Today's poster tells us that family is a gift that lasts forever. If you want to help the 'forever' part, it is time you started writing your family stories. They will be lost forever if each generation does not do something to extend their life.
Sure, we all tell those stories at family gatherings, whether at the holiday dinner table or when together for a wedding or a funeral. Funerals in particular seem to bring out stories of the deceased. When one of my brothers passed away, I heard stories before and after the funeral that I'd never heard before. And I told a few about him that some others had not heard.
I had three brothers, and a few years ago, I printed and copied all the family stories I had written, put them in a 3 ring binder for each one and mailed them. It was a big project as it took some time and effort, but the reaction from each one who received a book was well worth it. Two of my brothers have passed away, but the books are still there for the children of each one.
Everyone would probably agree that writing those stories would be a worthy project. The problem is that many think about it but never seem to get started. Why? Does the idea seem overwhelming? Perhaps, but remember that you don't have to do it all in one week or one month or even one year.
The way to begin is with one story at a time. Think back to your childhood. What is something you remember clearly about one of your grandparents? Or a favorite uncle? Or a cousin you were close to? Choose one and only one. You could start with something to describe the person's physical traits, or their demeanor. An example using my grandfather might be:
My Grandpa Studham was a quiet man. He and my grandmother were separated, never divorced, so they visited us at different times. One time, Granpa arrived with a gift for me tucked in his suitcase. A cigar box filled with pennies he'd saved! And then I could go on telling more about that gift and the grandfather who had been a coal miner and always seemed to have a cigarette in his hand.
Pick one person, one event, one time and start writing. As you write that first story, it may trigger thoughts of others. Work at your own pace. There is no deadline. If you write longhand, that's fine. If you type on a keyboard, you can print the stories and start a notebook to keep them in.
You do not have to be a professional writer to do this. There is no wrong or right way to tell your family stories.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you write your stories:
A. give a sense of place
B. physical characteristics
C. the way a person acted, or his character traits
D. how you felt
E. how others in the family felt or reacted
F. use dates if pertinent to the story
G. be descriptive
All it takes is one story to begin. Only one. I bet you can do that.
No comments:
Post a Comment