Autobiographical writing

[Heddwen]

I'm in the middle of doing an autobiographical writing course. Weekly we're writing on different topics connected with our lives to form a sort of patchwork quilt which will then be finally linked together with common threads. I've found it quite enjoyable and cathartic.

Have you undertaken this type of work both for personal pleasure or for publication? What angle did you use? Did you tie it in with your druidry/religious path in any way? Any advice or tips would be gratefully received.

[Argenta]

Have you undertaken this type of work both for personal pleasure or for publication? What angle did you use? Did you tie it in with your druidry/religious path in any way? Any advice or tips would be gratefully received.

I prefer essay-like diary entries (have a ton of those, something like a private blog of mine), but I will also make autobiographical sketches or notes from time to time. I tend to write about specific occasions from my past which I don't want to forget, and I focus either on people (my aunt, for example, or my loves) or on events that brought on some sort of a lasting realization/ change in me. Many of those are tied with my current spiritual path because they've made me what I am and shaped my beliefs.

I have no advice to offer, I am quite an amateur, but one thing helps me a lot: being uncannily truthful with myself. Past is always distorted in some ways in our mind due to the passage of time, but I also find I tend to "beautify" it on a more conscious level, so that it sounds nice. When writing, I give my best to remove this need to excuse myself, or make the past more palatable, or give it a literary edge. And it's not always easy! But I learn a lot about myself and my personal fears and desires in this way, it can be a very purifying process.

Good luck with your writing!