Questions and answers on writing life experiences for ourselves and others.
Index of Questions
1. Why is it important to record life stories?
2. What if your life seems boring and ordinary? Who will want to read it?
3. What is the best way to capture the story? Video, oral tapes, written narrative etc.
4. What is a story? Definitions of different types of life experiences and how they are captured.
5. Who's who in the capture of a life event: Story teller, listener, interviewer, historian, audience, transciptionist, archivist etc.
6. What is the role of a listener? How should the questions be phrased so that bias or personality is subdued and the storyteller is in charge?
7. Is the role different if the storyteller is facing a life threatening disease?
8. How do you handle it if in telling of the story emotions and repressed feelings surface?
9. How do you get enough information? When do you turn to family members or public records?
10. How much time does it take to complete a story? Everyone is so busy and life goes by so quickly, how can I ever squeeze this in?
11. What is truth? Why would two different people present at the same event see it entirely different and which version do you believe and record?
12. How should you convey the story? First person, third person, lots of photos with captions, small easily read sections or one long letter?
13. What are the main types of personal anecdotes, life events, experiences, tragedies and triumphs that make a good memoir?
14. How do you narrow it down to the "real" story? What is hidden beneath the iceberg?
15. What are some questions to jog memories?
16. What about editing, spelling, composition etc? What if others judge your work and find it less than perfect?
17. How do you structure the narrative so that it is interesting, believable and leaves the message the story teller wanted to convey?
18. What do you do with the narrative when you have finished writing it?
19. Who does the finished work belong to?
20. Where can you find additional assistance on personal historians or story telling issues?
21. Where is the paper and pen?
If you are interested in getting the answers to these and other questions about life story writing, please contact us at judywright@artichokepress.com and sign up for a tele-class and our FREE e-zine: "The Artichoke" - finding the heart of the story in the journey of life..
?Judy H. Wright, Personal and Oral Historian - www.artichokepress.com
cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareIf you are a serious writer who wants to publish... Read More
ESSAY 3Writing an autobiography involves a matching up of a... Read More
As writers, we initially tend to be either more cerebral... Read More
Don't they drive you nuts?You can visit all the rules... Read More
Connectors -- conjunctions, punctuation, and transitional phrases -- allow readers... Read More
Persisting With Bulldog Determination [Book excerpt from Successercising} by Rick... Read More
Every writer eventually develops her own unique style of writing.... Read More
What do people expect when they join a writing group?The... Read More
Whether you keep a separate spiritual journal or just want... Read More
A book coaching client recently emailed me that she was... Read More
We've all been told that we need to use all... Read More
"I don't know if I should put 'writer' on my... Read More
If you become a writer for any publication, private business,... Read More
Pictures they say are worth a thousand words, but many... Read More
More and more good authors are turning to the Internet... Read More
By far, I have found that the lack of discipline... Read More
In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors,... Read More
You can create a great headline, a dynamic first sentence,... Read More
Questions and answers on writing life experiences for ourselves and... Read More
DEFINITIONSRetail margin is basically the difference between your book's wholesale... Read More
Virgil, the great Roman poet, wrote "Practice and thought might... Read More
Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More
Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in... Read More
The self-indulgent writer listens only to the mumblings of sycophants,... Read More
All the famous writers I heard of could paper the... Read More
limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn ..Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded... Read More
Ever wonder what an author's life is like? What that... Read More
With the advent of email communications in the workplace, it's... Read More
Eight or nine times out of ten, picking up and... Read More
Being a great writer is no longer enough if you... Read More
As an International language, English has been used widely in... Read More
1. Write it fast, fix it later.2. Commit to writing... Read More
Writing engaging articles and energizing ad copy takes... Read More
As in all endeavors, toil is necessary to succeed and... Read More
If you want to be a writer, you must write... Read More
1. Set aside a time to write and keep it... Read More
In the words of Aristotle, "happiness is self contentedness helping... Read More
People can't believe I did it, but I did. I... Read More
One of the most common weaknesses I see in day-to-day... Read More
I recently set up a website to promote a new... Read More
One of the biggest problems that inexperienced writers have is... Read More
What am I going to write about?Which topic is the... Read More
A certified proofreader is one that has taken a few... Read More
When we write stories, with the purpose of sharing them... Read More
1. No one else will do it for you.2. No... Read More
Writers are an insecure lot.It's easy to understand why. You... Read More
Want to write a how-to article but can't come up... Read More
As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think... Read More
When you write for international audiences, mainly directly in English,... Read More
For any great novelist, defining your cast of intriguing characters... Read More
Writing |