Writing “LifeStories”

“Telling it like it was” in a creative and entertaining way”

Plan -

Remember, you are the creator. My purpose is to assist you in writing an entertaining and interesting history record of your life; to help you accomplish the document you want to develop, into a readable and interesting one you can be proud to give to your family.

Why write

You have something important to do before you die, and only you can do it. Only you can look back and make sense of the life you've lived so that you may know that it was a good life. Only you can leave the stories, born out of a lifetime of experiences, for grandchildren and other loved ones to return to as to “a well with clear water, for a deep drink of understanding”. Whatever your achievements, experiences or challenges- your story is worth writing.-

  1. Advantage

Your purpose is to inform, enlighten and/ or entertain your audience (your family).

·  Healing: Self-discovery; remembering our lives and understanding ourselves.

·  Wisdom: Understanding our ancestors and their influence on us.

·  Lineage: Teaching our children.

·  History: So future generations know what life was like for me in my day.

·  To preserve important family documents.

·  Focus-grandchild’s child- this way you'll increase the details and explain more of your story and write with details so future generations can “see’ and understand.

What type of story

·  Your life-as an individual

o  Picture-- a collection of pictures with a story to compliment the story.

o  Decades- “The Challenging years;” “The Creative Years,” “Fun” stories- The camping years.

o  My career as a----. My Life in song /Painting got me through.

·  Specific stories? Vignettes on;

o  Achievement- individual or family.

o  Travels -A wanderer’s life.

§  Moving from Farm to city-(from urban to suburb)- or another country

o  Careers in our family.

o  Family Medical challenges- Living with Pain

o  Family business- Up through the ranks

o  Military Life

o  Recipes/Cooking- Food and my family

Challenges (difficulties/alternatives); Your approach

Before you begin, remember, you aren't governed by any hard and fast rule. Whatever your achievement or challenges in life; your story and the story of your ancestors (or descendants) are worth recording. Writing often helps you to put meanings into your life. Sometimes it is difficult to reveal your inner thoughts or express emotions and many tend to deny these feelings. But writing gives us a chance to say some of the things we always wanted to say. Here we can reveal our convictions regarding the world we live in, marriage, religion, health, death, relatives, friends and life values.

It is a rare life that does not contain struggles with difficult emotions and experiences. Heartbreaking moments can be described in balanced tactful writings. Delicate language can be used to write about indelicate subjects. You may wish or need to consider the feelings of other people in your life. They may feel it is better to leave things as they are-or leave things “out.” Their concerns also include;

·  Disclosure of hidden information or experiences.

·  The pain of stirring up old emotions.

·  Unreliability of memory.

·  Disagreements about events, and/or different interpretations about the same event.

Remember this is your story. You are the center. “You engage issues, ideas, emotions, and struggles etc. that were/are yours. It is your life and the structure tells what matters to you. You should write the life as candidly as you saw it-include the tears as well as the laughter. Write your first draft with your heart. Rewrite with your head. Most process is a struggle. Remember it’s not if you write the difficult things but how you write it. Have courage and heart to write the difficult.

Process -- Develop a system- Make a commitment. Organize space and make a commitment of time (when you create an area designed for your writing and plan a time-you are more likely to think of writing when you see the area and get close to the time).

  1. Preparation/Plan suggestions
  2. Keep a personal journal for ideas and thoughts.
  3. Have several notebooks in different places for ideas and thoughts that will come to you at the most unusual times
  4. On the computer keep “to do” notes.

