Visual writing: Become a visual storyteller with visual writing techniques

Visual writing: Become a visual storyteller with visual writing techniques. Person holding up an iPhone in an outstretched hand while focusing on the beach scene and setting sun in the background. Photo by Snapwire from Pexels

Amazing secrets of visual story writing to use in your book

My son recently turned four and was given a new box of Lego.

He loves Lego and can play with it for hours.

With only a few coloured blocks he can create a “firetruck with an in-built helicopter landing pad” or a “police car on a flying train”.

These might be basic, abstract constructions but the point is he doesn’t need many blocks to get his imagination cranking!

Likewise readers use our words to visualise the stories we write about in our autobiography, memoir, biography or life-story project.

We want to transport our audience back in time to understand and ‘see’ our memories.

But how to do this well and without writing a tome?

Today I highlight some key visual writing ideas to keep in mind as you plan, write, polish and publish your book.

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Case study: Nicola Gray’s New Humans of Australia

Case study: Nicola Gray's New Humans of Australia. Nicola Gray portrait shot and group photo of New Humans of Australia interviewees. Photos by New Humans of Australia.
New Humans of Australia’s Nicola Gray (left) and New Humans of Australia interviewees (right) with the latest book. Photos: New Humans of Australia.

What every life-history feature article writer ought to know about recording migrant and refugee stories

Unique life stories are all around us and we only have to open our eyes and ears to learn from them.

This has been a goal of Nicola Gray, founder of social media and web platform New Humans of Australia.

Gray has a background as an English language teacher and college manager working with international students and refugees.

In 2016 she was inspired by the popular Humans of New York website to start her own life-story project.

“I wanted to ‘humanise’ refugees and other kinds of migrants by telling their migration stories,” Gray said.

“I wanted Australians to see how much struggle goes into migrating to a new country and how often migrants succeed.”

Gray has compiled two New Humans of Australia books and has a readership of about 120,000 on her Facebook page.

Read on to find out more about New Humans of Australia and how Gray approaches each story…

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Ask Nicola Q&A: How to copy edit + CPR for revising and editing

How to copy edit: CPR for revising and editing your own work. Woman in palm-tree print tank with sunglasses comically looks up at a bright yellow lifeguard tower and its red first aid cross symbol. Photo by Leonardo Rossatti from Pexels.

Surefire proofreading tips to make your writing sing 

Hi and welcome to Forever Young Autobiographies – Ask Nicola.

I get lots of questions about writing life stories for family and friends.

And in this series I aim to pull out some of the queries I receive and give you a peek into how I help writers just like you.

Today’s Ask Nicola answers the following question:

I’ve finished a rough draft of my book. What do I need to focus on when I polish and revise my writing?

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