At the end of February, I ran a week-long course on how to write and publish a memoir. I ran it for the Arvon Foundation, alongside my friend the author Wendy Jones.
As part of the course, instead of reading from my own published work, I showed participants pictures I’d made in hospital – raw, unfinished, awkward. I wanted to demonstrate that raw unfinished stuff is probably what most needs to be put out there. And then I took my own advice.
For a while now, I’ve been telling participants on my own Micro-Memoir course they can produce a 40-48 page fragment of a lifestory in just 30 days. I wanted to prove to myself that it’s true, that it works. And that’s what I did, in March. Mine ran to 124 pages, because once I started I couldn’t stop, but the core of it – daily practice, publishing in public, willingness to show unfinished work – all that is exactly what I teach.
This book had been in my mind for a long time. Something about finishing that course, and showing those pictures to strangers, made me think: now.
So I started. Daily emails to a small list, describing what I was doing. Audio recordings. Drawings. And then – I was genuinely surprised – people started to ask if they could buy a copy. I scrambled to set up payment links. The list kept growing. And here we are.
The book is called A Speccy Man Has a Breakdown. It’s a 124-page illustrated hardback – drawings made during a psychiatric admission in 2017, curated from about 300 sketches, signed and numbered, first edition of 250 copies. There’s an A5 art print included.
If you’ve ever had a project living in a drawer for years – mine waited seven! – this might be the thing that nudges you.
JPF
PS – A few people have asked about the Micro-Memoir course. I’m thinking about running it again soon. If you’d like to know when, just reply to this email.