How to Create Stories From Your Own Life
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How to Create Stories From Your Own Life
Summary
Have you ever thought of writing stories from your own life experiences? Perhaps you have done so many interesting things that you know it’s time to write it all down. Or perhaps you would like to one day share your stories with your family. In this book you’ll discover proven writing techniques that will teach you to write and develop your stories from start to finish. You will also receive some tips on getting your work published. Filled with practical hands-on writing ideas, you will learn how to develop the skills to become a true story-writer.
Sample
Chapter 1 - Opening the Door
Going Back in Time
Writing a life story is really taking a trip back in time. It’s a little bit like time-traveling – where you go on a fascinating journey through the times of your life. Be prepared to re-live and re-visit places you may have long forgotten. Finishing your life story may be a destination, but writing it should be a journey that you enjoy so thoroughly, you will want to continue it on an on-going basis. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but like everything else, you just take it one memory at a time. While you are on this fascinating journey, you will need to carry around a notebook so that you can jot down memories and ideas as they come to you.
When teaching my workshops, I always ask my students to watch movies about going back in time. I encourage you to do the same, since it just might spark an idea for writing your own life story. There are lots of them out there. My husband and I have a whole collection of them. Our favourites is the Back to the Future series with Michael J. Fox. What a brilliant idea for writing a life story – comparing the way things used to be, to the way they are now. Every Christmas we watch the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. Remember the famous line when the angel Clarence says to George Bailey – “Strange, isn’t it, how a man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” Have you ever thought – What would life be like if I were never born? Have I influenced people in a good way? Have I made a difference in someone’s life? Have I learned something valuable that I can pass on to others? These are the kinds of questions to answer when writing your life story.
Have you ever watched the Biography Channel? I’ve watched it quite often. Why do we watch it? Because we are curious, and we want to know how people live their lives – especially famous people. We have an innate curiosity to hear a good story, and the best stories involve people – living, breathing and doing interesting things. Reader’s Digest is full of true and engaging life stories written by ordinary people like you and me. Well-written and interesting life stories are in demand, but have you ever wondered what makes these stories so appealing? That’s what we’re going to discover.
My own interest in writing a life story began when I was in my late teens. I underwent a life-changing experience that was so profound, I decided I had to write about it, and then share it with others. I have been telling my story ever since. Finally, when asked to share this story in the church I attended, I had to condense it because of time constraints, so I wrote a short booklet called, The Long Road Home. I have included it in the Excerpts of Life Stories located at the back of the book. I went a step further. I knew that my mother and her family share similar life-changing stories, so I asked her and her family to each contribute their life stories, so that I could compile a book, which would complete their family history. I collected 18 life stories (there were 21 children in her family). It took me about three years and was a lot of work, but when I finally finished it, the feeling of joy and satisfaction outweighed the many laborious hours it took to compile it. I ended up with 203 pages, complete with pictures, poetry, newspaper articles and other important documents. It’s called The Bonk Saga: A History of Memories.
Tools for Life Stories
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Currently this book is sold as an e-book only and there is currently no printed version. Although this book is sold in multiple different countries, it is currently in English only.
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