Have friends said you ought to write your life story? Do family members know how you grew up, your first job? What stops you from telling? It’s time to get your story on paper: set the record straight, create your own history, record your life for your kids. If you don’t write it, who will? Don’t let your story get lost. Give a gift to your family and tell your version of your history the way you want it remembered.
Here are five tips to get started. Sit down right now at your dining room table with paper and pen. That is all it takes. Grab a pen and any type of paper: the back of an envelope, a spiral notebook or a three ring binder with loose sheets and dividers. Don’t clear your desk. The secret to recording your life is to write, don’t think. Write the answer to this question for 10 minutes: What do few people know about me?
Start with these steps from Anne Randolph’s workbook available at http://www.annerandolph.com/ Soup Kitchen Writing: An Easy Guide to Kitchen Table Writing..
RULE #1: LET THE PEN DO THE TALKING
Let anything come out of your pen: your blessings, complaints, your grocery list, sounds, groans or a story remembered. Edit later. Save spelling, grammar, punctuation for another day. Let your hand lead. Start now with this opening line: “I remember...apostrophe
- FIVE TIPS FOR FRESH WRITING
Write by hand. Words that come out of a pen are different from what happens in front of your laptop. Memory is kinesthetic. Writing is a tactile. Stories that flow from your hand are closest to your heart. “Pages filled by your hand will lead you to your own warm heart cupped all this time in your gentle palm,apostrophe writes Denver poet, Carolyn Jennings.
- Write everyday at whatever time works for you. Early morning is best. Henry James said, “Write first always!apostrophe Set an appointment in your calendar to write 10 to 15 minutes a day.
- Make a contract with yourself. Keep your promise. You already have the time scheduled. Agreement: I, (your name), make writing my 1st task each day. I promise to write 15 minutes a day. Signed_____________Date________
- Type your work into your computer exactly as you wrote it. Give it a title and record the date.
- To get going, use a “start lineapostrophe such as “Back in ...apostrophe Find more opening lines at http://www.soupkitchenwriting.com/ or http://blog.soupkitchenwriting.com/ .
www.WriteYourLifeStory.org.
About the author:
After work as director of two opera companies and the Colorado Symphony, Anne Randolph writes full time and leads Write Your Life Story and Kitchen Table Writing workshops in Denver and at conferences including the Screenwriters Conference in Santa Fe. Soup Kitchen Writing helps writers find the courage and craft to create! 303-758-3426 http://www.annerandolph.com/ info@WriteYourLifeStory.org.