Like the rest of the world, I spent the last few months with limited contact with my community.  My kids are attending school online, I am working remotely, and our summer travels are limited to trips to the grocery store and bike rides at the park. 
 
During this time, I have not written much.  In fact, I found it challenging just to read, and usually I read twice a day, but not for the first two months of my isolation.  Reading came back to me in slow steps, but eventually, the newspaper and I got reacquainted and books and I found each other again. 
 
After my anxiety about the new routine passed, the writing started to return.  It didn’t arrive as an explosion of creativity, though that would have been wonderful had it gone that way.  It came back in trickles.  The return of writing reminded me to take it easy when reengaging, and I had to take the advice I had given dozens of writing students in the past: start small to start writing. 
 
Reengaging with writing after time away from the page can bring the dreaded writer’s block: the feeling of not knowing where to start.  Every writer has experienced writer’s block at some point, and it’s no fun.  But there are simple steps writers can take to overcome writer’s block and start writing again.    

How Can a Writer Start Writing Again? 
 
Six Word Memoir
 
If you have never heard of the six word memoir, it is just what it sounds like.  This is a personal story told with just six words.  As the urban legend goes, a journalist challenged Hemingway to tell a poignant story with just six words, and in typical Hemingway style, he accepted and wrote:
 
Baby shoes for sale. Never worn. 
 
For those six words, you get the sense of the personal story.  You get a sense of tone, character, and situation, all of which help to drive the story forward.  A whole story can be told with just six words, and many have been; in fact there are now collections of six word memoirs. 
 
If you are ready to start writing, try to six word memoir as a starting place.  You can think of the overarching theme of your life and write a six word memoir about that or you can focus on a smaller story and capture a single event in one line. 
 
Here are a few examples:
 
Things didn’t turn out as expected.
 
Single girl, ginger cat, vintage guitar.
 
She said yes then ran away.
 
I should have taken a left.  

Collect Snapshots
 
When you start writing again, you don’t have to tackle a novel.  Starting out small tends to work best to get back into a creative routine.  Take time to collect snapshots rather than whole stories.  If you can compose a small scene, a conversation or a description of a setting, that can go a long way in reigniting your creative energy.  Here are a couple of activities you can use to collect snapshots. 
 
Go to a local park or place where people are outdoors (you may even just sit on your front porch if people walk by your house).  Pick one person you see and write five to eight sentences of what may have brought this person out today, what this person might be thinking about, and what this person is planning to do next. 
 
Look for a couple or group of people.  They should be far enough away that you cannot hear them but close enough that you can see them.  Write up a dialogue of what they might be talking about.  Are they talking about the weather?  An upcoming event?  An alien invasion? 
 
Go out for a walk.  Many of the great writers recommend walking to clear your head and brainstorm story ideas, Stephen King and Ray Bradbury included.  As you are walking, take a mental picture of three different settings.  Perhaps the front of a house is bright and cheery but the side is shadowed and dark where the trash cans have been knocked over.  Find a couple of settings that you can write about, and create a description of these places. 
 

50 Word Stories
 
Limiting the amount of space that a story takes up can be helpful in getting a story down on paper, whereas an open-ended story can sometimes take ages to write.  A 50-word story is one that must be exactly 50 words (not 49, not 51) and can be useful in helping writers focus on the value of each word.  Being restricted to just 50 words may sound limiting, but it can help a writer get started and allow for a short creative burst, which can help to establish a writing routine. 
 
Here are a couple of prompts to use when writing a 50-word story:
 

• What happened when the lady asked her cat a question and it answered?
• If a group of five men go hiking but only four return, what happened?
• Write a story that includes the words: terrain, vague, and nostalgic.
• What happened when the walk around the park took a turn? 
  

What-If Questions
 
Many great novels, stories, and films began with a writer asking a what-if question.  I recently read a vampire trilogy.  This writer said that she wondered what types of jobs vampires would need to have considering their long lives (as it turns out vampires become research scientists and medical doctors). 
 
Create a list of five what-if questions that pose questions of interest to you. 
 
Here are some what-if questions to get you started:
 

• What if karma was instant?
• What if people could remember their past lives?
• What if everyone became allergic to the same thing?
• What if all politicians had to live on minimum wage?
• What if being a witch or wizard was a profession? 

 
You can see how asking a what-if question can spark some interesting ideas.  This kind of thinking can open up new avenues for your stories, poetry, or essays.  This can give a writer practice by encouraging risk-taking and allow for engaging the creative mind in a different way. 
 
Every writer spends time away from the page.  People get sick, work takes too much time, and other priorities creep in and take precedence over our schedules.  And writing falls to the wayside.  During that downtime, it can feel like a challenge to get back into the swing of things, and many writers will experience writer’s block when they return to the page.  Using simple techniques, writers can re-establish their writing practices and get back to writing. 

During the last two months, I haven’t written a word.  In my writing life, I have been slowly working on several projects: a novel about a person who receives postcards from the afterlife (it’s not as weird as it sounds), my memoir written for my kids, a how-to-dress book for my daughter, memory books of the toys my kids played with and their funny antics, and a series of short stories that I have been sending out to magazines.   
 
But since the pandemic’s beginning, I haven’t had the right energy to write.  I have always been a highly productive person and typically work from the moment I wake up until just before bed.  Watching a lot of TV or goofing off has never been part of my routine.  I’m the gal who grabs a cup of coffee and goes straight to my computer. 
 
So, why can’t I write?  Like most adults, I have been through many emergency situations: illness, loss of income, and heartbreak, but the pandemic has hit me in a different way.  After taking time to reflect on this experience, I identified a few adjustments that have helped me get back into the swing of writing. 

Adjust the Schedule
 
During the last couple of months, my mind has been racing, and that distracts me from my work, my writing, and my routine.  I didn’t realize this until talking to a friend.  When she described her difficulty sleeping, I realized it wasn’t just me.  I changed my schedule right away and it made all the difference; by getting up earlier and sticking to a schedule, I was able to focus better.
 
Switch up the Sense of Control
 
Admittedly, I can be a bit controlling (my husband would probably say a bit of a control freak).  When the pandemic started, I think my initial fear was about my lack of control; everything was out of my hands.  But, I have been staying home, wearing a mask, and limiting my trips, and that has added significantly to my confidence and given me a greater sense of control.  Now, the limited travel doesn’t bother me at all, and my production has been increasing over time. 

Show Some Gratitude
 
Though I am not the best at showing gratitude, when I have recognized the blessings in my life, I am better able to focus on the tasks at hand.  All my of my problems are of the first world, middle-class variety.  I am working from home on a new computer with reliable internet.  We have enough computers that every person in our home has one of their own to use, so no one is forced to share.  We have food, jobs, and our health.  Life is pretty good. 
 
Get Dirty
 
I think every person I’ve talked to in the last month is gardening.  Even the people who don’t even like gardens are starting a plot of vegetables or a window box of flowers.  It seems that as we are all longing for our former normalcy, we are returning to the simple activities in life like gardening.  Getting into the garden gives us something to look forward to, something to nurture, and a healthy dose of vitamin D every time we put in the work. 

Take In New Information
 
Like many people, I spent the first two weeks of the pandemic watching Netflix.  I think I was binge-watching The West Wing (a well-written political drama if you want to see good-quality character development and a quick-paced plot with never-ending complications).  But after a couple of weeks, I just couldn’t sit that long and had to seek out other ways of filling my brain with information. 
 
Thought I couldn’t read for the first few weeks that turned around for me and when it did, reading afforded me a huge relief.  I added the paper delivery to my digital newspaper subscription, and thank goodness I did, because I am back to spending Sunday morning reading the paper for two hours, which is a joy in itself. 
 
I came back to reading but only connected with the lighter stuff at first.  No research, no economics, no professional journals.  I started with a couple of my kids’ middle grade novels and a nonfiction series the kids like.  Then I re-read On Writing by Stephen King for probably the fourth or fifth time.  It’s one of those books that I come back to because I get a new idea each time I read it.  Reading came back slowly, but when it did, it provided the soothing herbal tea remedy that I needed to get myself back on track. 

Let Go to Move On
 
But, the cracks in the system reveal deeper truths.  Though the lockdown has been incredibly challenging for millions across the country, its effects reach across every demographic, and even healthy, employed people feel the struggle. 
 
I think that for me, letting go of my desire to live in the pre-pandemic manner helped me reconnect with a new routine, and that helped me get back to writing again.  I am not yet writing in the same way that I was before the pandemic started, but I am finally writing.  The writing is slow, it lacks style, and it comes out in ribbons rather than whole cloth, but it is coming. 
 
Whether or not we return to our pre-pandemic lives anytime soon, I have no idea.  I do know that what is ahead of us will take an incredible amount of bravery, camaraderie, and community.  And for writers, if we are able to put words to the page, we are more likely to address what is coming with grace rather than fear. 
 
I am certain that in the coming months, I will continue to grow and learn, but for right now, I am out of the woods.  I am reading again and writing a little bit.  The biggest takeaway of my experience is that if I can put just a few elements in place: a consistent schedule, gratitude, reading, and so on, then I can reconnect with the writing and get the words on the page. 

For the last 20 years, I have taught writing.  During this time, I have talked a lot about the writing process.  This is a series of steps writers take to create a piece of writing in a manageable length of time.  It generally follows these steps: brainstorm, outline, draft, edit, and publish. 
 
But, the reality is that the writing process is desperately lacking.  Though the writing process can help a person get from an idea to a completed essay, it doesn’t take a writer through the day-to-day work of being a writer. 

You see, in the reality for writers is that we do a lot more than follow a series of super-organized steps to polish an essay.  In reality, what happens is that we live our lives, we go to work, we find love, we appreciate the outdoors, we fall down, and we strive to achieve life goals.  And in between all of these life events, we write. 
 
