Many of you may know that I administrate a writing group on Yahoo. Recently, one of its members sent me an article from the Wall Street Journal (March 11, 2009, page D1) entitled: Life Stories: Children Find Meaning in Old Family Tales by Sue Shellenbarger.
As this article clearly supports my opinion on the value of sharing family stories, with permission from the author, it is reprinted here.
MARCH 11, 2009, 3:36 A.M. ET
Life Stories: Children Find Meaning in Old Family Tales
By Sue Shellenbarger
When C. Stephen Guyer's three children were growing up, he told them stories about how his grandfather, a banker, lost all in the 1930s, but didn't lose sight of what he valued most. In one of the darkest times, Mr. Guyer says, when his grandfather was nearly broke, he loaded his family into the car and took them to see family members in Canada. The message: "There are more important things in life than money," says Mr. Guyer, of Littleton, Colo.
The tale took on new relevance recently, when Mr. Guyer downsized to a small house from a more luxurious one. He was worried that his children, a daughter, 15, and twins, 22, would be upset. To his surprise, they weren't. Instead, their reaction echoed their great-grandfather's. "What they care about," Mr. Guyer says his children told him, "is how warm are the people in the house, how much of their heart is accessible."
As parents cut budgets, many are finding family stories have surprising power to help children through hard times. Storytelling experts say the phenomenon reflects a growing national interest in telling tales, evidenced by a rise in storytelling events and festivals. New research bears out the value of family stories, linking teens' knowledge of them to better behavior and mental health.
An Emory University study of 65 families with children ages 14 to 16 found kids' ability to retell parents' stories was linked to a lower rate of depression and anxiety and less acting-out of frustration or anger, says Robyn Fivush, a psychology professor. Knowing family stories "helps children put their own experience in perspective," Dr. Fivush says.
The trick is telling the stories in a way children can hear. We're not talking here about the kind of story that begins, "When I was a kid, I walked to school every day uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow." Instead, choose a story suited to your child's needs, and make eye contact to create "a personal experience," says Sherry Norfolk, chairman of the National Storytelling Network, a Jonesborough, Tenn., nonprofit. "You don't have to tell children what they should take from the story," she says. "They can intuitively understand what the moral is."
When Carla Freeman's daughter became anxious a few years ago about having to change schools, the Atlanta mother related her own childhood stories of switching to another school in her community. Her old friends dropped her and, at her new school, "I was kind of an oddball" at first, she told her daughter. But Ms. Freeman bounced back and made new friends. She credits the stories with helping her daughter, now 12, develop resiliency and the ability to "hold herself together" against challenges.
A touch of humor helps. At Scott Prengle's Dallas home, his son Bobby, 17, has heard tales about his grandfather growing up in times so hard that his hungry schoolmates would devour apple cores left over from his lunch. As Bobby tapped a nearly empty salad-dressing bottle over his salad at dinner one evening, Scott laughed and invited him to do as his grandfather did: Put water in the bottle and shake it up, to use every last drop. Scott says his father's frugal habits "drove us crazy, but the idea was that nothing went to waste."
While Bobby declined to water down his dressing, he says of his grandfather that "I follow in his footsteps" in other ways, saving paper clips and rubber bands. And when Scott recently trimmed the family budget, he thought he saw an echo of his late father in Bobby, in the way he calmly accepted the loss of his oft-used gym membership.
Even when you think your children aren't listening to your stories, Dr. Fivush says, they probably are. Thomas Pontes thought his children, 12, 14 and 16, shrugged off tales of his grandfather, an immigrant farmhand who worked his way up from living in a barn to owning a home. To Mr. Pontes, of Providence, R.I., the story shows "the kind of optimism you need to pick yourself up from a field somewhere tending cattle" to cross the Atlantic, fueled solely by hope.
But when I asked his daughter Katie, 16, about the stories, she not only remembered them, but said they've "helped me become more appreciative of my life and how easy things are for me." Even if kids don't seem to appreciate family stories, she says, in time they'll "realize just how important they are."
Ms. Shellenbarger, resident of Portland Oregon area, is the creator and writer of The Wall Street Journal’s “Work & Family” column for which she has received several awards. (See: http://familiesandwork.org/site/events/wlla/site/honorees/2005bios/shellenbarger.html)
Thank you Ms. Shellenbarger.
Emily Aulicino
Portland, Oregon
©29 March 2009
Showing posts with label family stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family stories. Show all posts
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Kreative Blogger Award
Earline Hines Bradt at AncestralNotes has presented me with this award.
What a wonderful surprise. I'm very surprised and deeply humbled.
Thank you Earline!
Here are the instructions:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those sites on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.
Although this was difficult to decide, my list of nominees are:
1. The Photo Detective
2. Dear Myrtle
3. The Geneaholic
4. The Chart Chick
5. Forensic Genealogy Blog
7. The Practical Archivist
6. The Genetic Genealogist
Friday, February 6, 2009
Writing Your First Memory
Up to now, I have covered various elements of the writing process and will continue do so, but mixed with topics which may be of interest to those who are writing their childhood memories and family stories. The topics either appear in my current booklet or will appear in my second volume. They will be selected at random and will not be in any chonrological order. Most people accomplish more by writing what motivates them at the time rather than starting at the beginning of their lives and continuing to the present.
These topics are based on the idea that you are keeping a Timeline of your life and make reference to it periodically. There will be other reminders, as well.
I will not be posting a vast amount of my booklet, but only samples. Therefore, if you are interested in purchasing my booklet, please email me at: aulicino@hevanet.com
“Memoing” My Memories Topic 1:
Writing Your First Memory
A bit of a double entendre here! Yes, this is your first writing piece and it will (for now) be your very first memory. Who knows how much more you will recall as we push forward!
Think back to your earliest days. You must honestly choose your earliest memory. YOUR memory…not an event your parents described to you or you recall from an old photo...unless you REALLY REMEMBER being there. In your mind, you have to seek the memory of actually being present. This may only be a fleeting memory…not long, but you can write about the circumstances around it.
Don't be alarmed that your first conscious memory may be later than others. I know some VERY intelligent people whose memories go back to age five or six only. There are a few who can remember back to age three, but, seemingly, not the majority.
You will get a chance to write about earlier events that your parents, friends or relatives have helped you remember all these years, but for now...the oldest memory YOU can recall.
