The Very Best Way to Start Writing Your Stories: WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW!

I hear from people every day who know they have a story inside them -- they can feel it trying to gurgle its way to the surface -- but they don't know where to begin. In almost every case, I tell them, 'Start by writing Write what you know!' Your joy, your personal experiences, your family life, your favorite pastime ... begin writing your book by writing short stories about the things that interest you. Start out by writing short pieces from your own life. Writing what you know gives a realistic feel to your story, makes it believable. And writing in your area of expertise makes it easier to put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard.

Now, anybody active in the world of writing and publishing can tell you that memoirs are a dime a dozen. That's true. Unless you're famous, the world is not likely to beat a path to your door to read your life story. But I'm not suggesting you write a memoir. (There are good reasons for writing a memoir, but that's another story entirely.) I'm simply suggesting that you begin by writing your own experience. Once you're in the groove, you're a hop-step-and-a-jump from turning your short pieces into great stories readers are bound to enjoy.

What kinds of experiences should you write about? The possibilities are endless. If you're a mom, for example, and you love being a mom, and you think every woman should be a mom at some point in her life, and guys too if only they could, then why not start out with a list of things that made today so magical? Like ...

• Doing your best to maintain lane control while refereeing the battle in the back seat on the drive to school
• The cop that pulled you over for weaving between lanes
• Your husband's accusatory grimace when he saw the ticket

Now, what do you do with the list? Write your heart out. Get your emotions down on paper ...

"I can't believe Kevin! No sympathy, no 'Oh, honey, it's OK, I know you had a tough day.' Oh no, no way. He's all going on about the money to pay the stupid ticket! Like I didn't manage to keep Jacob and Anthony from killing Samantha in the back seat? Well, the cop didn't have any trouble quieting the kids down. You could've heard the whisk of an angel's wing while he stood there looking down on me with that bored smirk on his face. Don't those guys have any personality at all? And then Jacob had to pipe up with that bit about my speeding ticket last August! You couldn't make this stuff up. Samantha looked a mess by the time I dropped them off, but I sent her off anyway. I should have fixed her hair, I suppose. I need to get a stack of notes to the teacher printed up for mornings like this, with a blank to fill in for each day's explanation as to why my dear children are showing up twenty minutes late for class."

There, you've got it down. Now file it away under today's date, and cross-reference it under 'Mom' stories. Tomorrow you can write another one. By the end of the week, you'll have several of these ... material to weave together into a funny story you can post to your blog or send in to your favorite family magazine.

Writing what you know gives your readers something they can sink their teeth into, because it's real. Readers like getting lost in stories they understand and can relate to. If you forsake what you know in favor of some topic you're excited but ignorant about, your writing is likely to turn out shallow and meaningless, if not downright misleading and dangerous.

That said, let me add that I know writers who do quite nicely writing about things they're just learning about. They get a taste of a subject and then put on their chef's had and write as if they've been cooking up that dish for years ... and they do well! But these are not beginning writers. Even for an experienced writer, this is risky business. Some people love the risk, though, and manage to pull it off time after time. But it's not a good way to learn the craft of writing.

Write what you know, in short bits, a little every day, and the stories will follow. It's less frustrating than keeping the kids from killing each other, and less likely to get you stopped by a cop.

And if you find you've written a 2-to-4-page story about an 'Aha!' moment in your life that you can't wait to see in print, I suggest you submit it for possible inclusion in Aha! Moments, a wonderful book of stories about life-changing events from the people whose lives they changed. Click here and follow the submission guidelines.