So, what happens when life falls apart?  What happens when we don’t feel like writing?  How about when we have nothing to say?  What about those days when the words aren’t coming to us?  What do we do then? 
 
I think there is a writer’s cycle that more closely mimics the reality of life as a writer, and it goes something like this. 

First, you collect information.  This includes reading, observing, and engaging with life. 
 
Next, you practice.  This includes attending classes, writing in a writer’s notebook, and doing practice prompts. 
 
Finally, you write, edit, rewrite, and revise each piece until it is publishable. 

In the years that I have worked with writers, I have heard so many people disappointed at themselves for not writing all the time.  I actually think this is OK, and I think this is part of the greater process that writers go through. 
 
We don’t always have something to say.  We don’t always have something worthy of a story or an essay.  But we do always have a place within the writer’s cycle, and we can engage wholeheartedly with another part of the process. 
 
Reading hones our writing skills, because it puts us in touch with professional writers, it gives us published pieces to evaluate and understand, and it connects us to the literary works.  Observing and engaging with life allows us opportunities to see situations from different viewpoints, think about how characters would react in different scenarios, and better connect our writing to how real people interact. 

As writers, we grow through practice.  Every time that we take a class, we learn something new.  Every time we drop an idea in our writers’ notebooks or write a practice prompt, we play with ideas without feeling obligated to complete the story to a publication point. 
 
Then when we have collected and practiced, we write.  And in those moments when we have something to say, on those days that the words are flowing and the story is laid out before us, we are able to collect our thoughts on paper.  Those are the situations where we can write, edit, and revise until we are able to produce quality writing that connects to other people, which speaks to our readers. 
 
So, if today the words aren’t coming to you, read a book.  If you don’t feel inspired to write, then go out and observe the world.  If you feel cooped up or bored or lonely, then take a writing class and do some practice prompts.  And when the writing is there, when the words have built up in your creative bank, then you will be ready to write. 

Not long ago, I heard someone say that the only people who like to cross country ski are people who love the daily grind.  These are people who understand what it takes to get up early, work hard, take on underwhelming projects, and push through when it would be easier to take a break.  I loved the idea, partially because I love to cross country ski and partially because it reminded me of why I love to write. 
 
I have run across so many writers, and they’re each such wonderfully unique people.  Some write for a short period of time and some stick with it for life.  I have met writers who scribbled a handful of letters to pass onto their grandkids and felt totally satisfied, and I have known others who struggled with never-ending novel series that took years to complete. 

What I have observed about writers generally is that they like to work hard.  They like to dig into a complicated story, a wild poem, or a new idea and wrestle with the words until something new emerges from the page.  They like to get their hands dirty and don’t really mind struggling with a character that starts out cardboard flat and ends up walking and talking with as much complexity as the eccentric guy down the street. 
 
Writers love to get out into the world.  Yes, ours is a solitary hobby.  We sit by ourselves, tapping away at the keys alone, and oftentimes use devices to block out the noise of life happening around us.  But writers must delve into the truths of life to be able to write about them.  Writers listen to conversations, they watch the way people move, and they taste the subtle differences in dishes.  All these observations are deep dives into life, which writers do so that they can capture life’s experiences to put into stories. 

Writers tend to think about writing all the time.  They read more books because they are involved in learning on an ongoing basis.  They tend to have a high interest level in a variety of topics.  Who else would want to know when to plant roses, how long a body takes to decompose in the desert, and the physicality it takes to ride a bicycle from Seattle to Portland?  Ask a writer, and these are normal questions that they ponder and research.  In fact, sometimes a writer will research a question for hours just to write a single line in a story. 
 
Writers think about writing all the time.  Many carry a writer’s notebook to capture ideas that come to mind in the middle of the day.  Writers will say things like, “That would make a great story” when they hear a weird statistic or curious scenario.  Writers dwell on which comeback they would have used two hours after being shouted at by a rude jerk.  And they analyze movies for choices the writers made rather than which explosions were biggest. 
 
The wonderful thing about writers is that they can see the depth of life.  They can identify its smells and tastes and textures, because they seek out its stories.  To be able to understand life so well that we can write about abandonment, desperation, ecstasy and triumph means that we not only don’t mind getting close to life but we relish it. 

The writing process can feel overwhelming to some, but most writers have the keen ability to turn coffee into words which gives us an advantage to take on enormous projects, like 9-volume book series.  For gardeners, they can work in the garden once a week for an hour or two and end up with a beautiful garden that the neighbors admire. 
 
Writers have to keep coming back to the page over and over again.  An hour here or there will result in a completed story, but it will take ages, and no one will see the positive results until the words are arranged in their polished final version.  It’s hard work that makes that happen.  It’s having the drive to come back to the desk over and over again.  It’s having the courage to open up the story and try again and again to edit the scenes to make them flow better. 

What writers do is read, research, write, and revise in an ongoing cycle, because once one story is completed, most writers take up another one.  To keep up with that kind of hobby, a person has to love to work and they have to find their flow when they dig into the process. 
 
