By Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites

Never underestimate the little moments in life. They just might turn into a writing credit one day.

“But doesn’t he have a mommy?” My four-year-old first born asked me this question when I tried, for the first time, to explain to him the meaning of “homeless.” We’d traveled across country with my husband for his work trip, and we were sightseeing in San Diego. We spotted a man lying on a newspaper for a pillow, with tattered clothes and a ratty blanket for a covering. My son stared, and then asked questions.

As gently as I could, I explained that he’d fallen on hard times, and he didn’t have anyone to take care of him. My little boy couldn’t understand why he didn’t have a mom to solve all of his problems.

I jotted the details of our conversation on a McDonald’s napkin about thirty minutes later, when we stopped in just to buy food coupons for my son to give to those seeking a handout.

And later, the moment became a story I wrote for a compilation.

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When I scooped up a tarantula with an empty baby wipes container, I wasn’t thinking, “I bet I’ll write about this one day.” Nope – my thoughts were more like: “I can’t believe the woman who’s terrified of spiders is putting one in her car – as far back in the van as possible – just because her son was devastated when the neighborhood bully stole Jeremy’s tarantula from the back porch and crushed it with his boot.”

But I did jot down the details of the event – before the days of using my computer regularly – and tucked them away in a file folder, stuffing it unalphabetically in a filing cabinet. Almost twenty years later, I wrote the story for a national animal magazine, and it eventually became a Selah finalist.

It was a memory I wanted to forget. My mom lying near death in a hospital bed from a botched scope procedure, and my brother and I arguing over a caregiver decision for my mom’s release from the hospital … if there was one. But instead of trying to put it out of my mind, I wrote every detail in my spiral notebook and saved it … just in case. When Guideposts Magazine editors announced a workshop opportunity for previous contest winners, that included me, I typed up the story, submitted it, and was chosen as one of twelve to attend a Refresher Workshop in Arizona with top New York Guideposts editors to perfect the story for publication in the magazine.

Little moments … that morphed into big stories … that turned into publication credits.

A seemingly-boring spelling bee that I covered for my newspaper (and it was only boring to ME because those brilliant kids spelled and spelled and the event lasted for hours and hours) became a story for Focus on the Family’s ClubhouseMagazine because of the winner’s quote at the end of night. Young Elikem G. said he excelled at memorizing spellings because “Every day, my brothers and I memorize Bible verses.”

Getting lost at the Santa Monica Pier became a devotion for CBN.com. A squeezed hand from my frail great-aunt during an IV insertion turned into a devotion for a national caregiver magazine. A conversation with an acquaintance about a kidney transplant became a newspaper article, and a Guideposts Magazine story.

Stories abound in the minutia. But if you don’t jot down the incident while the event is fresh in your mind, you’ll run the risk of forgetting important details that create a rich, powerful, moving story that appeals to the senses of the reader, that tugs on the heartstrings, that places the reader right in the center of the action.

Here are a few tips to help you save those memories that just might one day become a published moment.

1. Keep paper and pencil handy at all times. In your purse, on a bedside table, on the island in the kitchen, next to your recliner. It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll write it down later, but if you don’t do it in the moment .. it likely won’t happen. If you don’t have paper handy but yet your phone’s in your back pocket, pull it out and either text yourself the details, email them to yourself, or write the info in a section in the Notes App. Or, do a voice-to-text memo to yourself in one of those same platforms – email, text, or notes app. It goes faster than typing, but, if your southern twang is as prominent as mine, read over the notes to make sure you’ll be able to read them later!
2. Type up the notes of the event and add them to a Word Document that you’ve labeled “possible stories” or something along those lines. Try to do this each day – maybe at the end of the day, just before going to bed. Again, if you don’t do this while the details are fresh, you’ll forget many of them. You may think you’ll remember, but … you won’t! Trust my experiences when it comes to remembering events that happened years ago.
3. Glance back over the folder filled with ideas once or twice during the month, maybe even once a week if you have time, to pick out ideas that you want to flesh out and turn into an article or devotion. Study Market Guides (like Christian Writers Market Guide) to find an outlet that’s a perfect match for your idea. Get all of the details from the guide – word count, font to use, where and how to send it in – and write the story keeping those guidelines in mind. After you’ve edited it a couple of times, let your critique group or partner take a look. Once it’s perfected, send it in for possible inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, blog, compilation or wherever you’ve chosen.
4. See how many “minutia moments” you can turn into published credits for your resume. Submit often. If you receive a rejection from one place, ship it out to another! Watch your resume fill up with credits for the little moments of each day!

Sometimes it’s the “little moments” that resonate the most with readers. Never underestimate the minutia. Write about it!

Julie Lavender worked on the computer for many nights until the wee hours of the morning to complete her newest book, Raising Good Sons: Christian Parenting Principles for Nurturing Boys of Faith and Character that releases the second week of April. Julie co-authored the book, published by Penguin Random House, with her hubby, David. It’s their first faith-based collaborative effort, though they’ve also recently written twenty-two books for the children’s educational market. Julie is also the author of A Gingerbread House, published by End Game Press.