Write Your Memoir In A Weekend: Putting Life in Life Stories

Name: Write Your Memoir In A Weekend: Putting Life in Life Stories
Rating: 4.1 (40 reviews)

Intensive life story writing workshop that will give you the foundation, outline and a good start on your memoir.

Created byJudy Helm Wright

Last updated 3/2013

English

What you'll learn

Imagine yourself being able to give your life story to loved ones as a gift. Can you picture how pleased they will be to have a written record of family stories and anecdotes. They will be able to share these stories for generations and be so grateful you took the time out of your busy life to think of them.
You will be able to sort through the many stories and tales and recognize which ones you really want to describe in detail. You will be able to anchor time, place, events and what is going on in society at the time to paint a verbal picture for your reader.

Course content

3 sections • 11 lectures • 1h 45m total length

Who, What, Where, When, How and Why11:43
Make sure to grab your FREE copy of my book, Write Your Family Story - Leaving a Living Legacy. Click the ADD TO CART, and enter coupon code FAMILYSTORY
Who, What, Where, When, How and Why: Part 218:05
This is a good time to ponder the specifics of your life story.
Who is your audience? Family, friends, to be published, to use as a therapeutic tool for self discovery?
What do you want to write about? Remember you are just choosing some pearls to focus on, not the whole long necklace.
Where are you going to keep your writing so that it is organized and you do not get overwhelmed? I suggest a 3 hole notebook. Even if you are writing online, print it out and put it in a folder. Put a few sheet protectors inside the folder to hold the notes, photos and memory joggers for each section. Once you have some sense of order, you will be more inclined to keep at it. If you have to go through drawers and boxes, it will never get done. And you have already made the commitment to do this, so let's make it as painless as possible.
When are you going to write? I wrote my first book by getting up 30 minutes earlier in the morning. I figured it was 17.5 minutes of actual writing by the time I really got down to it. If you write 2 hours a week, you will soon have a book ready to be published. Commit to turning off the TV and turning on your memory.
How are you going to do this? My brain thinks best when my fingers on on a keyboard. Other friends and class participants can only write in longhand and then have someone else format, edit and correct a manuscript. If you do not feel comfortable writing, then sign up for a voice service, talk your talk and then have it transcribed on http:// fiver.com http://www.freeconferncecalling.com
Why are you drawn to this project? If you feel a burning in your heart and you resonate with this message then you need to record the story. There is someone waiting for what you have to share.

What a memoir is and what it is not14:40
An autobiographical story is not just an account of events. This is a charting of your emotional, physical and spiritual course as you go through those events. You now have the opportunity of time and space to look at what happened with a sense of detachment. You can look at past events with present eyes. You will realize what lessons you learned and how each of those events, people, places and times formed who and what you are today.

To say that the work you are going to do in this course is priceless is an understatement. I have had class participants tell me that they learned more about themselves in this short class than in 30 years of therapy. I have had class participants tell me that their children wept when presented with the gift of a memoir. I have had class participants tell me that family wounds have been healed when understanding came from recording about a painful incident.

I have also had siblings come to a class because their other sibling had been to an earlier class and written her life story. They said they were compelled to come and write the true story! So whose truth is truer?
What a memoir is and what it is not: Part 213:55
I am going to share a poem I heard one time and it has stuck with me ever since. It is written by Pam Harazin.
Strangers In The Box
Come, look with me inside this drawer.
In this box I've often seen.
At the pictures, black and white,
Faces proud, still, and serene.

I wish I knew the people,
These strangers in the box,
Their names and all their memories
Are lost among my socks.

I wonder what their lives were like,
How did they spend their days?
What about their special times?
I'll never know their ways.

If only someone had taken time
To tell who, what, where or when,
These faces of my heritage
Would come to life again.

Could this become the fate
Of the pictures we take today?
The faces and the memories
Someday to be passed away?

Make time to save your stories,
Seize the opportunity when it knocks,
Or someday you and yours could be.......
The strangers in the box.
What a memoir is and what it is not: Conclusion13:39
There are so many things that we have mastered in life that we sometimes forget our firsts. We take for granted our first bike ride, first kiss, first failure, first time we realized we were not immortal. If ever you get stuck thinking of things to write about, make a list of your firsts.

Each one of us has succeeded at many things in our lives. Perhaps you have found yourself focusing on when you were disappointed or discouraged. I challenge you to make a list of what you have can do without assistance today. Then make a list of things that are easier and more fun for you to do with a partner.

Women tend to mark the passage of time in relationships. Men do it more often by using sports, cars or dogs as anchors in their memories. One of the hospice patients I was working with dictated his end-of-life story for four hours and knew every job, boss, salary and piece of equipment he had used to bring phone service to rural areas. Just as we were finishing up, he said "Oh, did I mention my wife and three kids?"