Writers are like that.  Even though we take time away from the writing to handle life’s complications from time to time, overall we are consistent hard workers.  Put in the work and the reward will come. 

Regardless if you are writing for yourself, for a small audience, or for the publishing market, you probably appreciate when your writing is supported.  When we engage in an activity, it sure feels good to have the people around us offer positive support.  Sometimes, that support keeps us going when we feel a little low, but the little things can add up to keep us motivated and creative. 
 
When you spend your time alone, typing away at a keyboard, receiving positive support can be the difference between continuing in the craft or abandoning writing for another hobby.  Since no other activity is as fulfilling as writing, few writers leave the craft altogether, though many take short breaks to recharge their batteries when they feel low.  Writing can be a lonely hobby, especially when people don’t have the support they need. 

If You Want to Have a Friend, Be a Friend  
 
So, how does a writer find support?  Drumming up support for one’s hobby can feel like a chore in itself, but the old adage is still true.  If you want to have a friend, be a friend.  This is certainly true for writers.  If you want to be a supported writer, then support writers. 
 
One way to support writers is to spend time with them.  I know this might sound a little bit silly, especially considering that writing is a solitary exercise, but finding someone who is willing to listen to story ideas can be a challenge.  Be willing to listen to another writer’s ideas about characters, storylines, poems, or research projects.  By spending time listening to another writer talk about their ideas, you not only support another writer, but you earn an ear to listen to your story ideas.  Many writers process verbally, so being able to talk about your writing can offer a big help in your writing process. 
 
Another way to support writers is to be willing to read their work.  The editing and revising steps of writing can be brutal for any writer, and if you have ever taken a story from initial brainstorm to publishable draft, then you know how much work it can be.  Unfortunately, most people willing to read a piece of writing come in two types: the “I love everything you write” type and the “Here are the 500 errors I found” type.  Neither of these readers is particularly helpful, because they lack the balanced perspective that a competent writer can offer during a revision. 

When you read for another writer, start by asking what specifically they want you to look for.  Sometimes, I just need to know if my story makes sense, and I really don’t need a reader to tell me if the passive voice is problematic.  Needing one piece of advice but getting another can feel defeating for a writer, so offer help where it is needed and in the way that the writer is ready to hear.  Some days, we just need to hear that we are doing a good job.  Just as being a good listener, when you help another writer read their work, you earn a reader, which is an invaluable resource. 
 
Writers also need help in the market place.  If you know a writer who is leading a discussion at the local library, show up.  When a local writer has a book signing, buy a book, ask them to sign it, and thank them for their work.  Even if the book turns out not to be your favorite piece, you’re supporting your local writing community and in return may earn a fellow writer who will support you. 

Leave a Review for Every Book You Read
 
Find local writers, your writer friends, and members of your writing groups and read their books.  After you read their books, ask them where you can leave a review.  Amazon, Goodreads, and Kobo all allow readers to leave personalized book reviews.  These reviews can make an enormous difference for writers, because the more reviews that writers have, the more likely their books are to be included in the criteria for search engines.
 
I belong to a writer’s group in my small town.  We show up to every author’s event at the library and local bookstore.  We have three literary events a month: a critique group, a writer’s workshop, and a public reading night.  By doing this, our group has doubled in size and we have created a community of writers who support each other.  The effort is worth the pay off. 
 
Finally, if, by chance, you earned a degree in literature or history in college (as I did way back when), you may have an understanding of the classics and may be less aware of contemporary literature.  Break out of the canon and spend time reading contemporary writers.  Read outside of your comfort zone.  Read books by people of color, people from other countries, and people from different socio-economic groups.  Read outside of your usual genre.  When you read newer writing, you have a better understanding of what is being published now, what is popular, and what topics writers are addressing. 
 
Reading modern literature puts you in touch with contemporary writers.  When you find writers you like, reach out to them.  Send them letters, write them emails, and follow them on social media.  Getting connected to writers can help you build a literary network.

You Get What You Give
 
Become a supporter of living writers, develop a community of people who support writing, and offer support to other writers.  When you do, you create a community of others who will support your writing.  Though we write alone, we engage with life to find inspiration to write and we share our writing with others so that our words can comfort, instruct, and entertain.  Our strength as writers is in our shared community as lovers of the written word, and it is within that community that we can develop support for our own writing as we support others in their creative pursuits. 

I am not a fan of New Year’s resolutions.  I cannot think of a single time that my life changed significantly because of me following through on a resolution, and in fact, it seems that most of my attempts at resolutions have sent me backward on my goals. 
 
What has worked for me is to decide on a small goal, meet it, then take on another small goal and meet that.  When I have followed the pathway of tiny goals, I have been much more successful than resolutions. 

