Your Story Matters

I finished the 4th Book draft!

Hey friends,

Greetings from Bangalore, India!

I know you might be sick of hearing this now, but I am done with another full edit of the book manuscript now. It might appear repetitive, but it is a big step. Because with each revision, I am making the same piece of writing more comprehensive and readable. And this has been one of the biggest edits so far, 

I printed out the latest draft. It feels so cool to hold it in my hands!

In this latest edit, I found something that I think is a game-changer for writers.

I found a way to get Siri to read out my draft to me. That's allowed me to go over the material in a new way, catch errors, and smoothen out some parts. This has greatly helped me in my editing process, and I'd recommend it to anyone trying to edit a piece of writing. 

Now, I need to step away from the draft and let my editor and beta readers give me feedback on it. It is important that I take some time away form the draft so that I can go back in later and polish it with a clear mind. 

I genuinely feel like I am reaching the end of a long journey. Now, I am getting involved in the design and so on. Everything is coming together!

Since I'm reaching the end, I often look back on this whole journey and reflect on what I've learned from it. 

As I was writing the epilogue, I touched on the imposter syndrome I felt while preparing the draft.

Imposter syndrome is a fancy word for self-doubt. It's what you feel when you don't think you are worthy of something.

In this book, I talk about my interactions with others I've met on my travels in search of wildlife. Many of the people I've met have such interesting stories, and sometimes, when I hear their tales, I feel like mine aren't all that interesting.

But everyone who has read some of the book material has said that they found the stories fascinating. They said that I'd experienced things that would be of interest to many people.

The lesson? Your story MATTERS. 

I strongly feel like everyone should write a memoir. You don't have to do it with the goal of publishing it. 

But in the very act of reflecting on your story, you will learn a lot about yourself. And that will make the whole process worth it.

And if you're worried that your story isn't interesting enough, know this. If you've survived childhood, then you have more than enough material to write about. (This isn't my line; I think I'm borrowing from Anne Lamott or someone else…)

I have a tip on how to make your story matter:

• Don't focus on how crazy the event is. Focus on what you take away from it. Every story has a takeaway, and if you can bring out your emotions in your story, then it will land well with your audience, no matter whether you're handling snakes, looking at a leaf or doing something completely different…

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Maybe I'll write about how I went about weaving my anecdotes together in another post. I took a lot of inspiration from what I learned from reading the work of my friend

Rick Lewis

. If you want to understand the nuances of storytelling, I highly recommend Rick's newsletter

Pivot to the Podium

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Postcard

Where do you think this place is? Probably deep in some jungle right?

Wrong.

This was taken in the agricultural fields of Haryana, outside my university.

You can find nature in places you don’t expect. Just step outside your front door.

Favourite Quote

“I had grown up only on the traditional accounts of nesting habits. But I noticed that the birds did not read the textbooks.” - Dr Salim Ali

Have a creative, wild and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)