Because I’m going to be the editor for the Memories book, I thought I should start by writing up one of the ‘memories’ that will go in it. I decided upon a story about one day that I remember with my father, who died of a brain tumour last November. The idea was to test out our ideas on the length and format for each article in the book.

It took me ages to get started. For a long time I had a day in mind – not necessarily a nice day but a day that I remember because it was pretty meaningful for me and my sister. Eventually I started writing it last week. I swear it was the most difficult piece I’ve ever written. The first draft was a very emotional experience. Just getting the words down was about 10 times harder than, for instance, writing an article for a magazine (something I do daily). It took me most of the day to write 500 words.

The second draft was hard as well. I wanted to make the article a bit more poetic, creative, and maybe a touch romantic. After doing this, I showed it to my girlfriend but she told me she didn’t get it. I actually got quite upset about this because I’d wanted to push my creativity. However she was completely right. The parts of the article where I’d tried to play with imagery and descrptiveness made the story about my dad seem trivial. I’m glad she told me it was rubbish. A few days later I made the arty bits a lot more literal and it pulled them into the story much better.

I was pleased when she said she liked the copy after I showed it to her again. I was also nervous that my sister wouldn’t like it, just because the story wasn’t exactly a day we thought was nice or one that we’re proud of. But she said she remembered the day and she said she thought the piece was beautifully observed. Phew!

Today I’ve worked up a brief for writers who are going to help with the project and sent it around to the guys on the project to see what they think. We’re also working on choosing subjects for the book so that we can let the writers start their interviews. My good friend Tom Dennis, from Computer Arts, is most likely going to interview Antony from Subism about the cancer he survived.

I don’t want to spoil it by giving away details about the story I have written about my father. You’ll just have to wait until Memories comes out. But I will say that it is the toughest assignment I’ve ever had, creatively and emotionally. The other writers are going to find interviewing and writing challenging, but also very rewarding.