Now, I understand that setting a small goal might feel like the same thing as setting a resolution, but I would argue otherwise.  When I set a resolution, it’s usually because some part of my personality, habits, or behaviors is driving me crazy and I want to overcome that by changing several patterns at once.  Overnight, I’m supposed to eat better, exercise more, wake up earlier, and be more productive.  But the reality is that I never do that because it’s too much all at once.  I can’t focus on battling my middle-aged body and try to figure out how to get to the gym six days a week (in the snow no less) with kids, the house, the job, and so many life complications. 
 
What works for me is to attempt a teeny tiny goal, meet it, and then set another one.  One example where this worked well was the Inktober activity.  In October of this year, I joined Inktober, where writers and artists create a single piece each day based on a one-word prompt.  For the first week, I wrote a haiku poem (a haiku is a poem with three lines with syllables of 5-7-5).  This activity only took me three to five minutes a day.  The goal was tiny and I felt successful quickly. 

After writing a haiku poem for the first week, my confidence was up.  So, I wrote a 50 word short story for the next two week.  Each day, I would sit down and write a short story, which was usually closer to 100 words.  I’d cut it down to 50 words, post it on Instagram, and move on with my day. 
 
For the last week in October, I created a series story.  So, each day, I used the daily prompt and continued the story that I wrote the day before.  The process was interesting, because I couldn’t go with a totally new idea since I needed to string along several prompts together. 

For me, Inktober forced me to write every day for a month.  Although I would love to say that I write every day all the time, I don’t.  I write a few times a week and usually set aside one morning to write for a couple of hours straight.  The problem isn’t that I lack the discipline to write every day; I lack the opportunity.  Between work, kids, family, pets, and taking care of myself, I can’t make daily writing work.  Yet incredibly, I wrote every day in October for the Inktober project. 
 
When I set a tiny goal (write a haiku poem, write a 50 word story), I was able to do what usually feels impossible.  I was able to write for 31 days in a row.  To be honest, the outcome was exhilarating and I kept writing every day through November.  In fact, the momentum that was generated in October get me through the rough draft of my next book, which I expected would take another two months to accomplish. 
 

So, if you’re like me, skip the resolutions.  If they don’t help you, then don’t bother with them.  Instead, consider taking on a small goal, meeting it, and then another small goal.  Would you like some help doing this?  This January, I plan to write a small piece each day.  The prompts I’m following are listed below.  If this sounds like fun, you’re certainly welcome to join me. 
 

January Daily Writing Prompts

Each day, write a haiku poem, a free verse poem, a 50 word story, a 100 word story, or one paragraph (description of character, setting, plot, or scene) on the prompt.  Feel free to interpret the prompts in any way you choose.

For the last few years, I’ve taught writing workshops to adults in memoir writing and short stories.  Most of my students are new to creative writing and come in feeling intimidated about being judged or expected to achieve more than they feel capable of managing in a weekend workshop.  As I listen to people’s concerns, one consistent worry I’ve heard is that writers have a hard time putting the first words on the page. 
 
It seems like those first words are particularly intimidating, but once they are down, then the rest of the story flows pretty well.  When teaching essay, article, and blog writing, I recommend that my students write the middle portion first then the introduction.  It lessens the heightened expectation that writers put on themselves to be perfect the first time around. 

When first-time writers are breaking ground with their first stories, whether they are taking on a memoir story of childhood or a fiction short story, those first words can be the hardest.  But, one of the truisms of creativity is that novices borrow but professionals steal.  And stealing words from another source is a tool we can use to get our stories started.  If you are a first-time writer or if you need a bit of a booster, give this a try.  We are going to steal stories from another genre to use in our stories.

Brief Story or 6 Word Memoir
 
As the legend goes, a journalist asked Ernest Hemingway to write a story that could make a person cry with just six words.  In true Hemingway fashion, he responded with a challenge accepted bravado and wrote the first 6-word memoir.  Now, whether or not this story is historically accurate or not is unimportant to me, because it is such a great story that, I love it for the point it makes.  So, what was Hemingway’s 6-word memoir?
 
For sale: baby shoes, never worn. 
 
When you read that 6-word memoir, you a full sense of the story: it’s a missing childhood, shoes never used, an adult who missed out, or someone who never was a child and longed for maturity from a young age.   

The takeaway is that if we boil down what we want to say in just six words, then we have achieved a significant accomplishment, because we have communicated a full thought, a full story in a small amount of space.  Communicating so precisely with few words is a powerful way to begin a story.  Instead of explaining your setting or your character, begin your story with a 6-word memoir and start with a bang. 
 
Here are a few more examples to get you thinking:

• Three great kids.  One terrible accident. 
• Hard work. Low pay.  Still nothing. 
• Who was counting the calories anyway?
• I didn’t think this would happen.

 
With each of these 6 word memoirs, you can imagine the story that could unfold from them.  From “Three great kids.  One terrible accident,” the reader is instantly intrigued and wants to find out what happened.  What was the accident?  Was there an accident to one of the children?   What happened?  When you introduce a scenario that causes your reader to ask questions about what is going on, you have the reader hooked. 

