As I piece together my memoir, I share some of the first drafts with you.
If I can tell you anything, it’s to step into your train of thought draft. Release your memories and don’t worry about what’s right or wrong regarding craft.
Don’t stress about perfection or the structure initially (or ever, please!). There will be many opportunities to revise and restructure, and the work will be taken forward before you publish.
Stress has no place in your book. However, creative fervor and friction are great. Think of your first draft as working your life out with yourself.
Be messy. Be true or as true as you remember. Speak on behalf of your gut.
Make mistakes - you can correct them later.
Listen to the narrator in your mind and GO!
That’s what I did in this story.
In 1996, I went to Germany as an exchange student to escape my upbringing. Instead, I found that home calls you back no matter how far you go. My time abroad ended abruptly when tragedy struck, pulling me back to Chaska, Minnesota, to confront a loss that would shift the course of my life yet again.
This is the first draft of the first story within the story titled…
The Exchange Student’s Song
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