Some people worry that they’re not writing things the ‘right way.’
I’ve found that people who didn’t enjoy writing at school and people who learned English later in life will sometimes second guess their ability to write their stories.
But honestly, some of the best stories I’ve read or worked on didn’t follow the rules of our crazy, inconsistent language.
I’m teaching my seven year old to read and he often yells ‘why! That makes no sense!’ when he discovers another strange thing about our language. And I get it.
Last week he asked me what the point was of the ‘c’ and the ‘k’ in the word ‘kick.’ And he wondered why the sound at the start of ‘chocolate’ is different to the sound, using the same letters, at the start of my name ‘Charlotte.’
I keep telling him our language comes from five or six older languages, all mixed up together. This makes us feel better.
I’m far more interested in the personality of the writer when I read a story. I want to feel like I’m hearing the voice of the story teller, and in my experience as a memoir writer, that’s what the children and grandchildren of the writer want too.
They don’t want a polished, perfectly written book, they want to feel like they’re hanging out with the person who wrote the story, and that they’re seeing life through that person’s eyes.
It can be a solace, to read our loved ones words.
So do me a favour and enjoy writing purely as yourself. Yes, the spelling and grammar can be tidied, but ultimately, it’s important to preserve the voice of the original writer. That’s where the treasure is, in your unique voice.
Who am I?
Kia Ora, I’m Charlotte Squire and I help people write their memoirs, life stories and histories with my online course Write Your Memoir.
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Charlotte Squire 