How about the second example?  “Hard work.  Low pay.  Still nothing.”  After reading that line, the reader knows they will come across a story of struggle with little reward.  Struggle is a classic theme in memoirs, so this kind of story can pull your reader into your story right away.  The reader will hope for a happier ending but will be intrigued to know what happens in this unfolding tale. 
 
Another example is “Who was counting the calories anyway?”  I always imagine this as the first line for a chef’s memoir.  After reading this 6 word memoir, the reader will expect a story about the joy and pleasure of food rather than the tedious monotony of counting calories.  That kind of story pulls readers in right away. 
 
Finally, the 6 word memoir “I didn’t think this would happen” leaves the reader with questions.  The reader wants to know what happened.  What was the situation?  Who was involved?  How did things work out?  Anytime that you get your reader asking questions about the story, you have them engaged and will keep them reading.

I have seen the 6-word memoir used a couple of different ways, which may give writers more ideas on using this tool.  You can use it as the first line of a story.  Or you can use it as a transition between scenes, themes, or settings in a story.  Another idea is to use it as the title of chapters in a book.  If you need a way to start your story, try the 6 word memoir.  Anytime you use the 6 word memoir to capture your reader’s attention, you have a winning strategy from the start.
 
Try out this strategy with your next short story and see how it works for you.  Every technique doesn’t necessarily work every time, but when we try out different methods, we expand our skills and add more tools to our writer’s toolboxes.  And those can come in handy indeed when we are writing. 

Audience and purpose go hand in hand for writers. Before we write, we spend a little time considering who our intended audience, which is the person or people we believe will read our writing. Establishing the audience for a piece can help writers stay on track and create a more valuable piece of writing.  A little time spent planning can save a lot of time revising.   

As a starting point, writers create for themselves. Writers are their own audience.  We engage in certain types of writing e.g., reflective work, diary and journal, and stream of consciousness memory writing) solely for ourselves. When we write solely for ourselves, we write with the intention that no one else will read what we write. When we do this, we tend to be free and open about what we create, because we don’t fear the judgment of others or worry about the outcome of what could happen since only we will see that writing.

When we branch out, we create other work for a small audience. Letters, emails, and personal stories are pieces that we create with the intention that they are read by one person, or at most, a small group of people. For example, we might write a letter which we mail to Aunt Clara with the idea that she will be the only person to read that, so we include only information that would be of interest to Aunt Clara and address her personally in the piece.  Of course, we know that Aunt Clara is chatty is loves to tell stories at her club, so we might keep that in mind when choosing which details to include.

As well, we may consider writing for a small, controlled group. I work with writers who are composing their personal stories to preserve within their families. They collect the stories of their lifetimes to save and pass among their close friends and family, knowing that although we write for our family, those stories may be passed on for generations. When writing personal stories, we might address our audience directly or we might use a generalized second person point of view by using “you” to reference our readers.

And of course, we have the broad, general audience. This is where our writing could be read by anyone and everyone who comes across it. When we write for a broad audience, we might be engaged in a blog, an article, a novel or short story, or a book for publication. Our hope is that the broad audience loves our writing and buys our books, though that audience can also be more critical since they are separated from us personally.  Believe it or not, our friends and family tend to be our biggest supporters when we are creating.  They know us, understand our journeys, and get what it took us to put words to the page. 

Our intended audience includes the person or people we believe will read our writing, but things don’t always work out that way. The letters that Benjamin Franklin wrote to his son have been compiled into a book and shared for centuries. The letters that author Willa Cather wrote to friends are part of her estate, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s letters to his daughter giving her advice on life go in and out of publication.

So, although we may originally compose certain writing for an intended audience, the reader can change over time and our writing may end up in the hands of an unintended audience. That could be a broad, general audience of readers who purchase a copy of our collected letters, but it would be more likely that they would be other friends and family, business partners, or community members who come across our writing.  For example, historians have used the journals of average people throughout history to piece together events from the past.  Our writing can end up helping more people than we originally expect when we dedicate words to the page. 

What about Purpose?

The other element that writers may want to consider is purpose. Why are you writing? What drove you to sit down and start the letter, the story, or the book? What outcome do you intend will come of your writing? Do you expect the reader will understand you better, make a change in their life, or develop a skill from reading your writing?

When we set a purpose for our writing, we tend to help ourselves. This is because when we have a purpose, it is easier to focus and stay on track. Many writers can wander down a bunny trail after beginning a piece that lacks a purpose; this can happen with fiction writing more often than with non-fiction. We start out writing about a pirate who wants to settle on land and end up with a gardener who hates to get dirty. It happens to the best of us.

If you set a purpose for writing before dedicating your first works to the page, it can help you focus, write in a more organized manner, and meet your goal. If you have no purpose, then any road will get you there, but if you have the purpose to compose a particular piece of writing that meets a particular goal, then establishing that purpose can help get you organized and keep you organized throughout the process.

Of course, the best laid plans of writing can be easily derailed. So, if you set a particular audience and purpose for a piece but end up in a different place, it’s OK. Sometimes, a story wants to be told and insists on coming up no matter what we are trying to create. So, if you are on a path but end up racing down a bunny trail, it might be a good thing.
 

