Your Story Matters, my new book on craft, is OUT!
Here is a short extract from the book for you!
Dear friends
I’m taking a break because IT’S PUBLICATION WEEK! Oh my oh my oh my! My new book is OUT this week! The creative writing book! Your Story Matters! The book inspired by this very newsletter.
As a thanks for all the support, and hey, a little enticement for the book, here is the intro!
INTRODUCTION Whose story matters?
Your story matters.
That’s all I have to say on the subject. Your. Story. Matters.
That’s the message of this book. It’s taken me a long time to admit this to myself about my own work, so this will save you decades of self-doubt and imposter syndrome. I’ll repeat it again: your story matters.
Now I’ve set out my stall, let’s move to you, what this book is and how it’ll help you write the thing you’re trying to write.
Actually, no. Hold up. Let’s reload this. Wheel it back for a second. Let’s say it again, this time as an affirmation. Say it with me. You ready?
My story matters.
Before we do anything else, I want you to grab a bit of paper, maybe an index card, or tear a page out of a notebook. Grab a pen, something that’ll make a statement. A bold pen choice. Write: ‘MY STORY MATTERS’ on it. Sit with that thought for a second. Now stick the paper or card (or whatever you wrote on) up somewhere you will see every day. On your bathroom mirror. In the fridge amongst the cheeses, if you live in the type of household that has more than one cheese at any time and likes for them all to sit together like a crew in the cool air of the top shelf.
Above your desk, if you have a desk. If you’re a hot-desk kinda writer, take a photo of the paper with your phone, email it to yourself and maybe make it the wallpaper on your laptop.
Use it as a bookmark.
Your story matters. It does. In this book, I will help you write it, edit it, hone it, own it and put it out into the world. There will be advice, new ways of thinking and plenty of exercises. By the end of this book, you will have your story, written, in front of you. I’m a big believer in offering practical help. Because writing is hard. Writing a novel is hard. Writing an essay is hard. Writing this book you’re reading right now was hard. Writing is hard. I often listen to writers talk about how they hate writing. And I don’t think it’s because they actually hate writing. I think it’s because writing is hard. And it can reduce you to a monosyllabic, inarticulate space- head sometimes. A disconnect happens between the perfect thought in your head and how it gets represented on the page. There is slippage between brain and typing fingers. And if you don’t want to come undone by this slippage, you’ll need practical help. Super-short lessons and prompts to help you create what you want to create.
I look at storytelling in the following ways:
have the idea;
work out your intentions in writing it;
trust your instincts through the tricky first draft;
be mindful of structure and technique in subsequent drafts;
edit, edit, edit, edit.
One of the reasons I want this book to be practical is because storytelling, especially in dark times, is an important act. Storytelling can help us look within and understand ourselves better, it can be act an act of generosity towards others, to make us feel less alone, it can help us look for joy and hope, it can help us to understand complex things that are beyond our control. So with all that said, here is my manifesto on why this all matters now:
Your story matters.
Learning the technical side of writing is essential, but it
should never, ever, override your instincts.
You know your story . . . you know it better than anyone,
but you must also know why you want to tell it, why you’re
the best person to tell it and why you need to tell it now.
Right now, the only person that matters is you. And you,
the reader, are the person that you, the writer, needs to service. The reader-you demands this story. The writer-you has this story to tell. The writer-you should meet the reader-you’s demands in the best way you can.
Writing is incredibly hard.
This book, like every other creative writing book, is one way
of doing it. You have to find your own way, your own voice,
your own path as a writer.
If you don’t tell this story, will anyone else? If the answer is
‘no’, how does that make you feel?
Most writing guides are too focused on making your work publishable, on revealing what will make a publisher sit up and go, ‘Send this to the publishing factory immediately; it’s perfect, you’re the next [insert current cool white writer du jour here].’ The vast majority of writing guides are functional in that way. They help you get published; help you write a bestseller; help you morph what you want to do to fit a publisher’s vision. I cannot help you published.
We’re going to do things differently.
Writing a bestseller isn’t why you’re reading this book.
This book is for you if know you want to write, know you have a story to tell, know you have something important to say, and don’t know how to start, how to go on, and what to do when you’re done.
This book is concerned with one thing and one thing only:
You need to tell your story.
Only you can write the book that you want to write. Only you can tell the story you want to tell, in the way it needs to be told.
My aim is all about taking you back to that original intent. Why you want to write and what you want to write and how you can get the best out of your work.
If we don’t think our stories are the most important ones out there, why will anyone else?
I remember once talking to a friend about making work. He put it: be the first customer of anything you do.
Besides the obvious, the only equipment you’re going to need over the course of this book and its prompts is, as follows:
• time;
• thought.
That’s it.
There will be lots of opportunities to write, either responding to various prompts I give you, or developing the project you want to work on.
There you go! The intro to the new book! Your Story Matters is 300 pages of brand new storytelling advice, writing prompts, friendly tips and anecdotes from my writing life. Don’t feel like you need to wait till publication day to buy it. It’s out officially 17th March, but it’s already in some book shops right now, and online orders are starting to make their way into the world. I’m trying to not put too much stock in first week sales. Readers (and in the case of this book, writers) find the work when they need the work. I guess, if you’re a writer working on things, and need some encouragement, please do buy the book. Here is a link
Waterstones / Bookshop.org / WH Smith / Blackwell's / Foyles
Thanks and see you next week!
best
Nikesh