Wider Research
Author of the best selling Times of Our Lives, Michael Oke works with individual clients through his company Bound Biographies. Mike also lectures extensively, runs workshops and appears regularly in the media. He is based in Oxfordshire.
Wider research
Whilst none is necessary, more enthusiastic scribes can pursue some simple research.
Looking at photographs
Any photos taken at home are likely to show something in the background. Seeing the furniture, pictures on the wall, the decor, doors and windows, and even the garden might set some memories rolling. Any old cine films will be better still.
Chatting to relations
Relations and friends who knew your childhood home can be a rich source of information. In addition to their own valuable recollections, the conversation is likely to stimulate further memories between you. Often these will be linked to an interesting anecdote, providing further material for your writing.
Visiting your old home
If your childhood home is still standing and not too far away, paying a visit is bound to stimulate some memories. Looking at the outside, even if it has changed substantially, will remind you of its general appearance, the dimensions, the garden and the geography in relation to other landmarks. It might even be possible to arrange for an internal viewing, especially if the new owner is interested in knowing a little of its history.
Contacting estate agents
If your home was one of many identical houses in a street, the odds are that a similar one (or its mirror image, if it was semi-detached) will be on the market sooner or later. Contacting an estate agent in that area and explaining your reasons will pay dividends when you receive particulars in the post. The dimensions of the rooms will help you to place furniture, and you might be amazed at how much smaller the house is than how you remembered it!
Points to ponder
Describe your feelings about your childhood home.
What was you favourite place in the house?
What are your most powerful memories of that house?
Top tips
. Know how you work best; it might be 10 o’clock every morning with a cup of tea or sitting up in bed at 1:00 am. Whether you are a lark or an owl, write at those times of the day when you feel most relaxed and inspired.
If you are easily distracted, consider booking a date in your diary for writing, then if something else crops up you can legitimately claim that you are otherwise engaged. Alternatively, impose a deadline on yourself by telling a friend that you hope to send them your first chapter by the end of the month. Even this loose commitment will help focus your mind.
