Gerrie, I wrote a book on the very topics you mentioned in your message above. I had kept journals off and on, as well as quotes and poems on scraps of paper. Some items did not survive the passage of time, the waste of time (so-called by a husband who thought my musings were a waste of time) the many moves I had, a sewer flooded basement which destroyed my box of journals, etc. But some scraps did survive, and I used those to "get started." When I started writing a book, I thought I was going to write about my recovery from drug addiction and alcohol abuse and suicide attempts. As I wrote, a theme emerged, that of the reasons for the above dysfuntion. The destructive path I was on in my teens and twenties was due to child abuse, including incest. I never thought I'd write about that! But that was the God given plan for my book, and for telling a story of hope and healing. One of the main themes is a spiritual transformation. My advice would be: determine the reason you are writing a book: self-knowledge, self-help for others, to bring about hope, healing, or story-telling. There are many reasons. Although I did not know I'd write about sexual abuse when I started, I did know that I wanted to be a voice for others who were suffering. It took me 20 years to write the book (always on the back burner) and 3 years from seriously writing on a daily basis to actual publishing. One of the exercises that helped me write was to write 3 full pages each morning of stream-of-consciousness without censor. I wrote everything until I had a 163,000 word memoir. A top-notch editor pared it down to 100,000 words, more re-writes pared it to a readable 93,000 words. One of the biggest lessons the editor taught me was that I did not have to write every antecdote, but I could write one essay that represented others. I could not fathom "write what you know" but that's exactly what I did after having writer's block for decades. I was always afraid that if I started, what would come out of the recesses of my mind? Well, the truth surfaced, and painful as it is, the truth also set me free. Another help to writing was to read other books on my same topics. At the time there were not that many books about incest and it's ramifications. You can also join a writer's group. As for publishing, that's a whole topic. I studied the industry before I made my decision. I would instinctly trust Chatty with editing my next manuscript. Good luck! L, PL