Everyone has a Story

 Because Everyone Has a Story…

Often, when people find out I’m an author, they tell me they have a story. Sometimes their story is one of surviving against all odds or a story of falling in love. On occasion they share how they would love to preserve their family history… which includes survival and love and everything in between.

This week I am going to offer you a challenge of sorts that will set you on the road to capturing your story and could prove to be a meaningful gift for someone special in your life.

For twenty years, people across the US and beyond participated in a sprint writing event called NaNoWriMo which stood for National Novel Writing Month. The idea was to complete fifty thousand (yes 50,000) words in thirty days. NaNoWriMo has since closed its internet doors.

 

Yet…People still write. It was merely a way to connect with other writers, encourage each other, and work hard to complete the task in a defined period of time. It’s called “accountability.”

This week I want to suggest a much different writing plan for you. NO WORD COUNT. NO ACCOUNTABILITY TO ANYONE EXCEPT YOURSELF.

For the month of November, every day…EVERY DAY…write a story about each member of your family. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, kids, grandkids…anyone and everyone. 

That story your grandmother told you about how her dad rode a horse to school? Put it in writing.

That embarrassing moment you had in high school that now makes you laugh? Type it in your computer.

Write down how your parents met. 

Maybe you don’t know all that much about your Great-grandma Lucy. You have the date of birth and date of death…hmmm…research that time period. Can you find out what was going on when she was a teen? What would she have read in the news or heard on the radio? Think about how outside events shaped her life…and continue to shape ours.

For example, several years ago, my uncle put together a book for each member of his family called “Pages of Time.” He listed the dates chronologically of world news events with the dates of family births and deaths placed where they fell in the timeline. It is interesting to see what was going on in the world when my mother was born. Those events shaped her parents’ life choices which in turn shaped her.

Pages of Time 
Family History Book

Here's another idea for your “book.” My Aunt Pat made wonderful cake brownies she served with ice cream, drizzled with chocolate topping. I could write a memory of Aunt Pat and include her recipe, and yes, I have it. 

The challenge: This November write at least one story for each family member, those close and those “extended” family members. One a day.

In December, edit and print your “Family Portraits”, find recipes and photos to include and take your book to a print shop like Office Depot or such.

 

Your “book” will outlast you…and be a treasure to your family…

…Because Everyone Has a Story.

P.S. Let me know if you are considering this journey. Let’s encourage each other along the way.