Although in my perfect world, everyone reads beautiful hardbound books made of high-quality paper with gorgeous fonts that suck you into the stories, that isn’t how the world works.  Audiobooks are the fastest growing market in the publishing world right now.  But does listening to an audiobook count as reading?
 
In reality, we read what we have access to, because access equates to opportunity.  Many of us don’t have enough time to read paper books the way we once did.  I remember growing up, when we would spend the first half of Saturday sitting around reading.  But, in my current life, I don’t live that way.  I work 50% more hours per week than my parents did, and I have a full schedule on top of my job.  I am engaged in a number of activities: writer’s group, working out, writing three different books, and household tasks, I also have my family to think of.  My kids are busy (intentionally so).  And each of these activities means time away from reading paper books. 

Audiobooks have changed enormously over the last 30 years.  My husband once belonged to an audiobook lending bookstore.  For $50 a month, he would check out as many audiobooks as he could listen to, which was a lot, since he would listen at work for 10 hours a day and in the car.  Considering that the books he listens to are 700 page fantasy tomes, this was an exciting option.  It connected him to his favorite authors (Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan) and allowed him to keep reading while he worked.
 
Today, audiobooks are available everywhere and millions of people have caught on.  Many people don’t want to listen to the news or the radio, but an audiobook can be a source of pleasure reading or informational reading depending on the title. 

Granted, I have heard concerns about listening to audiobooks in lieu of reading paper books.  Fellow educators have suggested that listening to an audiobook does not engage the reader in the same way that a paper book does.  They have also said that the learning gains from audiobooks are lower than from reading a paper book.  I can understand these concerns, and I take them into consideration when I recommend an audiobook to a student.  But, if the decision is between a reader struggling through a paper book (or abandoning the paper book altogether), I support the audiobook as an option.  To me, an audiobook could be used as a gateway to independent reading for a reluctant reader, which in the long run, would support literacy skills and lifelong learning through reading.
 
Fellow writers have also expressed concerns that the audiobook misrepresents the author’s original intentions behind the text.  You see, when a playwright composes a piece for the theater, they intend that the piece will be performed by professional actors for a live audience.  But, when an author composes a piece, they intend the connected between writer and reader to occur on the page and not be interrupted by a reader’s intonations, emphasis, and vocal suggestions. 

 
These are fair concerns.  Having listened to at least a hundred audiobooks, I agreed that some actors add their own spin onto a story by the way they use their inflections, pronunciations, and tone to deliver the tale in a different way than the author may have intended.  As a writer, I can understand not wanting an uncontrollable layer to enter the writer-reader relationship.  But, I think that I would prefer to have my story valued enough within the mainstream market to be recorded as an audiobook.  I also think that some of the best audiobooks I have heard are ones read by the author.  For example, I have listened to two audiobook versions of Fahrenheit 451.  The version read by Ray Bradbury is spectacular, an experience to be appreciated over and over again (I’ve listened to it at least three times already).  I do think the author knows how to control and deliver the text, and I would love to hear more books read by their authors.

So, does it count as reading to listen to an audiobook instead of reading a paper book? 
 
At this point, I would argue that it does.  First, accessibility to audiobooks is higher than for paper books.  People can listen to an audiobook while commuting, exercising, or doing mundane tasks.  Reading a paper book is more of a challenge while doing a second activity.   I know.  I’ve tried.  I used to try bringing my book to the gym and the only machine where it worked was the recumbent bicycle.  With my audiobook plugged into my ears, I am free to roam the gym and can hit the machines and free weights that I need.  The same is true for driving, walking, running errands, and cleaning the house. 
 
The accessibility issue has greatly improved recently since the advent of smartphones.  Now, people are downloading audiobooks using apps like LibriVox and Kobo where people can buy audiobooks and listen to them anytime their phone is nearby.  Plus, readers can connect their phone to the car’s stereo system using Bluetooth and never miss a line of the story.  This technology has taken audiobooks away from readers carrying around CD players and changing out the CD every hour to full streaming accessibility. 

Too, audiobooks increase the number of titles on our mental bookshelves.  The statistics around reading are a bit depressing.  The young and the elderly tend to be the lowest readers, with few reading a book a year.  If we got audiobooks into the hands of more people, we could potentially increase their general knowledge and engagement with humanities, the sciences, and current events.  More readers means a more educated population means stronger communities because people have more information available for better decision making. 

If the decision comes down to not reading, reading only occasionally, or struggling through reading paper books or listening to audiobooks, I say go for the audiobooks.  I have met a few writers who don’t read or read only occasionally and I have recommended trying out audiobooks as an alternative to paper books.  Yes, in a perfect world, we would all read beautiful-crafted hardbound books, but the reality is that many of us are trying to keep up with busy schedules.  The audiobook format fits for many people, writers included. 
 