Return to your Timeline and write this memory in the appropriate year. You may have to base the year on the location, who was present with you, what you wore, the season, the approximate age of the people around you, etc. Get as detailed as you can, but if you haven't the time, make notes in your file first...add as you recall the incident.
©aulicino, 6 Feb 2009
These topics are based on the idea that you are keeping a Timeline of your life and make reference to it periodically. There will be other reminders, as well.
I will not be posting a vast amount of my booklet, but only samples. Therefore, if you are interested in purchasing my booklet, please email me at: aulicino@hevanet.com
“Memoing” My Memories Topic 1:
Writing Your First Memory
A bit of a double entendre here! Yes, this is your first writing piece and it will (for now) be your very first memory. Who knows how much more you will recall as we push forward!
Think back to your earliest days. You must honestly choose your earliest memory. YOUR memory…not an event your parents described to you or you recall from an old photo...unless you REALLY REMEMBER being there. In your mind, you have to seek the memory of actually being present. This may only be a fleeting memory…not long, but you can write about the circumstances around it.
Don't be alarmed that your first conscious memory may be later than others. I know some VERY intelligent people whose memories go back to age five or six only. There are a few who can remember back to age three, but, seemingly, not the majority.
You will get a chance to write about earlier events that your parents, friends or relatives have helped you remember all these years, but for now...the oldest memory YOU can recall.
Return to your Timeline and write this memory in the appropriate year. You may have to base the year on the location, who was present with you, what you wore, the season, the approximate age of the people around you, etc. Get as detailed as you can, but if you haven't the time, make notes in your file first...add as you recall the incident.
©aulicino, 6 Feb 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Incorporate Word and Sentence Variety
Edit Is a Four Letter Word, con't
The letter I is for:
Incorporate word and sentence variety
“Variety is the spice of life” someone once said. Redundancy is quite the opposite, and if our lives held nothing new and exciting, they would be very boring. This is so very true of writing. We must strive for variety and not accept redundancy. Shake up your writing! Bring it to life with spice!
Word Variety:
To incorporate word variety, we must understand redundancy. Redundancy includes repetitiveness as well as excess, but it is useful for emphasis, for remembering something difficult, and for establishing a mood. Often we use more words than needed to express an idea, or we repeat ourselves unintentionally. Redundancy in oral presentations and in writing, unless needed for emphasis, is not a positive trait for an author. Using redundant phrases and words shows thinking errors, and does not ease the flow of your writing.
There are several types of redundancy, and the following situations often harbor unnecessary words that can be easily corrected.
1. Repetition of
....a. Pronouns (I, he, they, etc.)
....b. Boring verbs (is, was, had, got, etc.)
....c. Adjectives and qualifiers (really, so, a lot, fantastic, very, etc.)
2. Two words which indicate the same meaning (Tautology)*
3. More words than are needed (Pleonasm)
4. Phrases when a word would convey the same meaning
*The terminology is unimportant, but expanding your vocabulary is always important.
1. Repetition of Pronouns, boring verbs, and adjectives and qualifiers
We use the same vocabulary constantly. Often we write as we speak. It is much easier to say he did this or that; we went here or there. We are concentrating on getting ideas across to someone, but are not concerned with how we state those thoughts. We have all been taught not to say I over and over, so we do try to avoid that, but what about the other common pronouns? We don’t realize how often we use the same simple verbs or constantly say a lot, awesome, fantastic, etc. Do you every use a thesaurus?
....a. Pronouns
The easiest way to recognize our redundant vocabulary use is to circle all the pronouns in your story, and omit what you can by using names or reworking your sentences.
Original:
After Rob left the house, he stopped by Rachel’s to pick her up for the show before she left on her own.
Revised:
Rob left the house in time to grab Rachel so they could ride together to the show.
Four pronouns were narrowed to one.
....b. Boring Verbs
(See the previous post: Edit by Rewording)
Word variety includes using exciting verbs rather than boring ones. Check your sentences for overused verbs that are forms of to be and exchange them for verbs which show action. Limit your use of common verbs such as had, have, get, take, etc. If necessary keep a list of the verbs you tend to use and some more exciting replacements for them.
To find these boring verbs in your writing, take a pen which differs in color from that you used to write and circle all the boring verbs. Then with another pen circle the non-boring verbs that you used more than two or three times. Now replace these verbs in a variety of ways.
You may substitute one verb for a better one.
Original:
Sam ran down the hill and came home before the storm.
Revised:
Racing down the hill, Sam arrived before the storm.
You may restructure or combine your sentence to eliminate a verb.
Original:
Orin was late for school, and he was panting when he reached the room.
Revised:
Panting, Orin entered the room just after the tardy bell.
....c. Adjectives and qualifiers
The over use of words which describe (adjectives) or limit a noun (qualifiers) are no different than any other redundant word: limit them; remove them; change them.
Original:
We really had a fantastic time with a lot of our friends. We always enjoy their company, and we always exchange a lot of gifts. What a fantastic night!
Revised:
We had a wonderful time with our friends, enjoying their company and exchanging gifts. What a fantastic night!
In the revision, no word is repeated…except a.
2. Tautology, the error of saying essentially the same thing again in the same sentence
Many of these phrases are so blatantly used in our culture that we do not realize the inaccuracy.
Advanced forward
Future outlook
False facts
Few in number
Usual custom
He wrote his own autobiography.
Let us glance briefly at the facts.
The reason was because….5.
3. Pleonasm, having extra words in a sentence than can be deleted without changing the meaning or structure of the sentence
Original:
Deep puddles of water wrestled against….
Revised:
Deep puddles wrestled against….
4. Phrases replaced by one word6.
The reason is because……….because
Based on the fact that………..because
In regard to…………………..about
Despite the fact that………….although
At this time…………………..now
In the very near future……….soon
Actual experience……………experience
Cancel out……………………cancel
Sentence Variety:
Sentence variety means every story needs to have sentences that vary in length and in structure. Reading short, choppy sentences does not allow good flow of ideas and events. Reading lengthy sentences gives the piece a pretentious air, makes it difficult to wade through the extraneous words. Either situation will not encourage your reader to continue through the story. A variety of short, simple sentences along with compound and complex sentences provides the diversity to keep your reader interested.
Short sentences are used to emphasis a point and to give impact to an idea. Compound sentences link together closely related ideas. Complex sentences show relationships between more important ideas over supporting ideas. Careful use and placement of the various types of sentences adds power to your writing.
