Writing for The Forum: Start With Your Experience and the Current Guideline
You read an account in The Forum and recognise something you would like to express from your own life. That does not mean you need to write an autobiography or speak for every member. Begin with a real experience you can describe honestly and the publication's actual submission guidance.
Select the correct publication and feature
Start at the official Send Your Sharing page and select The Forum guideline. The page also links other writing resources, so a form found nearby may concern a different publication or purpose. Identify where you want the piece considered before drafting to a supposed universal length.
The F-1 guideline lists feature-specific word ranges. For example, its standard topical sharing is 300–400 words. Check the actual category rather than applying that range to every kind of contribution. A longer personal story and a short reflection are not interchangeable formats.
Choose one experience you can describe honestly
Pick a manageable moment, question or change in your own response. Explain enough context for a reader to follow it, then stay with what you experienced. A focused piece need not account for every event that preceded it or claim that a difficult situation ended perfectly.
Distinguish what you observed from what you inferred about someone else. If a detail is uncertain, do not sharpen it into a dramatic certainty for the sake of an ending. Invented dialogue, borrowed memories and composite experiences should not be passed off as your own recovery account.
Keep the subject and privacy under review
The guideline emphasises personal Al-Anon experience rather than teaching or giving advice. On revision, look for places where a description of your choice turns into an instruction for everybody. You can explain what a practice meant to you without promising another reader the same result.
Also check whether the surrounding facts identify another person. A changed first name may leave a recognisable workplace, event or family detail intact. Remove unnecessary identifying material rather than assuming your willingness to publish includes permission to disclose someone else's circumstances.
Read the terms before choosing to submit
The current form explains attribution choices, contact information and how submitted material may be used. Read those terms yourself before sending an account, and use the official route named in the guideline. Do not assume that submission guarantees publication or that a private draft will remain under the same conditions after submission.
Keep a copy of what you actually send and its destination for your own records. If a passage raises a permissions question you cannot resolve, ask the publication before including it. Finishing or submitting a piece is a writing occasion; it does not establish an AA sobriety milestone for a numbered gift.
Medallions to consider
If you are separately choosing a gift for a confirmed AA anniversary, these are current AA catalog options. A Forum submission or Al-Anon writing milestone is a different occasion and does not determine an AA coin's year.
Tricolor Jet Black Diamond Sparkle (1-50y)
The current Sobriety Time selector lists 1–50 years. The catalog photo shows the sample inscription XLV; choose the confirmed milestone using the product page's Sobriety Time selector.
Tricolor Jet Black (24h, 1-50y)
The current Sobriety Time selector lists 1–50 years, plus 24 Hours and 18 Months. The catalog photo shows the sample inscription IX; choose the confirmed milestone using the product page's Sobriety Time selector.
Common questions
Does every Forum feature use the same word limit?
No. Check the current guideline for the intended feature.
Can I invent details to make my sharing more effective?
Do not present invented or borrowed events as your own lived experience.
Does submission guarantee publication?
No. Read the current submission information and terms before deciding to send.
Keep reading
Choosing a medallion for a confirmed AA occasion? Explore Elite Medallions and Deluxe Coins, then check the intended product's current milestone options and the recipient's preferences.
