Stories about my daily life never seemed like writing that could sell. Who cared who I was or what I had done. But an editor of a publication pointed out that international readers would find my everyday cultural experiences interesting and fresh. I wrote the first feature about daily life in rural Southern Africa—and surprisingly, readers wanted to know more. What I’d thought “regular” experiences were, proved not to be so regular to others. Daily life can be someone else’s unique read.

Your Regular Stories Are Unique

Living in a rural South African township differs from suburban living: further to stores, minibus taxis, informal traders (or spaza shops), water shortages, and isiZulu—a language I don’t speak much of.

However, an editor pointed out that people have little context for pit toilets, water shortages, and amagwinya (deep-fried dough). My daily experiences were indeed unique.

So I wrote 365 Days in Inanda, telling readers what living in a rural area away from suburbia was like. Local police wouldn’t drive into Inanda citing bad visibility in lieu of real reasons. Insiders’ views of this area were rare. I had a story to tell, it seemed.

Using Daily Experiences As Writing Material

Anything you’ve experienced, whether bowling or visiting your local grocery store, could be unique to readers. Study your daily life, taking it down to the minutiae, looking for the interesting parts—seeking items, moments, habits, and cultures that might be foreign, new, or fascinating to others.

My daily experiences became experiences for readers who had never seen inside an informal settlement or township before. Townships are removed from cities, and predominantly isiZulu. Many South African readers (and international ones) have never been to a township, and many still believe myths about its high crime-rates.

Consider your daily experiences as fruitful writing material, because they aren’t daily for anyone else. For instance, I’ve never seen a Walmart, but writing about traditional street foods turned into the Mzansi Eats column for The South African news. Soon, I also covered things like barbecue’d chicken feet—things I’d seen regularly, but aspects that unfamiliar readers loved to learn about.

Writing About Community Issues

Write about the things that impact, affect, or even annoy you. These daily experiences can be useful for broader audiences, local issues, or community views. Write about water shortages, community shortfalls, and pressing issues from your perspective, because your perspective gives larger issues a voice.

KwaZulu-Natal rural communities experienced 2023/24 food safety concerns, affecting informal traders. Suspicious deaths and food poisoning illnesses affected large parts of Southern Africa.

I wrote several articles about spotting counterfeit, expired, or fake food items for The South African. Later, the idea also evolved into a larger international feature  about informal traders (“spaza”) stores. This piece focused on why “spaza” stores fill an essential community need.

If you’re worried or concerned about something, your perspective could be a valuable story.

Digging Beyond Daily Life

Our life experiences define us. Reading about similar experiences can make us feel less alone facing sadness, trauma, or difficulty. Write about emotionally stirring or traumatic experiences you’ve had even though they are difficult to get on paper.

Literary journal Voertaal bought my 2024 column, On the Sharp and Corroded Edge of Township Living.

I wrote about the lack of running water, unsanitary conditions, and overflowing outside toilets. I wrote about floods and losses, including my own. I wrote about things that made me uncomfortable while feeling readers standing outside this experience should hear.

Emotionally straining, I’d never talked about the discomfort of pit toilets and rural living. However, the piece succeeded, reaching about 3.8k Facebook likes and a later reprint.

After its publication, government announced a national campaign to replace pit toilets in schools—and campaigns are locally building safer, better toilets. Who is to say my piece didn’t impact that movement?

Write from the Heart

Writing personal experiences seemed vain and arrogant at first. However, I realized there was more to it—my own, local life stories were unique and interesting enough to tell.

Experiences with animals in townships made for a powerful feature, writing about Africa’s unique Africanus breed and the inter-bred “township dog” that forms their own wild packs. Local animal welfare accomplished great things, and I wanted to dispel myths that township dogs were uncared for, feral, or always wild.

I was more used to copywriting and journalism than personal stories but digging into emotional writing turned into empowering features that readers liked.

Draw from your own experiences, write from the heart, and you just might have a very strong piece.

About the Author: Alex J. Coyne is a journalist, author, and proofreader. He has written for a variety of publications and websites, with a radar calibrated for gothic, gonzo, and the weird. Sometimes, he co-writes with others.

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