Simple: He left yesterday.
Compound: He left yesterday, and he took nothing with him.
Complex: After leaving yesterday and taking nothing with him, I knew it was over.
Add details to improve the overall structure and to provide an opportunity for more exciting verbs. Do not have most of your sentences with the subject-verb pattern. Use phrases to alter the structure.
Original:
Sarah wasn’t happy at school because she had few friends.
Revised:
Having few friends reinforced Sarah’s dislike for school.
Sentence Phrases
Using several phrases in your sentence allows you to alter the sentence structure. The easiest way is to develop phrases for your sentence that tells where, why, when, and how. Those phrases can then be move to various locations to determine which way sounds best.
Example:
Matt ran. (kernal sentence)
Matt ran home. (Tells where Matt ran.)
Matt ran home to arrive before the letter carrier. (Tells why Matt ran home.)
Matt ran home yesterday. (Tells when Matt ran home.)
Matt ran home quickly. (Tells how Matt ran.)
Sometimes you may wish to use several of these phrases, but seldom do you want to use them all. Often after you construct the phrases, you may wish to change the verb and alter some of the phrases.
There are three locations for any phrase: the beginning, the middle, the end. Some sound better in one place than the other. For this reason, practice moving them from place to place to determine what sounds best. Also, commas are used after a phrase that begins a sentence and sometimes if a phrase is in the middle of the sentence.
Examples:
Yesterday, Matt raced home quickly to arrive before the letter carrier.
Matt raced home quickly, yesterday, to arrive before the letter carrier.
Quickly, Matt raced home yesterday to arrive before the letter carrier.
To arrive before the letter carrier, Matt raced home quickly.
To arrive before the letter carrier, Matt raced home quickly, yesterday.
As you can see, the yesterday in the fifth sentence is not smooth. Some are better than others, but this gives you some variety.
Using a gerund for sentence variety
A gerund is a verb with an ing ending. For this sentence structure, your subject must be doing two activities at the same time. Note the comma before the gerund.
Original:
Jason picked at his food.
Jason fed the dog when no one was watching.
Revised:
Jason picked at his food, feeding the dog when no one was watching.
Paragraph variety:
Just like a single word or a short sentence gives emphasis to an idea, so does a short paragraph. Each of these stands out among the average size, but they all lose their emphasis if overused. Make them count where needed.
Remember: Overuse of any word or structure devalues its impact.
Next, the letter T in that Four Letter Word Edit.
T is for Take Time to Read Your Story Aloud.
Source (adapted from):
Cheney, Theodore A. Rees. Getting the Words Right: How to Revice, Edit & Rewrite, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH, 1987.
6. ibid., p. 64-66.
©Aulicino 5 Dec 2008
The letter I is for:
Incorporate word and sentence variety
“Variety is the spice of life” someone once said. Redundancy is quite the opposite, and if our lives held nothing new and exciting, they would be very boring. This is so very true of writing. We must strive for variety and not accept redundancy. Shake up your writing! Bring it to life with spice!
Word Variety:
To incorporate word variety, we must understand redundancy. Redundancy includes repetitiveness as well as excess, but it is useful for emphasis, for remembering something difficult, and for establishing a mood. Often we use more words than needed to express an idea, or we repeat ourselves unintentionally. Redundancy in oral presentations and in writing, unless needed for emphasis, is not a positive trait for an author. Using redundant phrases and words shows thinking errors, and does not ease the flow of your writing.
There are several types of redundancy, and the following situations often harbor unnecessary words that can be easily corrected.
1. Repetition of
....a. Pronouns (I, he, they, etc.)
....b. Boring verbs (is, was, had, got, etc.)
....c. Adjectives and qualifiers (really, so, a lot, fantastic, very, etc.)
2. Two words which indicate the same meaning (Tautology)*
3. More words than are needed (Pleonasm)
4. Phrases when a word would convey the same meaning
*The terminology is unimportant, but expanding your vocabulary is always important.
1. Repetition of Pronouns, boring verbs, and adjectives and qualifiers
We use the same vocabulary constantly. Often we write as we speak. It is much easier to say he did this or that; we went here or there. We are concentrating on getting ideas across to someone, but are not concerned with how we state those thoughts. We have all been taught not to say I over and over, so we do try to avoid that, but what about the other common pronouns? We don’t realize how often we use the same simple verbs or constantly say a lot, awesome, fantastic, etc. Do you every use a thesaurus?
....a. Pronouns
The easiest way to recognize our redundant vocabulary use is to circle all the pronouns in your story, and omit what you can by using names or reworking your sentences.
Original:
After Rob left the house, he stopped by Rachel’s to pick her up for the show before she left on her own.
Revised:
Rob left the house in time to grab Rachel so they could ride together to the show.
Four pronouns were narrowed to one.
....b. Boring Verbs
(See the previous post: Edit by Rewording)
Word variety includes using exciting verbs rather than boring ones. Check your sentences for overused verbs that are forms of to be and exchange them for verbs which show action. Limit your use of common verbs such as had, have, get, take, etc. If necessary keep a list of the verbs you tend to use and some more exciting replacements for them.
To find these boring verbs in your writing, take a pen which differs in color from that you used to write and circle all the boring verbs. Then with another pen circle the non-boring verbs that you used more than two or three times. Now replace these verbs in a variety of ways.
You may substitute one verb for a better one.
Original:
Sam ran down the hill and came home before the storm.
Revised:
Racing down the hill, Sam arrived before the storm.
You may restructure or combine your sentence to eliminate a verb.
Original:
Orin was late for school, and he was panting when he reached the room.
Revised:
Panting, Orin entered the room just after the tardy bell.
....c. Adjectives and qualifiers
The over use of words which describe (adjectives) or limit a noun (qualifiers) are no different than any other redundant word: limit them; remove them; change them.
Original:
We really had a fantastic time with a lot of our friends. We always enjoy their company, and we always exchange a lot of gifts. What a fantastic night!
Revised:
We had a wonderful time with our friends, enjoying their company and exchanging gifts. What a fantastic night!
In the revision, no word is repeated…except a.
2. Tautology, the error of saying essentially the same thing again in the same sentence
Many of these phrases are so blatantly used in our culture that we do not realize the inaccuracy.
Advanced forward
Future outlook
False facts
Few in number
Usual custom
He wrote his own autobiography.
Let us glance briefly at the facts.
The reason was because….5.
