Life Story Tips: Have Fun
I want to write some family stories, but I want them to have some practical application and be fun. Is that possible?
You might try what my friend, Harriet, did. Harriet went through her mother's recipe box and picked out the family favorites. Fortunately for Harriet, her mother had collected recipes from grandmothers, great grandmothers and aunts. Harriet selected the recipes with some history to them, copied them, and included her memories and funny stories about each one. She planned to do the collection for her children only but ended up sharing with nieces, nephews and cousins of different generations. An added bonus, she used it for Christmas presents.
A recipe collection will generate even more family stories. Another friend, Judy, collected family recipes too. One day her son called from college. He was using the family recipe book to make chili. "What is sweat?" he asked. Sweat? In a chili recipe? Spell it, Judy said. "S-U-E-T. Sweat."
Whether you have recipes from many generations, as Harriet did, or just one or two, as Judy did, collecting stories around food, good meals, and good times is a wonderful way to construct a life story.
I am writing my life story. Because I am including part of my family's story, I can see it is going to take a while. In sorting through family papers, I have found wonderful old photos. Of course, I will use some of them when I put my life story together, but is there anything quick and inexpensive I can do with the photos right now? My family is getting impatient with me.
Yes, here is a great idea from Ann. You have seen ads for photo calendars using your own photos. You often see these advertised at Christmas. Usually we think of using new photos of children, grandchildren, and other family members; however, a charming calendar can be made from old photos. If the photos are odd sizes and you want to use more than the twelve that one-a-month would allow, assemble a collage. You might make the collage first and photocopy it in sepia-tone. Birthdays, anniversaries, and other special dates of current family members can be noted on the calendar. Also, consider including important family history dates, such as the date grandparents were married or great-grandparents came to this country. You don't have to be a whiz on the computer to do this. Ann, who had this idea, is a computer novice. She did her calendars with the help of a copy shop. Visit your friendly copy shop at a time when they aren't busy and ask for help. While the employees are often rushed, I have always found them to be helpful. If not, just try again somewhere else.
I am not exactly computer literate, and I plan to compile my story in a simple three-ring binder notebook. How can I include pictures and old documents if I am writing my story by hand or if I just use a computer for "typing"?
Good for you for being interested in including photos and documents. Although there are computer programs that will insert photos and arrange the words around the photos, there is a simple, low-tech method anyone can use.
Let's suppose you have an heirloom desk that has been handed down in your family. Photograph the desk. Compose the story or description to accompany the item and print or write it at the bottom two-thirds of a page. Take your photo and page to a photocopy machine. Put the photo on the copy machine, put your printed page over it, hit the copy button, and there you have it.
If you have a small item, such as a cameo pin, gloves, or handkerchief, you might be able to simply put the item on the copy machine and skip the photography step.
If you are copying old documents, make "color" copies to capture the color and look of the old paper and ink.
Also, this is a good way to handle items you want to remember, but don't necessarily want to keep. Capture the item in a good photo and then dispose of the actual item. This can be helpful and soothing to yourself or others who are closing a family home or moving to a retirement community. An album or notebook of loved items with a few paragraphs of description can make a heartwarming keepsake.
With a group of women friends, I will be spending a week at a fabulous beachside condo in Mexico. Each of us is taking a project to work on. For example, one woman is a painter. I would like to write my life story, but is that possible in only a week?
Yes, it is possible. Create a mini-memoir. Don't you love that term? Already, the scope has been defined so you know this isn't going to be a saga. There are a couple of ways to approach it.
Each day you could write an overview of one decade of your life. An overview can easily be written in a few minutes or a couple of hours. In the overview, write about your place in your family, the general family conditions, a sentence or two about world conditions, how you liked to spend your time, and anything else you want to include. At the end of five days, you will have covered 50 years.
Another method would be to select one period, event, or one theme in your life. You might spend the first day listing and refining the points you want to include. Then spend a few minutes or a couple of hours every day writing about one or two points.
Think of it as creating a mini-memoir, and you can produce a very nice story. You might even copy it by hand into a little notebook or make a small notebook using your computer and software such as Publisher. Get your artist friend to create a cover and you're all set.
Enjoy the beach, and remember the sunscreen. It's easy to lose track of time while writing.
I have heard that life story writing is good for one's health. How can that be?
First, let me say, I am not a doctor, nor have I ever played one on TV; but the answer to your question is in an article, sent to me by Suzette, from this year's July issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. In an article titled, "The Story That Can Change Your Life," University of Texas research psychologist James Pennebaker, Ph.D., who, for more than 20 years, has studied the health benefits of self-expressive writing, has evidence that "committing traumatic experiences to paper reduces your susceptibility to colds and flus and even depression. Evidence suggests that suppressing thoughts and feelings about troubling events, even from oneself, puts the immune system into overdrive." Studies by other scientists have confirmed his findings.
Some specific things to write about for good health: the person you would like to be in five years, the high points and turning points of your life, the closed chapters of your life. If a certain part of your story is painful, write about yourself in third person she instead of first person I. This will help you be more compassionate and less hard on yourself.
Here's to your health!