I’ve been thinking today about who we are when we write — and I don’t mean how we view ourselves as people, but who we are as storytellers — because when we write, we can do so from many different perspectives. Depending on what we’re writing about, we can be whomever we want to be. We can be the victim,…
In last week’s post on Writing with Photographs, we talked about ways to look at photographs—how to systematically examine the photograph’s physical characteristics, inventory the image, listen for the story the picture has to tell and answer the basic who-what-where-when-why-how questions. Now, let’s focus our attention on what to do with the information gleaned from the study of our photographs.…
We had a great Write Your Life Story – The Basics workshop on Saturday where thirteen enthusiastic writers learned about organizing their work, generating story ideas, blocking out a story, revising, proofreading and much, much more. One thing we touched on was how to come up with a good title for your story. Today, let’s take a better look at…
Thirteen members participated in the Write Your Life Story – The Basics workshop on Saturday, September 8th. Click here to see photographs of the event. We began the day with a writing exercise everyone used to introduce themselves and talk more about what motivates them to put words to paper. Some said they write in hopes of publication, some write…
At the Amelia Island Genealogical Society a few weeks back, a woman mentioned the Smithsonian Institution’s Journey Stories exhibit traveling the United States. I looked into it and found that Florida was one of the tour’s early stops. The Gateway Center for the Arts in DeBary, Florida, is currently hosting the exhibit through October 13th. This is how the Smithsonian…
Preparation for the Writing the Waves cruise in May 2013 is traveling full speed ahead with people reserving their spots at the writing table and selecting from the best cabins available. Don’t miss the boat. (Sorry about all the nautical puns. I couldn’t help myself.) If you’d like to know more about the cruise and get all your questions answered,…
Last week in South Louisiana, I had a pleasant surprise when Mary Prudhomme came by to visit. Mary has been my parents’ next door neighbor for years. She and her husband Blue raised their two daughters, Chris and Sue, in the house down the street from our home. Once I moved to Florida, I didn’t see much of Mary anymore,…
Bob and I are in South Louisiana visiting my parents and other family members this week. In the room where we’re staying, my mother has a large, walk-in closet which holds a lifetime of memories. Each piece on those shelves has a story, and the fact it has survived all these years confirms its importance to my mother. It made…
People sit around table. With pencil in hand and pages before them, they follow along as someone reads an excerpt from his or her life story. A discussion follows: I liked how you described this person. Your dialogue is well written. You might want to vary the structure of your sentences in this paragraph. I’d really like to hear more…
At the First Saturday Writing Workshop a couple of days ago, I was reminded of the importance of writing our life stories in such a vivid way . I gave a prompt to write about one of the most unusual things the participants had ever seen in the sky. I expected big sightings—the aurora borealis, a sky full of hot…
