned to those old journals. Some of the entries were so powerful, I actually included them in the final manuscript. A few even made their way onto the book’s cover.

Those artifacts added texture and depth—but what they represent is so much larger. They’re fragments of a much bigger whole. Each one holds a story I haven’t told yet. Each one is a thread I could still pull.

There are so many ways to build the framework of a memoir. It doesn’t have to start on page one—it can start with a journal entry, a letter, a memory you’ve scribbled on the back of a receipt.

So here’s what I want to impart to you:

1. Your story often begins long before you consciously begin writing it.

2. Journaling is a powerful practice—not just for healing, but for gathering raw material.

3. Your past writing can become part of your published work, even if just in fragments.

4. Memoir doesn’t require chronological perfection—it’s about resonance, truth, and emotional continuity.

5. Artifacts (journals, drawings, letters, photos) can enrich your narrative both structurally and emotionally.

What can you dig up from your past that might inspire you as you begin writing your story?