How to Write the Story You’ve Been Holding Onto

As a writer and writing coach, I know from experience that there are stories that arrive on the page potent and fresh, like steam rising off a morning lake… 

…and then there are the ones we carry inside ourselves for years – decades even – quietly tucked away, handwritten in memory, and pressed between the folds of our everyday lives.

These ‘living’ stories hum inside our bones, glowing, patiently waiting for us to be ready. 

So if you’ve been holding onto a secret manuscript or book idea for 10…20…30 years, then this article is for you!

First things first:

You’re not late. You’re exactly on time.

Letting go of something you have held so close for a long time takes courage.

Yet it also means the story has had time to marinate, deepen, and evolve. You’ve lived with it, reflected on it, and grown from it—even if your pen has yet to hit the page. This kind of involvement gives you more perspective on your work than an overnight draft could ever give. 

Which is why I want to tell you: I think you’re ready.

And you haven’t failed. 

Because what you will write, and what you have written, is powerful.

It’s powerful because you’ve lived it, or believed in it, or dreamed it up from nothing. Your relationship to the story is what gives it strength, not its ‘completeness’. 

So today, believe in yourself like I do! 

It’s time to shape your story into something that will invite readers into your world. Be fearless. Be seen. Because if nothing else, I’d love to hear your story, just the way you put it to page.

5 stress-free ways to start writing the story you’ve been holding onto

Ready? 

Here are 5 stress-free ways I encourage my writers to start writing (or re-writing) the pages of the story they’ve been holding onto.  

But wait! 

Before you dive in, I want to mention that staying stress-free with your writing means following your intuition. It means not trying to do everything at once.

Ask yourself while you read the following list: What feels easy? Where does your attention naturally go?

When you figure that out, you’ll know exactly where to go next.

Then you can come back later and try another one as the momentum starts to build: 

#1 Reflect on your story from where you are now

Like I said, you’ve lived, believed, or dreamed up your story. Now, ask yourself, what does it mean to you today? 

Try writing a few short reflections on the story from your present self, as if you were actually talking to the reader, or explaining what you’ve learned about the story to them. 

If you’re writing a memoir or true story, you can speak lovingly to your younger self about what’s happened in all the time since. 

Whether these reflections make their way into your story is completely up to you—what’s important is that you give yourself (and your reader) a window into how your understanding of the story has shifted. 

#2 Recenter your narrator’s voice in the story

When it comes to memoir or narrative fiction, the narrator is never just a witness. They are a character in their own story, as much as you are a character in your own story. 

What I find, however, is that many writers are quick to lose their own voice in trying to share the details and events of the ‘plot’.

In other words, they let the story, or the journey they are commenting on, take over, and forget to share their own sentiments between the pages. 

My suggestion for memoir writers or those writing an autobiography is to ask yourself: what did I feel as I witnessed this story? What changed in me? What did I fear, grieve, or celebrate?

Don’t be afraid to let yourself take up space, even if you’re sharing your experience of someone else’s journey. 

If you are writing fiction, on the other hand, you can sometimes make these questions work. However, you may be writing a narrator who is nothing like you. In this case, I suggest ‘going on a walk’ with your narrator.

Ask them these questions as if you are an interviewer. Allow their story and their expressions take up space. What did they really think about what happened? How did they change? What was their reaction?

#3 Slow down, and let your reader in

Readers don’t just want to know what happened in a scene. They want to feel it, smell it, see it. They want to know about the cracked ceramic cup on your teacher’s shelf, not just that you were in their office. Your readers want to witness the dry cedar smell of your grandfather’s cabin, not just know you had visited. They want to know about the electric lights that flickered just before the witch came, not just that she appeared. 

These are all details that are going to make your story really breathe.

So sink in. Allow your senses to be in the experience, and tell us what they pick up! Your scene or chapter will, I promise, follow quite naturally from there. 

#4 Picture yourself (or your narrator)

Choose a scene from your story, something that happened, or will happen later. 

Now, instead of writing what your narrator (or you) felt during the experience (i.e., scared, cornered, joyful, blissed out), envision yourself or your narrator from outside. Were their (your) hands trembling? Did your ears twitch? Did you look away and hang your head? 

You may have heard the phrase: show, don’t tell. This is an old piece of writing advice that still rings true, but isn’t always easy to explain. 

But THIS is how you show, not tell: by letting physical reactions, surroundings, and dialogue reveal much more than just the surface-level story.

You’ll be surprised at how much just writing about your wrinkled nose at the sight of your dinner gives the reader an inside scoop on what’s going on, without needing to 'tell' the reader that you didn't like it. 

#5 Play with symbolism and metaphor

Choose one scene in your story, and then imagine the physical objects that were there in the scene alongside you or your character. 

Did you (they) have a pebble in their pocket, warm from your hand? Did the scent of oranges waft through the air? Did you see an eagle land in a tree, and then take off? 

More often than not, I find my writers will create these incredible metaphors and references without even trying, just by listing some of the physical symbols that appear in their story or scene, or through the comparisons they make to other things.

It doesn’t matter how ordinary these symbols or metaphors may seem, you’ll often find they carry emotional weight, and act as breadcrumbs for your reader (especially if it’s a symbol you come back to throughout the story) that can lead them through your (or your character’s) transformational journey. 

What comes, is what was meant to come

As you continue writing, or building up your courage to set your story free, here’s something gentle to hold close: if a scene isn’t ‘flowing’ in the moment, you can move on. You don’t have to remember or add everything. Some memories and scenes hide for a reason. Others arrive uninvited. 

My advice? Let the ones that come through easily speak first. The rest will follow in their own time. 

And remember: you’re not just writing a book. You’re sharing a life. Even if the story you’re sharing is fictional, you’re there in between the pages and doing important work.

Who knows? You might just be offering someone else the exact story they didn’t know they needed. 

So don’t hold back. 

It’s time to write the story you’ve been holding onto!