"Every man's memory is his private literature" according to Aldous Huxley, an English writer who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven different years. We all have stories to share. Have you thought about who would play the lead role in a movie about your life? Have you thought about what stories you would want included in the movie? Are those stories you want to share with friends? family? future generations?
The older I get the more I appreciate hearing stories told by my parents and grandparents. Times were definitely simpler when they were young, but they still have exciting stories to tell about their lives and the challenges they encountered. I remember sitting at the kitchen table listening to my grandmother talking about her first plane ride as a young woman. My grandfather told stories about working in the steel mills. My father told stories about working in his uncle's meat market. I often wish I had a book full of the stories of their lives.
We always hear about famous people writing their memoirs. Writing a memoir seems like such a huge undertaking. If you break your life down into distinct periods and think about the highlights within each of those periods, the task becomes less daunting.
Think about each period as if it was a chapter of a book.
Quickly jot down notes for each period. Don't worry about organization. Just allow your ideas to follow a stream of consciousness. Let your fingers transfer them to your computer keyboard.
Review your notes for one chapter at a time. You'll be surprised at how much more you remember about that period of your life as you review your notes. Add some details to your ideas. You will quickly discover some key memories and stories coming into view.
As you go through this process, pick the stories you are most interested in writing. Take small steps. Fill out the details one story at a time.
As you think about your stories and what you want the "final product" to look like, think about your interests. Do you have talent or an interest in photography? art? music? creative writing? poetry?
Think about ways you can apply your talents and interests to your stories. Incorporating your stories with your talents(s) will result in a truly creative product that is uniquely yours.
If you follow this process one story at a time, you can eventually organize your stories into a memory book or memoir. You can almost think about it like the series of still pictures that were used to create the first motion picture. Instead of a series of still pictures you have a series of stories. When you read the series of short stories in succession they can tell a full story about a chapter (or chapters) in your life.
If you simply want to share a story or two with your family, friends, colleagues or neighbors, you can still create a great product following this procedure. The key is to find the story (or stories) you want to tell and, if you have special talents, add your own twist to the story (or stories).
Do you have stories to tell and just need help getting started?
The goal of all CStarsky personal enrichment writing services is to encourage individuals to write and share their stories. Whether you’re interested in writing a short introduction for a community newsletter, a blog to share your experience with your followers, or stories to share with future generations, we can help. Our personal enrichment writing services are designed to encourage creativity and inspiration. We want to help you design your own unique written work of art. If you are interested in learning more send me an email with your contact information. I can be reached via cathy@cstarsky.com. I'd love to hear your stories.
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