3. Pleonasm, having extra words in a sentence than can be deleted without changing the meaning or structure of the sentence
Original:
Deep puddles of water wrestled against….
Revised:
Deep puddles wrestled against….
4. Phrases replaced by one word6.
The reason is because……….because
Based on the fact that………..because
In regard to…………………..about
Despite the fact that………….although
At this time…………………..now
In the very near future……….soon
Actual experience……………experience
Cancel out……………………cancel
Sentence Variety:
Sentence variety means every story needs to have sentences that vary in length and in structure. Reading short, choppy sentences does not allow good flow of ideas and events. Reading lengthy sentences gives the piece a pretentious air, makes it difficult to wade through the extraneous words. Either situation will not encourage your reader to continue through the story. A variety of short, simple sentences along with compound and complex sentences provides the diversity to keep your reader interested.
Short sentences are used to emphasis a point and to give impact to an idea. Compound sentences link together closely related ideas. Complex sentences show relationships between more important ideas over supporting ideas. Careful use and placement of the various types of sentences adds power to your writing.
Simple: He left yesterday.
Compound: He left yesterday, and he took nothing with him.
Complex: After leaving yesterday and taking nothing with him, I knew it was over.
Add details to improve the overall structure and to provide an opportunity for more exciting verbs. Do not have most of your sentences with the subject-verb pattern. Use phrases to alter the structure.
Original:
Sarah wasn’t happy at school because she had few friends.
Revised:
Having few friends reinforced Sarah’s dislike for school.
Sentence Phrases
Using several phrases in your sentence allows you to alter the sentence structure. The easiest way is to develop phrases for your sentence that tells where, why, when, and how. Those phrases can then be move to various locations to determine which way sounds best.
Example:
Matt ran. (kernal sentence)
Matt ran home. (Tells where Matt ran.)
Matt ran home to arrive before the letter carrier. (Tells why Matt ran home.)
Matt ran home yesterday. (Tells when Matt ran home.)
Matt ran home quickly. (Tells how Matt ran.)
Sometimes you may wish to use several of these phrases, but seldom do you want to use them all. Often after you construct the phrases, you may wish to change the verb and alter some of the phrases.
There are three locations for any phrase: the beginning, the middle, the end. Some sound better in one place than the other. For this reason, practice moving them from place to place to determine what sounds best. Also, commas are used after a phrase that begins a sentence and sometimes if a phrase is in the middle of the sentence.
Examples:
Yesterday, Matt raced home quickly to arrive before the letter carrier.
Matt raced home quickly, yesterday, to arrive before the letter carrier.
Quickly, Matt raced home yesterday to arrive before the letter carrier.
To arrive before the letter carrier, Matt raced home quickly.
To arrive before the letter carrier, Matt raced home quickly, yesterday.
As you can see, the yesterday in the fifth sentence is not smooth. Some are better than others, but this gives you some variety.
Using a gerund for sentence variety
A gerund is a verb with an ing ending. For this sentence structure, your subject must be doing two activities at the same time. Note the comma before the gerund.
Original:
Jason picked at his food.
Jason fed the dog when no one was watching.
Revised:
Jason picked at his food, feeding the dog when no one was watching.
Paragraph variety:
Just like a single word or a short sentence gives emphasis to an idea, so does a short paragraph. Each of these stands out among the average size, but they all lose their emphasis if overused. Make them count where needed.
Remember: Overuse of any word or structure devalues its impact.
Next, the letter T in that Four Letter Word Edit.
T is for Take Time to Read Your Story Aloud.
Source (adapted from):
Cheney, Theodore A. Rees. Getting the Words Right: How to Revice, Edit & Rewrite, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH, 1987.
6. ibid., p. 64-66.
©Aulicino 5 Dec 2008
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Draft as Many Versions as Needed for Clarity, Part 2
Edit Is a Four Letter Word, con't
The letter D is for:
Draft as many versions as needed for clarity
Part 2: Edit by Rearranging
Unity
Often a story must be rearranged in order to create a harmony, a unity within itself. Everything aspect must blend and every area must not go beyond the intended focus. This step in revising your draft looks at the unity of individual aspects of writing. Before you begin, you need to review the purpose and direction of your writing. What is your goal for this piece? What is the focus? What message are you trying to convey?
The following areas must agree; they must be consistent throughout your writing.
1. Subject matter – Did you stay on subject or go beyond it?
2. Scope – Have you omitted some areas of your topic or have you stayed within the guidelines of your focus? Working from an outline could help keep you organized.
3. Tone – Does your story have a mood, an attitude which is consistent throughout the piece? Can the reader determine easily that your story is serious, sad, humorous, etc.?
4. Style – Does your style shine? Does the style of writing remain the same voice to the end?
5. Point of View – Did you switch point of view?
6. Characterization – Did you develop believable characters with realistic actions?
7. Scene – Do you move your reader through various scenes with ease? Do your characters interact with the scenery as needed, and is that scenery developed?
8. Tense – Are the verbs in the same tense or if there’s a reason to have different tenses, have you kept them in proper sequence. That is, if a subordinate action happens before the main action, the subordinate action must be in the past tense.
9. Sentences and Paragraphs – Does each sentence deal with similar ideas? If the ideas are distinctively different the sentences are not unified. For a unified paragraph the sentences must be related to the paragraph’s topic and be in a coherent sequence.
Coherence
A coherent story is a combination of logic and form and deals with putting the various elements of your writing in good order. This includes the sequencing of words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into chapters, etc.
The major methods for organizing are chronological, spatial, and from general to specific. In using chronological sequencing, decide whether your story is best told from past to the present, present to future, or present backward to the past? Or should you start in the middle, then go back and then forward? Descriptive passages are usually best suited for spatial logic. The author should move the reader’s eye in a logical sequence such as from left to right, up to down, etc. when describing a scene. When using general to specific organization or vice-versa maintain this order throughout the story. Choose the method that best fits your story and maintain its unity throughout.
All references need to be unambiguous for the writing to be coherent. You must not lose the reader through confusion. Be careful of sentences that begin with pronouns. Does the previous sentence clarify to whom or what the pronoun refers? Refrain from using multiple pronouns in a sentence as the reader may become confused as to who did what.
Be certain that phrases are in their correct places. Check any sentence with multiple pieces by moving the phrases around to make the meaning clear.
Original:
The keypunch operator incorrectly punched in a program, which created a power failure in the building where she worked for two days.
