Thursday, January 20, 2011

Your Story... My Story

In my first post of 2011 I quoted Robin Roberts, co-anchor of Good Morning America, she said, “Everyone has a story to tell.  Please stop and listen.”  I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by the stories people tell about themselves, their families, and the history that created them.  The stories my friend MJ tells of her family continually delight me because her Italian/German family’s history is so different from mine.  Another friend’s story veers so far off the path of my own that I find myself trying to imagine what it was like growing up in one of the world’s largest cities and traversing the world even now.   As much pleasure as I receive from the stories of diverse friends, I cannot do them justice, but I can share my own tale. 

Once I week I’m going to tell you a story.  A story about me, my family, my history; about what led me to a year of introspection over 800 miles from the only home I’d ever known and I’d love it if you’d join me. 
I don’t know how all this works, so I’ll just do what I do best…fly by the seat of my pants!  Each Friday I’m going to post a story, starting tomorrow with A Pivotal Moment.  I’m not planning to go in any particular order or worry about chronological order.  Take this memoir journey with me every Friday, once in a while, or whenever you feel a memory begging to get out.  You can write a sentence, a paragraph, a short story or a novel. It’s all up to you.  All you have to do is write your story, post it on your blog on Friday, hop over to the Cottage and leave a comment.  I’ll pop over and read your story, too.  

There are no expectations, no critiques, no judgments at all…there’s just you and a story to share.  If you’re worried that you don’t know where to begin, let William Zinsser, author one of my favorite writing books, On Writing, inspire you. You’ll find his sound advice on how to write a memoir here.

I’m excited about this off-the-cuff writing idea.  Won't you join me?  

4 comments:

  1. I already have a fresh post up for Friday, but this is the sort of thing you want, judging by your link. Can I be first in the queue? My niece passed it on to her children. I feel if it is on the blog the next generation doesn't have to track down the paper copy!
    http://elephantseyegarden.blogspot.com/2010/11/wellington-books-or-food-for-mind.html

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  2. I'm bad at writing commitments, but I promise to stop by and read.

    DO join goodreads. It's such good fun.

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  3. Diana...your story can be about anything you like...a memoir of you, family, or a historical aspect of your family. I will add the link to the bottom of the story. I didn't expect any takers, especially since this was an impulsive made that popped into my head while writing yesterday. Amazing how that happens, eh?

    Thank you for joining in!

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  4. Ohhh Bee....no commitment necessary. No one has to say yes I'm doing that unless they feel a story or tale just aching to get out and wish to share it. If you ever decide to write a piece just leave a comment on a Friday and I'll add a link. Nuthin' fancy, nuthin' expected...just a way to share.

    I will definitely check out Good Reads.

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