2.  Create documents-Pick a topic and begin writing a few paragraphs.

  1. What personal crises did you go through; teen-age drugs, broken marriage, sudden dismissal after years of service. Remember to ask:
  2. What happened/when/why/how/where. Don't worry if some details are left out. They will be the basis of your research.
  3. Create a "working" list of writing ideas; (i.e. make a chronological list of all your jobs/work experience.)
  4. Gather material (information)
  5. Keep a loose leaf notebook with a section for each item on the outline.
  6. Begin organizing available documents (photographs, letters, important papers, pictures etc.). Baby books, graduation books, wedding books, etc. can help fill in the blanks in your memory.
  7. Create a working lists of ideas (Tables)
  1. Study pictures-Jot down things that occur. Begin your search with a single photo, letter or family tale and use them to stir up memories.
  2. List the people and objects. Take your time. Allow the memories to wash over you.
  3. Compare stories with family, long lost cousin, classmates, and neighbors.
  4. Make list of jobs, moves to new homes, activities, special occasions etc.
  1. Research – Don't guess-research! missing information or information that would add interest to your story. Almost all stories will need some research. If you’re not sure look it up. It is the background for your story and you want your material to be authentic.
  2. Consult your memory first and then journals, letters, photographs, mementos, dreams.

b.  Record what you know about pictures why they are important and why you took and kept them.

c.  Maps- Where were the travels?

  1. Make a genealogy chart that shows who your parents were and what links you to other people in your story. Consider doing at least a couple of generations.

e.  Interview those involved. Prepare a list of questions in advance that can be answered with more than yes or no. Be prepared with a notebook or tape recorder. Find a quiet place with no distractions and avoid interviewing more than one person at a time.

i.  Consider historical research. Record the major events that were happening in the world at different times of your life.

ii. Geographical research- going back to the old neighborhood or school can be very enlightening. Take a nostalgic trip; get pictures. Tell of the changes even the street names and area has been changed.

7.  Adding images/ pictures, graphics

  1. Enhance the stories by formatting /layout /editing stories on the computer
  2. Borders, captions, sidebars.
  3. Scale and adjust pictures.
  4. Insert graphics from the Internet.

Organizing: Structure - Without structure, memories are random collections. Structure creates cohesion, shape, direction and destination. An outline is a guide to keep you on track- you can make detail outlines or short ones. Then, if change is indicated, change the outline.

1.  Structure can be;

a.  Chronological- time sequence

b.  Topics / Themes

c.  Turning Points/Challenges

2.  Managing documents

  1. Organize your ‘filing cabinet’ in a logical and manageable way.
  2. Create folders for areas on the outline or other categories.
  3. Always put stories, notes and information into the appropriate folder.
  4. Files can be sorted, arranged and displayed.

Finishing…..Revision is reviewing, correcting, rewriting. It makes the story more compelling and strong. You can do this whenever; keep copy of outline in front of you- check to see that your manuscript follows the outline and vice versa. Read the document out loud-how does it sound to you? This is not an encyclopedia- a collection of everything. If this is a family document, be specific on full names, birth dates, and descriptions, locations, and dates. Remember who the audience is.

What’s missing?

1.  What’s left out? Did you include everything that that you originally wanted?

2.  What should be deleted? Whatever you write-you want it to come from your heart.

  1. Check clutter- Don’t overload sentences-use as few words as possible eliminating unnecessary ones.
  2. Clarity - try having every sentence meaning clear. Some dialect may be too hard to read.
  3. Include dialogue...expand on physical settings… describe people, clothing...thoughts and feelings
  4. Write in the first person-- use active vs. passive voice

Summarizing or writing an ending to your document/End Notes. What values do you hold dear-what do you want to pass along

·  Express your hopes and goals?

·  What are your personal beliefs?

o  Are you satisfied with your accomplishments? What you would have done differently if you could live your life over again.

o  Also- do you want to tell them you forgive them for their transgressions and hope they can forgive you for yours?

Printing

·  How long? You tell the story and cover what you want to say. Some may be 50 pages 8x11 double space-some 2/3 times as long and some are over 200 pages.

·  You may want to leave some blank pages at the end to encourage other members (or you yourself) to add notes

·  Size- - -8 ½ x11 --- soft cover?

·  How would they handle photos

a.  Cost- Black and white vs. color

·  Binding- Comb binding- Spiral?