Revised:
…which created a power failure for two days in the building where she worked.2.
Smooth transitions between ideas in sentences as well as between paragraphs are important for clear understanding. When there are several ideas are of equal importance, the sentence needs a parallel structure.
Original:
She had never gone to a part alone, much less an event like this.
Revised:
She had never gone alone to a party much less to an event like this.
Original:
Readers appreciate your getting to the heart of a matter in a hurry, rather than being forced to red through paragraphs or pages to find it.
Revised:
Readers appreciate your getting to the heart of a matter in a hurry, rather than forcing them to read though…
Original:
We can attack at night or we can do it in the light.
Revised:
We can attack by night or by day.3.
When ideas are not of equal importance, the ideas must not be placed in a parallel form. Some ideas are subordinate to others, and the sentence must clearly indicate that for the reader. For these types of sentences it is best to use one of three logical orders.
1. Time – Lay out the events in the order they occurred.
2. Relationship – Show cause and effect as needed. Time order often reflects the relationship between events.
In the following example, the order of time is used. However, this sentence also shows the order of relationship…a cause and effect.
After the storm abated, I went below. Because the porthole had opened during the storm, damage to the crew’s quarters was severe.4.
3. Emphasis – Place the most important event first to emphasize its significance.
After the storm, I went down below. The crew’s quarters were severely damaged—the porthole had opened during the storm. This, after I had just conducted a storm rill in which Howard had been permanently assigned to dog down that particular porthole.
The above example does place the focus on the open porthole rather than on the storm. For this reason, the author must be wise in selecting the type of order that best fits the focus of the writing.
Smooth transitions
One of the easiest ways to have smooth transitions between sentences is to repeat a key word or a key thought from the previous sentence. Sometimes you may wish to use a synonym, but sometimes the same word works best.
Although there are some trite phrases commonly used for transitions between paragraphs, the same technique of repeating a word or phrase used with sentences can be used with paragraphs. Often the key word, phrase, or idea in the final sentence may be repeated or restructured to use in the first sentence of the next paragraph.
Another type of transition is the one between scenes. Often the author can move the reader from one scene to another with a few simple words.
Example:
Marge sat in the den at the computer, busily typing as the wind howled. Soon creaking sounds began to intensify. She ran to the windows to see what tree was soon to be history.
Next door, the McGill’s peered from their window, gasping in unison as a huge branch from the elm just missed their house.
As you can see the words next door moved the scene from one location to the next with ease.
Another method is to leave extra line of space between paragraphs indicating that extra time has passed and, therefore, a change of scene.
In some cases, the author may choose to use the last sentence of a paragraph to change the scene rather than the first sentence of the next paragraph. Sometimes, the author may only hint at a change of scene in the last sentence. This would be done to continue the rising flow of excitement.
Example:
Bent over the desk for hours, I had managed to block out the sound of the furnace starting and stopping and the creaks of the old house while trying to focus on my writing. I was under a deadline, and the pressure was mounting when…brrr-inggg! Dang, the phone!
I raced to the living room to quiet the monster, tripping on the kids' toys….
The phone ringing indicates an immediate change of scene, whether the phone is in the same room or another.
All parts of the story must be coherent, including the beginning, middle and end. Check your story to see if it flows well between these major elements. The plot is usually hinted at in the beginning and then is developed in the middle. Here the conflict becomes apparent to the point of crisis. The ending provides the resolution of the conflict and ties up any loose ends.
Remember: Although editing is a difficult and lengthy task, you will develop skills that will improve your writing in the initial stages so editing will become easier. There is much detail here, so take one step at a time. Your readers will love you for the improvements, and you will be proud of your work.
Next, the letter D (part 3 of 3) in that four letter word Edit.
D stands for: Draft as many versions as needed for clarity.
Part 3 covers Edit by Rewording
Source (adapted from):
Cheney, Theodore A. Rees. Getting the Words Right: How to Revice, Edit & Rewrite, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH, 1987.
2. Cheney, p. 59.
3. ibid., p. 64-66.
4. ibid., p. 69.
©Aulicino 5 Dec 2008
The letter D is for:
Draft as many versions as needed for clarity
Part 2: Edit by Rearranging
Unity
Often a story must be rearranged in order to create a harmony, a unity within itself. Everything aspect must blend and every area must not go beyond the intended focus. This step in revising your draft looks at the unity of individual aspects of writing. Before you begin, you need to review the purpose and direction of your writing. What is your goal for this piece? What is the focus? What message are you trying to convey?
The following areas must agree; they must be consistent throughout your writing.
1. Subject matter – Did you stay on subject or go beyond it?
2. Scope – Have you omitted some areas of your topic or have you stayed within the guidelines of your focus? Working from an outline could help keep you organized.
3. Tone – Does your story have a mood, an attitude which is consistent throughout the piece? Can the reader determine easily that your story is serious, sad, humorous, etc.?
4. Style – Does your style shine? Does the style of writing remain the same voice to the end?
5. Point of View – Did you switch point of view?
6. Characterization – Did you develop believable characters with realistic actions?
7. Scene – Do you move your reader through various scenes with ease? Do your characters interact with the scenery as needed, and is that scenery developed?
8. Tense – Are the verbs in the same tense or if there’s a reason to have different tenses, have you kept them in proper sequence. That is, if a subordinate action happens before the main action, the subordinate action must be in the past tense.
9. Sentences and Paragraphs – Does each sentence deal with similar ideas? If the ideas are distinctively different the sentences are not unified. For a unified paragraph the sentences must be related to the paragraph’s topic and be in a coherent sequence.
Coherence
A coherent story is a combination of logic and form and deals with putting the various elements of your writing in good order. This includes the sequencing of words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, paragraphs into chapters, etc.
The major methods for organizing are chronological, spatial, and from general to specific. In using chronological sequencing, decide whether your story is best told from past to the present, present to future, or present backward to the past? Or should you start in the middle, then go back and then forward? Descriptive passages are usually best suited for spatial logic. The author should move the reader’s eye in a logical sequence such as from left to right, up to down, etc. when describing a scene. When using general to specific organization or vice-versa maintain this order throughout the story. Choose the method that best fits your story and maintain its unity throughout.
All references need to be unambiguous for the writing to be coherent. You must not lose the reader through confusion. Be careful of sentences that begin with pronouns. Does the previous sentence clarify to whom or what the pronoun refers? Refrain from using multiple pronouns in a sentence as the reader may become confused as to who did what.
