Last month we talked about some ideas presented by Angie Lucas in a FamilySearch blogpost, outlining strategies for writing your own story. [See March 2018, Family Ties, Pg. 5.] Here are more of her ideas about writing your own story.

Make a list of the stories to tell. If you followed along with the #52 Stories, you already have a “list” of possible stories to tell. Look over those ideas you generated and decide which of all those stories you want to elaborate or develop further. You might also add to those stories, anecdotes you find yourself telling frequently. Do they involve your family members or others that you have shared friendship with over the years?

What frequently stops people from doing any writing is a “beginning.” Where do I start? I don’t have a clever opening for my story. It doesn’t matter where you start in telling your story, just start! The computer has made it very easy to write, and then go back and edit what you’ve written. You can easily insert additions or even take out parts of the story that don’t fit. You don’t necessarily remember your life in order, so don’t feel like you have to write your story in order.

One of my favorite exercises I used with my students were writing prompts. Writing prompts can be as easy as looking at a treasured object and thinking about what makes it a treasure. What about photo albums? You may have pictures of family and events that could be developed into a story about your life. One such photo for me was a picture of all my Larson cousins at my grandparents’ home. Several of those cousins I had never met before because they lived in Washington state. I could write about that experience and the “new” cousins I met that day.

Another treasure I have is the Swedish hymnal my great-grandmother brought with her to America. It even has the name of the missionary who baptized her in the front. I never met this grandmother so this is special to me. I remember my dad telling us how frustrated she became whenever he visited her because he liked to take apart things to find out how they worked, which included her prized clock. My stories about her and what she passed on to my family can be spurred on by that hymnal.

One of the writing tools I tried to stress to my students was allowing your writing to rest, much like letting bread rest before actually forming rolls or loaves. When you walk away from your writing and allow your subconscious mind time to work through the project, you see more clearly those parts of your story that need work. You’ll be surprised what ideas come to you if you allow your writing some time to “marinate” on its own.

If you’re writing stories that also involved other people in your life who are still alive, gather memories from them as well. If you were young during a particular event, older siblings or cousins can help round out the details you have either forgotten or didn’t know about. If you ask your siblings about your parents, each one of them has memories of different events that help contribute to the whole picture of that parent. I am next to the youngest in my family, so asking older siblings about my parents will help me get a better picture of them.

Next month we will finish sharing Angie’s ideas for owning your own story.          [Source: Angie Lucas, FamilySearch Blogpost, 3 January 2018]