Writing, Editing & Publication Design

Sarah Cête Press

Book Publisher

Writing Life Story

Aus. $7.00

This Ebook in PDF format encourages authors to find their storyline, and express it clearly in words that their audience will love to read.
For a PDF reader, try
Life Writing is a serious craft. Apply the traditions of good writing to your work, and to construct your book in a way that the most reluctant reader will not be able to put down.
I encourage you to keep writing, to follow the steps of finding your story, finding your voice and your audience as outlined in Writing Life Story.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions. jessicasyme@iinet.net.au

Extracts

Exercise 1.

Probably for months or for years even, you have been telling yourself bits of a story-line. If you sit quietly now, you will be able to hear snippets of that tale. Take out a little notepad and pen and listen to the voice that is telling your story. Perhaps they go something like this …

‘Grandma came from Ireland in 1910. They had land but it was lost during the war. She married an Italian man. No one knows much about this.’

And maybe there is a point where the story falls apart because there is a gap in your thoughts, maybe family knowledge becomes vague at this point … but keep listening, your mind will be trying to pick up the long threads.

‘I know Mary knows some of this story. I heard John comment once that Grandpa had three brothers.’ It is from these threads and snippets that you will build a story-line so don’t be scared of what you don’t know, but write down what you do know.

"Life story, or what is more recently termed ‘life writing’, refers to the gathering, telling and writing of all those tales that enable us to relate our lives to others. It is an extension of the oral tradition that was engaged in for centuries in so many cultures. In my own family culture of Gaelic-speaking Scotland, oral story telling is central to the fabric of community life ... In my experience, I have found that one approach can be of invaluable assistance i.e. thinking about the story you are telling as a story, as a novel or a tale. By developing a clear idea of the story-line, the writer can build the structure of the book around this and come back to the plot time and time again when the going gets rough.

My other main suggestion is to become soulfully engaged in your writing. By this I mean, use your sense of place, your sense of self and your connectivity with others to build a background for your story. Life story and the writing of life story occur in a context of place, symbolism and imagination. All these elements need to be respected. "

"Children love stories. When my nieces visit they always ask for a story. I know immediately what they are looking for – a beginning that makes them want to hear more, interesting characters that they can relate to and yet, who do things they do not expect, and an ending that helps them to know that things do end, even sometimes with a little surprise. They are happy to hear that one part of life finishes and we move on a little. Maybe we will re-enter the story at another time or from another angle but, for the moment, they want to see the last page turn and hear that everyone closed their eyes and went to bed. Whatever the ending, they are not satisfied until I come up with one.

So, ‘Finding the story’ involves finding the storyline – the beginning, the ‘what happens’ and the ending."

Writing the story of a real life is similar to writing a novel. It also requires us to find the storyline, the plot, the characters and the landscape in which the story takes place.