By Pamela Nowak
Memories are precious things. I’ve known that for most of my life but was struck anew at just how priceless they are when helping pack up my mom’s household items as she moved to a much smaller residence last month. We came across box after box of old photos, school projects, handmade cards, and baby items. As we went through them, the past came flooding back, bringing smiles and tears.
Our writing
life, too, is filled with memories and milestones.
Several years ago, just after I was offered my first book contract, a fellow writer offered this advice: make a scrapbook—you will want to remember the emotions you felt during this journey.
It made sense because they were really great emotions!
I began packing things away in a plastic tote, deciding to 
chronicle the whole journey. I pulled out my files of rejection letters, my contest entries with score sheets and comments, even old critique group comments. I’d saved them all, pat-rack that I am. Here was my chance to put them to use. I added in print-outs from emails…the offer, the negotiation
s, the contract. I added congratulatory notes from friends, announcements I’d made on list-serve groups, cards and letters. I included pages from internet sites: my website, blogs I was invited to participate in, review sites. Added in were photos, reviews, news clippings, announcements of signing events, and other remembrances.
Purchasing scrapbooks, I sought background pages to reflect writing, romance, and dreams. I did the same with stickers and 3-D accents. In the end, I created several scrapbook volumes chronicling my writing journey.
Every now and then, I pull them 
out and relive the moments of struggle and reward. Like my mom’s boxes, they are full of smiles and tears—exquisite, treasured pieces of the past. They reflect accomplishment and provide a sense of renewed commitment as I step toward the next phases in my journey.
Consider the idea of creating your own scrapbooks. Even if you don’t have a creative bent in that direction, keep the memories together in one spot. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy—just a collection of milestones to reflect upon and set your course for what’s to come.
Pam, what a wonderful collection of memories you’ve captured. Your album pages look beautiful! (sigh) I haven’t put a photo in a family album since Jalena was eighteen months old! I did put photos of some of my writing events together on my website years ago. You’ve inspired me to try again!
Do try again! I took such pleasure in these scrapbooks that I started doing them for vacations, too. And I’m not really a scrapbook kind of girl. They store wonderful memories.
Great idea! I keep everything too, but my stuff is packed away in a file cabinet in an order only I would understand.
Yep…mine were scattered in file cabinets, a catch-all drawer, and a plastic tote. The scrapbook takes up much less space with the added benefit of being organized chronilogically.
This would be such a great project, Pam. I haven’t put together a scrapbook since high school — I had two of them and they were so full of good memorabilia from the school (dance programs, newspaper articles, etc.) that I ended up donating them to the school’s archives. Sometimes I wish I had them back….
What a great idea to put them all in one place. I was getting lots of great reviews and wonderful emails from all over when my first book came out. A friend suggested that I start a “Feel Good” file and move all of them there. I’m so glad I did.
I would love to do this. Thanks for the inspiration!
Happy creating!