Be certain that phrases are in their correct places. Check any sentence with multiple pieces by moving the phrases around to make the meaning clear.
Original:
The keypunch operator incorrectly punched in a program, which created a power failure in the building where she worked for two days.
Revised:
…which created a power failure for two days in the building where she worked.2.
Smooth transitions between ideas in sentences as well as between paragraphs are important for clear understanding. When there are several ideas are of equal importance, the sentence needs a parallel structure.
Original:
She had never gone to a part alone, much less an event like this.
Revised:
She had never gone alone to a party much less to an event like this.
Original:
Readers appreciate your getting to the heart of a matter in a hurry, rather than being forced to red through paragraphs or pages to find it.
Revised:
Readers appreciate your getting to the heart of a matter in a hurry, rather than forcing them to read though…
Original:
We can attack at night or we can do it in the light.
Revised:
We can attack by night or by day.3.
When ideas are not of equal importance, the ideas must not be placed in a parallel form. Some ideas are subordinate to others, and the sentence must clearly indicate that for the reader. For these types of sentences it is best to use one of three logical orders.
1. Time – Lay out the events in the order they occurred.
2. Relationship – Show cause and effect as needed. Time order often reflects the relationship between events.
In the following example, the order of time is used. However, this sentence also shows the order of relationship…a cause and effect.
After the storm abated, I went below. Because the porthole had opened during the storm, damage to the crew’s quarters was severe.4.
3. Emphasis – Place the most important event first to emphasize its significance.
After the storm, I went down below. The crew’s quarters were severely damaged—the porthole had opened during the storm. This, after I had just conducted a storm rill in which Howard had been permanently assigned to dog down that particular porthole.
The above example does place the focus on the open porthole rather than on the storm. For this reason, the author must be wise in selecting the type of order that best fits the focus of the writing.
Smooth transitions
One of the easiest ways to have smooth transitions between sentences is to repeat a key word or a key thought from the previous sentence. Sometimes you may wish to use a synonym, but sometimes the same word works best.
Although there are some trite phrases commonly used for transitions between paragraphs, the same technique of repeating a word or phrase used with sentences can be used with paragraphs. Often the key word, phrase, or idea in the final sentence may be repeated or restructured to use in the first sentence of the next paragraph.
Another type of transition is the one between scenes. Often the author can move the reader from one scene to another with a few simple words.
Example:
Marge sat in the den at the computer, busily typing as the wind howled. Soon creaking sounds began to intensify. She ran to the windows to see what tree was soon to be history.
Next door, the McGill’s peered from their window, gasping in unison as a huge branch from the elm just missed their house.
As you can see the words next door moved the scene from one location to the next with ease.
Another method is to leave extra line of space between paragraphs indicating that extra time has passed and, therefore, a change of scene.
In some cases, the author may choose to use the last sentence of a paragraph to change the scene rather than the first sentence of the next paragraph. Sometimes, the author may only hint at a change of scene in the last sentence. This would be done to continue the rising flow of excitement.
Example:
Bent over the desk for hours, I had managed to block out the sound of the furnace starting and stopping and the creaks of the old house while trying to focus on my writing. I was under a deadline, and the pressure was mounting when…brrr-inggg! Dang, the phone!
I raced to the living room to quiet the monster, tripping on the kids' toys….
The phone ringing indicates an immediate change of scene, whether the phone is in the same room or another.
All parts of the story must be coherent, including the beginning, middle and end. Check your story to see if it flows well between these major elements. The plot is usually hinted at in the beginning and then is developed in the middle. Here the conflict becomes apparent to the point of crisis. The ending provides the resolution of the conflict and ties up any loose ends.
Remember: Although editing is a difficult and lengthy task, you will develop skills that will improve your writing in the initial stages so editing will become easier. There is much detail here, so take one step at a time. Your readers will love you for the improvements, and you will be proud of your work.
Next, the letter D (part 3 of 3) in that four letter word Edit.
D stands for: Draft as many versions as needed for clarity.
Part 3 covers Edit by Rewording
Source (adapted from):
Cheney, Theodore A. Rees. Getting the Words Right: How to Revice, Edit & Rewrite, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, OH, 1987.
2. Cheney, p. 59.
3. ibid., p. 64-66.
4. ibid., p. 69.
©Aulicino 5 Dec 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Edit is a Four Letter Word
Yes, Edit—that four-letter-word which keeps many from writing and others with constant migraines. In Farewell to Arms, Hemmingway wrote the last page 39 times. When asked about this, his comment was that he did so to get it right. This may be a bit extreme, but editing takes more than one or two attempts at revising.
All of us want to leave behind our very best work. That is our vanity. However, your descendants will be grateful for whatever you write. You may choose just to write your memories and stop there, or you may wish to edit your stories and be confident readers clearly understand.
For memoir writing you should not use words to impress your reader, but rather use your natural language. Do not use words beyond your best vocabulary unless the words clarify your meaning more precisely. Your natural language is your everyday expressions, the vernacular. This natural language is used in informal situations and gives your personal history color, individuality, and variety. Even when writing dialog, use the essence of the actual speaker. Capture their personality and attitude. Editing is still important when we use the vernacular.
The language for your stories should be consistent with the tone of the events. Humor is written with a different tone than is a spiritual experience, one being light hearted with the use of hyperbole (exaggeration) while the other more sober and formal.
After writing your first draft, keeping the above tips in mind, you are ready to edit. That four-letter-word for writing is often one which is neglected for many reasons. Most people really do not know how to edit. They do not know where to begin nor understand that editing differs from proofreading.
The goal of editing is to make your reading more easily read. You must use language in a way that you do not call attention to the language, but leave the focus on the story. Language should clarify the meaning you wish to convey. The attention should be on what you wish to express and not how you express it. However, clarity is required for that result.
Books have been written on the many approaches to editing, but with the limited space of a blog, only highlights can be addressed. For the next few articles, various aspects of editing will be examined in more detail. The areas covered are as follows:
.............Educate yourself on grammar and punctuation rules.
.............Draft as many versions as needed for clarity.
.............Incorporate word and sentence variety.
.............Take time to read your story aloud.
Editing takes time. If you feel overwhelmed in the process, just focus on particular sections or aspects of the procedure. As you attempt to edit using the various methods, you will become more aware of proper writing, and you will improve the first few drafts as well as your over all writing. After corrections have been made, you will see your personal writing style emerge. If you are interested in creating that final draft to ensure clarity of your stories, be patient and work methodically toward that end. Perfection takes time.
