Q and A.
Best choice when subject is very verbal or there are two or more people being interviewed or taped at the same time. All repetitive statements, umms, ahhs and blatant incorrect grammar are edited out. Natural patterns of speech, coloquolisms and favorite sayings are left in.
JHW. When you started your business in 1934, how did you finance it?
BT. Well, remember my uncle Horace? He was my Mother's brother.
HT. Half brother.
BT.. OK, so half brother, her father remarried after Sybil, my grandmother, died and my mother was a little girl about nine or ten. His second wife, what was her name?
HT.Alice May Jones, her family had moved west to build the dam.
BT.. So anyway, Horace was killed in a train wreck when he was visiting in California and as he had never married, the insurance settlement went to his next of kin, which turned out to be my mother. She wanted to invest the money and came to us and asked our advice. I told her that I had been thinking of opening this repair shop and I thought I could make a go of it. She thought about it long and hard and came back the next day and said she would rather invest in us than any old bank.
HT. But we paid her back with interest. We were able to put the business in the black in only three years.
BT. Of course, we worked our butts off, didn't we?
First person: Best choice when the tapes will need significant editing to make a flowing narrative. It is written as if the speaker were doing the writing. The interviewer simply ghost writes the life story.
I loved being a mother. It seemed as if that was the role God had created just for me. Other women would complain about their children being messy or noisy, and I honestly didn't even care. I just loved to be there when they came home from school. About two o'clock I would start to get antsy, just couldn't wait for them to come in the door, throw down their jackets and books and sit at the kitchen table and talk. I even loved cleaning up after them when they were sick. I know that is hard to believe for some people, but I used to say to myself "well, I would rather have it out here smelling bad than inside of them making them feel bad."
Third Person: Best choice if the subject is having difficulty remembering or if the interviewer has to gain the majority of the facts from records, other family members or others who can add insight and information. Jennie was a fun loving little girl and definitely the apple of Tom B. Bradshaw, her loving father's eye as well as the object of his generosity. But one time, when she was about six years old that generous and loving spirit was put to a test. Active in the first Methodist church, their entire family enjoyed the Sunday school picnics held every summer in the park east of town. On this particular day, the family had no sooner arrived and began eating when a group of little girls came to the table demanding to see the elephant Mr. Bradshaw brought.
Methods of telling the story:
It is best to think of a life as a long strand of pearls with each year or significant event as one pearl.
? An autobiography tells the jest of the whole necklace, usually in a chronological order. Chapters, special events, decades, houses or any other natural division can separate the sections.
? A memoir takes an important section of the pearls and makes a short necklace. You can refer to the other beads, but you don't go into detail describing them but concentrate on the significant period of time you are describing.
? An anthology is a collection of short unrelated stories, essays, anecdotes, incidences etc. that are gathered together in one book The stories may build upon one another or they may be able to stand on their own.
? A photoscribe is a more in depth scrapbook. The stories revolve around a photo or two.
Each page has a beginning, middle and end.
Including photos, graphics and memorabilia
These additions to the narrative greatly enhance the readability and value of the project. However, they also greatly enhance the time needed to do layout, scanning, sizing etc. that will be reflected in the cost of the finished project. One method of saving money is to group all photos in the center of the book.
If you are interested in taking a tele-class on memoir writing please send us an e-mail at Judywright@artichokepress.com and we will set one up. It is a fun way to learn and share from the comfort of your own home.
Keep Writing!!! You are doing an important work.
?Judy H. Wright, Personal and Oral Historian - www.artichokepress.com
Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareA few magazines refer to their written idea sources in... Read More
Peter Abrahams is the author of thirteen novels, including "The... Read More
ADAPTATION 101Brimming with confidence, you've just signed the check purchasing... Read More
EditingExpect, allow, and accept that every first draft will represent... Read More
Complaint letters aren't always fun, but sometimes they need to... Read More
There is a psychological nuisance so powerful that can deflate... Read More
The self-indulgent writer listens only to the mumblings of sycophants,... Read More
Golden Rules For New Writers - Things you need to... Read More
I???ve spoken to hundreds of editors, employers, and project managers... Read More
There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters.Recommendation letters... Read More
In one of the exercises in my "Getting Started as... Read More
There's nothing that kills a scene like hackneyed dialogue. Just... Read More
At first, I noticed that I could have written many... Read More
We've all been told that we need to use all... Read More
"This is just brilliant. The whole interview is incredible? I'm?... Read More
The works you've written are numerous, ranging from short stories... Read More
Recently I was watching the Oprah show and it was... Read More
Short Story Writing Tips:Your title is your selling tool. It's... Read More
Don't they drive you nuts?You can visit all the rules... Read More
If you become a writer for any publication, private business,... Read More
When one population in one century survived five wars, two... Read More
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by marketing. First, there's so... Read More
Over the past eight years or so, I have tutored... Read More
In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors,... Read More
Q. I'm staring at a blank screen with an equally... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More
If you are looking for copywriter books, you'll want to... Read More
The short-short story has been likened by some as being... Read More
If you find your sentences filled with commas, and they... Read More
When one population in one century survived five wars, two... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?By now you should have an idea... Read More
Working on my first humorous novel, I started with a... Read More
Not long ago, I took stock of my unrealized desire... Read More
My husband is no poet, so when I offer my... Read More
There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters.Recommendation letters... Read More
Every writer eventually develops her own unique style of writing.... Read More
A book coaching client recently emailed me that she was... Read More
At first, I noticed that I could have written many... Read More
Last week I was having a quick browse on eBay... Read More
What do you mean, you don't have a website yet?... Read More
In a crowded market, clients will be seeking personality as... Read More
If your cash is running out fast and you have... Read More
Just about everyone is familiar with this beginning: "In the... Read More
You send me an e-mail. You tell me you've written... Read More
Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The... Read More
There is a psychological nuisance so powerful that can deflate... Read More
I'm in the process of moving from one computer to... Read More
"I don't know if I should put 'writer' on my... Read More
Writing engaging articles and energizing ad copy takes... Read More
Not long ago, I went to an Internet Marketing Seminar.... Read More
Writing |