From the confused mind of a fangirl

nanowrimo:

Every year, we gather together a team of published authors to be your Camp Counselors. Author Uju Asika is this week’s Camp Counselor! Here’s some advice from her Camp Care Packages:

“One of my personal mottos for both life and writing is ‘everything is material’. From a writing perspective, it means that everything can be used — a bird whistling on a fence, that line you overheard at a cafe, the toilet paper stuck to your shoe. Your messiest, most vulnerable experiences. In a way it’s daunting but also quite liberating to know that, when it comes to storytelling, absolutely nothing is off limits. You can put it all on the page.On a deeper/spiritual level, that phrase reminds me that everything is matter and, at some point, none of it will matter. So you might as well write about it, while you still can!”

Writing Dare from Uju:

“What does the phrase ‘Everything is material’ conjure up to you? Maybe a secret you’re afraid to write about or something totally mundane. Start with the prompt: ‘Everything is material. Even this…’ and keep writing, without censoring yourself. See what turns up.”

—Uju Asika is a multiple award-nominated blogger, digital consultant, and author of the book Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World, published in September 2020 by Yellow Kite (Hachette UK). *London Evening Standard pick for Best Books September 2020*. Available in hardback, ebook and audiobook formats on Amazon UK and Waterstones. Follow Uju @babesabouttown on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram.

Your Camp Care Package is brought to you by Camp NaNoWriMo. Sign up to receive more Camp Care Packages at nanowrimo.org! Thank Uju for her Camp Care Package!