Writing Your Life Stories

Remember the time that you got into 'big trouble' when you were
a kid because. . .?
Or what about the time that your little sister. . .?
Or how about the time that your mom was making. . .and burned
the. . .?
You probably have hundreds of these stories tucked away in your
memory. Perhaps you've even thought that someday you would like
to write about them. There's only one problem. "I don't know
where to start — I wouldn't know what to write," you think to
yourself.
One simple technique that will help you recall those stories and
put them into written form is called "clustering," which is
featured in a book titled Writing the Natural Way by Gabriele
Lusser Rico (copyright 1983; J.P. Tarcher, Inc.)
Whether you are aiming for publication or whether you just want
to write down your stories for your children and grandchildren
isn't important. The technique will help you to recall your life
stories.
Materials needed: several sheets of paper; a pen or a pencil.
1. Find a comfortable place that's quiet where you can work for
15 to 30 minutes without being interrupted (kitchen table; desk
in your office; easy chair in your living room).
2. Think of a subject that is meaningful for you, such as
Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, Fourth of
July, Easter, New Year's Day. Other possibilities include
birthdays, a beloved pet, a best friend, an older brother or
sister, a younger brother or sister, a cousin, grandmother,
grandfather, your mom or dad, a neighbor who was like a
mother/father/grandmother/grandfather. Additional possibilities
could include an enjoyable hobby, such as growing flowers,
vegetable gardening, baking cookies, baking cakes, making candy,
or sewing.
3. Write the subject that you have selected in the center of one
of the sheets of paper and then circle it.
4. Draw a line with an arrow from your central word. Put it
wherever it feels "right" to you. Up or down. Left or right. At
an angle. Fill in the point of the arrow. Filling in the arrow
will give your brain a few seconds to make the connection to the
next word or phrase associated with your subject. The basis of
the whole exercise is to allow your left brain and right brain
to work together (to coordinate the analytical and the creative).
5. Draw another circle and write down the word or phrase inside
the circle that has popped into your mind.
6. Repeat the steps of drawing arrows and circles and writing
down the words or phrases that come to mind.
7. At some point in the exercise, you will suddenly think of an
introductory sentence and you will feel a STRONG urge to start
writing. Do not ignore the urge. Take another sheet of paper and
start writing immediately. Do not try to edit what you are
writing. Do not try to over-think what you are writing. Let
yourself write what comes to mind.
8. Write for as long as the words keep coming.
9. When you feel that you have nothing more to say on the
subject, put down your pen or pencil and relax for a few
moments, then read what you have written. Whether it's one
paragraph, a whole page, or several pages — congratulations! You
have just written the first of your life stories!
10. Set your story aside for an hour or two or even a day or
two. When you read it again, you may find that you have
remembered more details that you would like to add. If so, go
ahead and add them. If not, and you are satisfied with the
piece, that's fine, too.
This exercise can be repeated for virtually any subject. You can
also use it to help flesh out parts of your story to add more
detail. Focus on a key word for a certain section of the story
and see where the clustering technique takes you.
If you are interested in interviewing family members to record
their life stories, be sure to check out LeAnn's e-book:
"Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Writing
Oral Histories)" at http://ruralroute2.com -- "Preserve Your
Family History" ($7.95) contains more than 400 questions on 30
different topics to help you conduct your interviews. Even if
you only record those interviews on tape (and don't actually
write the oral history), you will still have collected some of
your family stories. And isn't that the important thing?
******************
Copyright LeAnn R. Ralph 2004
ABOUT THE AUTHOR; LeAnn R. Ralph is an expert at writing her
life stories. She is the author of the books "Christmas in
Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)" (July 2003) and
"Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (October 2004).
"Highly recommended reading…" James A. Cox,
Editor-in-Chief/Midwest Book Review. You are invited to read
sample chapters and to sign up for the FREE! monthly newsletter
from Rural Route 2. Visit http://ruralroute2.com