Where do your story ideas come from? For me, they start with a feeling. The kind that stays with you. Like the time I felt frustrated and worried, because I couldn’t express myself in English. Or the way it felt when a new friend in a new town welcomed me like family. Those memories stayed with me not because of what happened but because of what I felt. Writers call this mining your memories. It means finding moments in your life that made you feel something strong, then shaping them into stories. That’s how Bela and Lily was born.

Mom art imitates life

The Seed of an Idea

During school visits for Moon’s Ramadan, I shared my immigration story. When I spoke about being an ESL kid, I noticed smiles of recognition in the audience. Little ears perked up, and teachers often shared their own experiences with ESL. The strong emotional connection told me: this is a story worth telling.

What takes a bit longer is figuring how to tell that story. For me, stories start with a feeling.

Stories Start With A Feeling

At the heart of a childhood memory is a big wish. When I was 5, I immigrated to the U.S., and I didn’t speak English fluently. My biggest wish was to have a good friend who understood me. Sometimes that journey made me feel frustrated, worried, or a little stubborn. Real feelings of childhood.

Mining My Happiest Memories

When I was in 4th grade, I moved to a new town and met Amanda, an imaginative, adventurous girl who became my best friend. We were inseparable. For the first time, I felt the joy of being truly understood by a kindred spirit.

So if you’re stuck, don’t wait for the perfect idea. Start with the memory that might be your story seed and let it bloom. 💛

A sweet coincidence, the characters of this story, Bela and Lily, are both named after flowers. ‘Bela Phool’ or ‘Beli Phool’ is the Bengali word for Jasmine.

In Joy,

Natasha