©Aulicino 5 Dec 2008
All of us want to leave behind our very best work. That is our vanity. However, your descendants will be grateful for whatever you write. You may choose just to write your memories and stop there, or you may wish to edit your stories and be confident readers clearly understand.
For memoir writing you should not use words to impress your reader, but rather use your natural language. Do not use words beyond your best vocabulary unless the words clarify your meaning more precisely. Your natural language is your everyday expressions, the vernacular. This natural language is used in informal situations and gives your personal history color, individuality, and variety. Even when writing dialog, use the essence of the actual speaker. Capture their personality and attitude. Editing is still important when we use the vernacular.
The language for your stories should be consistent with the tone of the events. Humor is written with a different tone than is a spiritual experience, one being light hearted with the use of hyperbole (exaggeration) while the other more sober and formal.
After writing your first draft, keeping the above tips in mind, you are ready to edit. That four-letter-word for writing is often one which is neglected for many reasons. Most people really do not know how to edit. They do not know where to begin nor understand that editing differs from proofreading.
The goal of editing is to make your reading more easily read. You must use language in a way that you do not call attention to the language, but leave the focus on the story. Language should clarify the meaning you wish to convey. The attention should be on what you wish to express and not how you express it. However, clarity is required for that result.
Books have been written on the many approaches to editing, but with the limited space of a blog, only highlights can be addressed. For the next few articles, various aspects of editing will be examined in more detail. The areas covered are as follows:
.............Educate yourself on grammar and punctuation rules.
.............Draft as many versions as needed for clarity.
.............Incorporate word and sentence variety.
.............Take time to read your story aloud.
Editing takes time. If you feel overwhelmed in the process, just focus on particular sections or aspects of the procedure. As you attempt to edit using the various methods, you will become more aware of proper writing, and you will improve the first few drafts as well as your over all writing. After corrections have been made, you will see your personal writing style emerge. If you are interested in creating that final draft to ensure clarity of your stories, be patient and work methodically toward that end. Perfection takes time.
©Aulicino 5 Dec 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Breathing Life into Your Stories
There are several methods to bringing your story to life and avoiding the chronicling of mere facts. These processes help you breathe life into your characters and your story’s environment in order to create a full, dimensional picture. Life is multi-faceted with layers upon layers of complex feelings, emotions, and actions. Your characters must come alive and exhibit those traits. You must engage your reader into caring about your characters.
Each of the techniques below goes beyond the mere stating of facts. In order to get your reader involved in your story, you must be involved. In order for you to be involved, you must create a picture in your reader’s mind that resembles what you see in your mind’s eye when you relive the story. Your story must be full of details, but written in a descriptive, creative way. However, do not go to the extreme with adding details or you will lose the movement of the plot.
The methods used for enhancing your story and making it come alive include:
1. Developing your characters
2. Being descriptive and using imaginative language
3. Setting the tone or mood
4. Having an stimulating opening paragraph
5. Using exciting verbs and a variety of sentence structures
6. Using various literary devices such as Foreshadowing and Flashback
7. Using a point of view which best allows you to tell the story
(These topics will be addressed in more detail in furture blogs.)
These techniques can be divided to help you focus on developing your characters and your story setting. Use the following questions to guide you.
Character Development:
1. Have you shown the character’s personality and physical traits through their actions in the story? Do your characters pop off the page with personality or are they only two dimensional?
2. Do the characters show their action and reactions rather than you just stating those behaviors?
3. Do you show what motivates your characters?
4. Do you make your characters’ world real to the reader?
5. Have you researched your character or the times in which your character lived to add depth to the story? Often doing this research helps you recall small facts about the situation.
6. Are you introducing too many characters at once, so the reader cannot bond to any of them? If you do not develop your characters the reader will not care about them.
Story Structure:
1. Is your opening paragraph exciting? Have you used an event to capture the reader’s interest? Have you considered flashback?
2. Have you set the tone or mood of your story by using words to describe the scene rather than just stating the setting?
3. Is there some type of conflict or struggle in your story, and do you build the action to that point?
4. Do you use imagery which brings the story alive and underscores the action? Has your description included some of the five senses?
5. Have you used imaginative language in imaginative ways? Is your story burdened by clichés, boring verbs, or repetitive words? Is your sentence structure redundant? Have you created your own similes and metaphors?
6. Are you showing as well as telling your story? Are you using your character’s actions to tell the story?
7. Do you loose your reader with the lack of transitions between paragraphs?
8. Have you foreshadowed major events? Give your reader a clue that something exciting is coming.
9. Do you use a Point of View which works best for the story?
Remember: In life there is drama, and your stories need to reflect life. It is important to put yourself into the story to understand the characters and their motivation. This helps your reader care about your characters and become involved with the story.
Your story’s heart is beating...^./\...^./\...^./\
Emily
©Aulicino, Nov 2008
Each of the techniques below goes beyond the mere stating of facts. In order to get your reader involved in your story, you must be involved. In order for you to be involved, you must create a picture in your reader’s mind that resembles what you see in your mind’s eye when you relive the story. Your story must be full of details, but written in a descriptive, creative way. However, do not go to the extreme with adding details or you will lose the movement of the plot.
The methods used for enhancing your story and making it come alive include:
1. Developing your characters
2. Being descriptive and using imaginative language
3. Setting the tone or mood
4. Having an stimulating opening paragraph
5. Using exciting verbs and a variety of sentence structures
6. Using various literary devices such as Foreshadowing and Flashback
7. Using a point of view which best allows you to tell the story
(These topics will be addressed in more detail in furture blogs.)
These techniques can be divided to help you focus on developing your characters and your story setting. Use the following questions to guide you.
Character Development:
1. Have you shown the character’s personality and physical traits through their actions in the story? Do your characters pop off the page with personality or are they only two dimensional?
2. Do the characters show their action and reactions rather than you just stating those behaviors?
3. Do you show what motivates your characters?
4. Do you make your characters’ world real to the reader?
5. Have you researched your character or the times in which your character lived to add depth to the story? Often doing this research helps you recall small facts about the situation.
6. Are you introducing too many characters at once, so the reader cannot bond to any of them? If you do not develop your characters the reader will not care about them.