We wrote the story on a Thursday afternoon and he died Saturday. I was able to take copies to the funeral for his grandchildren.
A Mathematical Formula To LIfe2:11
I want to share a quote with you that has great impact on my life. It is by Thich Nhat Hanh who was a Vietnamese Monk and activist. You may enjoy reading more of his work.

"If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people."

In this section we are going to work on who and what has influenced our lives. Many people divide their life by stages, but we are going to use another method to find out who has touched us and made us into the kind of person we are today.
A Defining Moment4:35
I like this description of defining moments:

“Our lives a series of defining moments, strung together by passing time. Surrender fully to this moment, because it is not the moment itself that defines us, but how we choose to live in it.” -Jill Pendley Some defining moments are gradual while others happen suddenly and literally redefine our lives. They can be birthed from a tragedy, an opportunity, a challenging situation, an insight, a transition, or any other illuminating circumstance. These moments can catapult us to shift our lives and take action.

Often we don't even realize when we are having a defining moment. It is only in retrospect that we look back and realize how that one event, moment, statement or choice changed our life. We look back at our lives and remember the dinner when we were deciding to relocate to Montana to raise our family. It was as if we were making this huge decision while we were passing the peas and cutting the meat for the kids.
A Pivotal Person2:24
Since I referred to Dr. Phil's mathematical formula, it is only fair that I provide his descriptions;

Ten Defining Moments: In every person's life, there have been moments, both positive and negative, that have defined and redefined who you are. Those events entered your consciousness with such power that they changed the very core of who and what you thought you were. A part of you was changed by those events, and caused you to define yourself, to some degree by your experience of that event.

Seven Critical Choices: There are a surprisingly small number of choices that rise to the level of life-changing ones. Critical choices are those that have changed your life, positively or negatively, and are major factors in determining who and what you will become. They are the choices that have affected your life up to today, and have set you on a path.

Five Pivotal People: These are the people who have left indelible impressions on your concept of self, and therefore, the life you live. They may be family members, friends or co-workers, and their influences can be either positive or negative. They are people who can determine whether you live consistently with your authentic self, or instead live a counterfeit life controlled by a fictional self that has crowded out who you really are.
A Critical Choice2:05
Writing Through Our Senses10:10

Conclusion, format and publishing12:21
Everyone has a story to tell......share yours!

What is a story?
The most meaningful and poerful stories are often drawn from commonplace occurrences. Dates of births, deaths, weddings, divorces, and historical events are only backdrops for family stories. Many times, the real fabric of a story lies in a description of a childhood home, a remembered neighbor, an adored teacher, a first kiss or the death of a beloved pet.

Storytelling connects us in vital ways with where we come from and who we are. At life's end, storytelling can lessen the emotional discomfort of dying and can leave a wonderful legacy for the living. Through the stories of our elder family members we can come to know who we are in new and unforeseen ways.

Stories can:
teach values
show us how to deal with difficult situations
guide decision making
help us connect with one another
keep our cultures alive
Stories provide potential for:
creating a family storytelling tradition and lessening the influence of electronic equipment
enhancing our everyday experiences
learning for our enemies and transforming experiences into powerful, healing stories
tuning into our senses and awareness of our surroundings
experiencing a richer emotional life
teaching our children and our children's children
finding miracles in our everyday life
Please join our community of kind, thoughtful people who want respect for all at http://www.ArtichokePress.com

Requirements

You do not need to be a writer to take this course. You do need to have a message or story you would like to tell. This will only require your willingness to look inward, put butt in chair, fingers on keyboard and just let it flow. We write fast and edit later. I hope you will enjoy this class as much as I enjoy teaching it to hundreds of people around the country who have wanted to write a short book fast. In the last segment, I will share how to go about publishing or having the book printed if you so desire. Please join us. You will always be glad you did.

Description

Today more and more families are missing out of the valuable experiences of hanging out with grandparents and other members of an extended family. Life is so hectic. Over the next couple of generations, our children and their children--who have been raised on mass media rather than family stories and values sharing of important people in their lives--may come to know very little about their ancestry and traditions.

You live as long as your story is remembered.

This is a very intensive weekend project that will produce the bones of memoir writing or life story. There is a longer, more in-depth course on how to write a memoir in the works, but this will give you a great start and you may be satisfied with the finished product come Monday.

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Who this course is for:

Baby-boomers, young professionals, grandparents, new parents, aunties, uncles and people who have a message to share with others.
Writing about your life is very therapeutic and you may find after completing this course, you don't want to share the manuscript with anyone. You will find answers to life-long questions and a platform to express your thoughts and examine your life.

Write Your Memoir In A Weekend: Putting Life in Life Stories

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction to Memoirs2 lectures • 30min

What makes a memoir?8 lectures • 1hr 4min

Final touches and course conclusion1 lecture • 12min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: