I Must Write

By John Anthony Brennan

The writer, who has ever experienced the unforgiving sensation that gnaws at the very marrow, and invades the inner core with relentless ferocity, must write. I believe that all writers have an innate ability to tap into the higher realm, that mysterious place where all inspiration comes from. It is a gift that enables us to transcend the mundane and experience the world as we see and feel it and know how it should be. 

We can turn what to most people, are chaotic thoughts and feelings, into beautiful and meaningful works of art. We pass on what we have learned through our words, the manifestation of our collective knowledge and is a shamanistic quality that we possess. It all starts with a blank page and one single word or phrase and will lead us on a journey of self-discovery.

When I got the urge to write my first book, I didn't have a clue about where to start; it was a daunting task and simply terrifying. The one thing I knew for certain was that it would be my story and would center around my father and my memories of time spent with him. His single, most profound piece of advice was passed on to me as he lay on his death bed when he told me “son, whatever you do, don’t die with regrets.”. and those words became the title of my first book.

For anyone attempting to write their first book I would advise they enroll in a writing course or at the very least a series of writing workshops. What you learn there will be invaluable and will refresh your memories of lessons you learned in school. When I finished my writing course, I felt that I could take the first steps toward writing seriously. Knowing that I wanted to write a memoir and realizing that a memoir is really a grouping together of short stories I began to think of the best way that I could achieve this without getting too complicated and perhaps become overwhelmed. The plan I finally settled on I call the "7 method."

I started with a blank page and titled it "Things I remember from age 7-14." Then I wrote as many of the events that I could remember happening to and around me starting at age 7. I titled the second page "Things I remember from age 14-21" and did the same thing. I did the same with all the following pages and ended with the last page that corresponded with my current age. That was my first draft and surprisingly easy once I got going. After that I went back to the first page and elaborated by adding more memories and did the same with all the pages I had written. I kept repeating until I had the makings of a complete book. Good luck and enjoy the journey.  

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Author John Anthony Brennan comes from County Armagh, Ireland. He left his beloved, sacred green isle many years ago to explore the world and has been island hopping ever since. He has traveled extensively, visiting many of the sacred sites and incorporates his experiences in both his prose and poetry as he believes that a common thread connects us all. He has previously written a philosophical memoir; a collection of memoir style poetry; a book dedicated to the musicians who died before their time and a book on the history of Ireland. He now resides in New Rochelle. NY. Social Media links: https://thewildgeese.irish/profile/johnABrennan https://www.facebook.com/johnabrennan1