So, if you are not reading a book right now, go get one.  The library has both CDs and downloadable audiobooks to check out (you can also use apps to download them onto your phone).  You can buy audiobooks for download, and even YouTube has audiobooks available for listening to instantly.  Listening to audiobooks increases the number of books you complete each year, and that leads to a more knowledgeable, competent version of you. 

When I teach memoir workshops, one of the topics we discuss is the difference between fiction and nonfiction writing.  When we write memoir, writers tend to approach the writing with a stiff spine and a list of facts to impart upon the reader, and that can lead to factual, though lifeless writing.  Unfortunately, one of our first inclinations as memoir writers is to turn off the reader with dull, encyclopedia factual accounts of events.
 
If you have ever read a school biography project, these tend to start with the facts: date of birth, place of birth, and parent’s names.  Invariably, the writer has lost the reader by the end of the first paragraph because the writing, although factual, functions as a better sleep tonic than engaging piece of writing.

For whatever reason, many writers fall into this pattern when we write nonfiction, especially memoir.  We tend to think of life as a series of facts rather than a series of stories with full sensory details and depth of emotion and thought.  All too often, the result is writing that fails to inspire the reader. 
 
So, how do we fix this situation?  Memoirists, like writers in every genre, can use fiction-writing techniques to capture and keep their reader’s attention.  We can use our fiction story-writing skills when we write nonfiction to bring our personal stories to life.  Though they are factual, they need not be boring. 

If you have not yet read Eat Like a Fish by Bren Smith, I recommend that you pick it up.  He documents not just his life stories as a Newfoundlander fisherman turned sea farmer but lays out his philosophy around providing highly-nutritious food during climate change and restoring the ocean’s plant and animal diversity. 
 
I picked up the book because I wanted to learn about his ideas on sea farming, but when I found was a crisp, lively writing style that engaged me from the book’s beginning.  Smith had me hooked from the first page to the last, as he took me along the journey of his life from Canada to New England to Alaska and beyond. 
 
What tools did he use to pull me into his memoir?  First, he used sensory details and deep descriptions in his writing.  He gives the reader a sense of the images, sounds, and tastes in the events that he experienced, and that brings us into the story right away.  When I read his narratives, I’m there watching the scene and taking it all in.  He’s showing me what is happening rather than telling me what the facts are. 

Second, Smith focuses on the story not on the facts.  Of course, he includes the facts of his life in the stories, but the focus is always on the story itself.  As a Newfoundlander, he has an unfair advantage over the rest of us mere mortals.  Newfoundlanders are famous for their storytelling abilities and lovely ways of reorganizing language from a dull series of words into lyric poetry.  When you read the examples I cited below, you’ll see what I mean.  The man can write a story! 
 
Let’s take a peek into the book Eat like a Fish and see how he does it.  Below I included two quotes from the book.  What I want to point out here is that he pulls the reader into the situation with just a few words and with just one paragraph leaves us with a vivid sense of the story.  We didn’t need a laundry list of facts and figures to get a sense of what was happening, what the tone was, or how Smith felt in this time of life.  He is able to tell a story in just a paragraph.  Take a look at the examples below. 

Bren Smith’ Eat Like a Fish
 
The ER nurses wouldn’t let me be.  The first day I pushed my cart into their domain, they swarmed, demanding to know my story.  They were all ages and sizes, but all shared a mix of warmth, strength, and irreverence.  They made fun of my teenage silence and anger, forcing me to unfurl.  I’d join them at the nurse’s station, listening to gossip about new patients, shitty boyfriends and husbands, grim tales of bad sex, frustration with sloppy and arrogant doctors.  They were great storytellers, able to slide from ridicule to compassion mid-sentence. During that time in my life, they were my ballast.  No wonder I later married a nurse.  Page 28
 
I had been welcomed by the new urban class of “foodies,” a strange, ritualized culture marked by the trancelike state they’d go into after the first bite of a new dish.  A slight smile curled onto their faces as the oyster liquor hit their taste buds.  Their eyes would close.  A moment of silence.  Then a practiced attempt at poetry, as they detailed the swirls of flavor.  Never one to fetishize food—I still ate at the gas station most nights—I found this new and, at first, alienating.  But, God, how they loved my oysters, my pea crabs, my slipper shells.  I’d quickly become proud of the food I grew, and adopted their culinary dialect.  Page 107
 
I love this book, and I loved reading it.  It filled me with fog and mist and green leaves and salty sea and cold sand.  As I was reading it, I had a clear sense of the place in life where he was, the ideas he was wrestling with, and the life questions he had.  Those types of stories and types of storytelling give the reader a glimpse into one’s life, and that’s one of the most powerful effects that we can have.  When we pull the reader into our little corners of the universe and give them a peek behind the curtains, we create a level of intimacy and clarity that readers seek.  A memoir reader wants to know about you, wants to know your stories, and wants that revelation of self.   When you tell a story for the sake of the story, you can give them what they want without boring them. 
 
Smith, Bren.  Eat Like a Fish.  Knopf, 2019.