Story Structure:
1. Is your opening paragraph exciting? Have you used an event to capture the reader’s interest? Have you considered flashback?
2. Have you set the tone or mood of your story by using words to describe the scene rather than just stating the setting?
3. Is there some type of conflict or struggle in your story, and do you build the action to that point?
4. Do you use imagery which brings the story alive and underscores the action? Has your description included some of the five senses?
5. Have you used imaginative language in imaginative ways? Is your story burdened by clichés, boring verbs, or repetitive words? Is your sentence structure redundant? Have you created your own similes and metaphors?
6. Are you showing as well as telling your story? Are you using your character’s actions to tell the story?
7. Do you loose your reader with the lack of transitions between paragraphs?
8. Have you foreshadowed major events? Give your reader a clue that something exciting is coming.
9. Do you use a Point of View which works best for the story?
Remember: In life there is drama, and your stories need to reflect life. It is important to put yourself into the story to understand the characters and their motivation. This helps your reader care about your characters and become involved with the story.
Your story’s heart is beating...^./\...^./\...^./\
Emily
©Aulicino, Nov 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Blogs and Other Surrogate Homes
Although many people join a writing group or choose to write on their own, there are others who create blogs or find surrogate homes on the World Wide Web to house their personal journaling or family stories.
There are many advantages to using Internet resources for your writing. The most obvious being that you can easily share your stories with family and friends, and you can receive feedback quickly. Also, many sites are free, and there are many pages to help you with ideas and with improving your writing skills.
Blog, blog, blog
Blogging is comparable to having your own Editorial Page in the newspaper. You can write about anything you wish as often as you wish. The topics for blogs are endless. You are only limited to your imagination.
The word Blog is a contraction of Web log. Companies, corporations, newspapers, and other industries use blogs, but the most common type is the personal blog. Personal blogs are often commentaries reflective of one’s life or opinions. They make perfect spots for recording your many family stories, past and present. AND…the best part??? They are FREE!
Another wonderful advantage of having a blog is that if you are a member of Facebook, a social networking system you can add Blog Networks. By adding the Blog Networks application, you can choose which blogs you wish to read. This application puts your favorite blogs on one page so you can easily click to find them on the web. Perhaps you would want a blog on how to write your stories or on grammar. Other personal blogs which contain the authors’ family memories could give you ideas for yours. Through Blog Networks you can easily find more readers for your personal blog. There are a growing number of genealogists on Facebook who write blogs not only about their own family, but on many aspects of genealogy from “How To” to preserving photographs and more. It is a wonderful source for networking, for getting ideas for your blog and for inspiring you to write your memories.
Blogs are simple to create, even for the novice. There are choices on how to organize your website and steps to guide you through the process. You can add photos, videos, various icons, and hyperlinks. You can allow others to comment or not. You can edit any part of your blog at any time. If you need to correct or add material to a story, it is easily done.
Although there are many more sites on which you can create a Blog, the most popular sites are:
www.blogger.com/
http://wordpress.com/
A Surrogate Home
Some writers do not have time nor interest to maintain a blog as one is often self-pressured to posting a story every week or so. For this group, there are places where you can post your stories for your friends and family to read. You could also solicit the help of your family to add their stories or to made corrections and additions to yours.
www.webook.com
On WeBook you can invite friends to read your stories, make comments and vote on the best ones.
I do not know anyone who has used the following sites, but they are free and seem helpful.
http://www.writersarea.com/
http://www.storyofmylife.com/
http://www.webbiographies.com/
There are many more options online, of course. Be sure to read their sites carefully. There are some that charge a one-time fee, as well.
I encourage you to open your realm of possibilities and venture into new lands. Consider being a blogger or finding a surrogate home for your stories on the Net. You will bring much joy to the genealogy community in sharing your wonderful memories as well as gain self-satisfaction for your accomplishments.
©aulicno, 7 Nov 2008
There are many advantages to using Internet resources for your writing. The most obvious being that you can easily share your stories with family and friends, and you can receive feedback quickly. Also, many sites are free, and there are many pages to help you with ideas and with improving your writing skills.
Blog, blog, blog
Blogging is comparable to having your own Editorial Page in the newspaper. You can write about anything you wish as often as you wish. The topics for blogs are endless. You are only limited to your imagination.
The word Blog is a contraction of Web log. Companies, corporations, newspapers, and other industries use blogs, but the most common type is the personal blog. Personal blogs are often commentaries reflective of one’s life or opinions. They make perfect spots for recording your many family stories, past and present. AND…the best part??? They are FREE!
Another wonderful advantage of having a blog is that if you are a member of Facebook, a social networking system you can add Blog Networks. By adding the Blog Networks application, you can choose which blogs you wish to read. This application puts your favorite blogs on one page so you can easily click to find them on the web. Perhaps you would want a blog on how to write your stories or on grammar. Other personal blogs which contain the authors’ family memories could give you ideas for yours. Through Blog Networks you can easily find more readers for your personal blog. There are a growing number of genealogists on Facebook who write blogs not only about their own family, but on many aspects of genealogy from “How To” to preserving photographs and more. It is a wonderful source for networking, for getting ideas for your blog and for inspiring you to write your memories.
Blogs are simple to create, even for the novice. There are choices on how to organize your website and steps to guide you through the process. You can add photos, videos, various icons, and hyperlinks. You can allow others to comment or not. You can edit any part of your blog at any time. If you need to correct or add material to a story, it is easily done.
Although there are many more sites on which you can create a Blog, the most popular sites are:
www.blogger.com/
http://wordpress.com/
A Surrogate Home
Some writers do not have time nor interest to maintain a blog as one is often self-pressured to posting a story every week or so. For this group, there are places where you can post your stories for your friends and family to read. You could also solicit the help of your family to add their stories or to made corrections and additions to yours.
www.webook.com
On WeBook you can invite friends to read your stories, make comments and vote on the best ones.
I do not know anyone who has used the following sites, but they are free and seem helpful.
http://www.writersarea.com/
http://www.storyofmylife.com/
http://www.webbiographies.com/
There are many more options online, of course. Be sure to read their sites carefully. There are some that charge a one-time fee, as well.
I encourage you to open your realm of possibilities and venture into new lands. Consider being a blogger or finding a surrogate home for your stories on the Net. You will bring much joy to the genealogy community in sharing your wonderful memories as well as gain self-satisfaction for your accomplishments.
©aulicno, 7 Nov 2008
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