Write Your Story
Everybody has one story in them so the saying goes. Isn’t it time to get it out?
Have you ever thought about writing your life story? The saying is that everyone has at least one story in them. You remember Harper Lee from Mississippi who wrote ” To Kill a Mockingbird” It is one of the most popular stories ever written and it was Harper Lee’s one and only story. She never published another. She said it was her own story and the only story she had to tell.
Image via Wikipedia
My sisters and I often talk about writing our story. I have four sisters and one brother and we plan to each write our individual versions and then rewrite together. That has been the plan for years but so far none of us have written the first page. Sister Charlotte says she will get a writer to write her version but we tell her if she does, it will be another person’s take on her story and not her own.
My opinion is that you have to do it yourself. Collaborating with a writer just doesn’t cut the mustard with me. It has to be your own words coming from your own pen held in your own hand or from your own keyboard. Anything else sounds contrived and fake. Now that’s just my opinion and the only way we ever get Charlotte’s story might be to let her get someone to write it for her. She is one of our most stubborn sisters and she likes to hang tough.
Age differences, we think is one of the reasons our story would be interesting. Some of us have never lived in the same house together and we were brought up in different circumstances. We very likely will look at each episode of our lives in a different light. And although the same mother brought all of us up. She was a changing personality. Life was hard and never stable but she coped with the realities at hand in any way she could.
Sister Betty Sue and Charlotte
Mama was a real surviver. and taught all her children to be survivors, although at the time we didn’t particularly notice it. Somehow she kept all her family together, with very little she fed, sheltered, and clothed everybody. She was our worst critic and after her chastisements we could take anything. That attitude came in handy because we all had enough hardship and heartache to deal with. But here we are, we have survived it all and still going strong.
We still haven’t written our story but if you have a story to tell then write it down. If time is short, write one page every day about one incident. You don’t have to be a scholar to write your life experience in your own words. Organize your subjects in chapters , such as “My first day at school” “My graduation from high school” ” My first date” Your story will come together and you will be amazed when you go back to read it.
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Tags: brother, experiences, Harper Lee, Life, Organize, Sisters, story, survival, To Kill a Micking Bird, write, Your words
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June 20th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I would love to write my story but I don’t think it would interest anyone else. I enjoyed this piece. Well done.
Christine
June 20th, 2009 at 10:12 am
It’s always better to write our own stories so that it look special and unique. Thanks and liked it.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:20 am
I suppose my story might be quite interesting ~ lots of drama anyway lol
June 20th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Great advice Ruby! My GF has 9 siblings and while she looks fondly back on her childhood most of her older siblings do not. She writes about her childhood while the older ones do not really want to be reminded.
Harper Lee only wrote one book but it was great one!
June 20th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Really liked this story. Looks like you had quite a plan writing your stories. It’s easier to write, though, if you have a good one. Not everyone will find this easy.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Great idea and advice! Can’t wait to read your family’s collective story.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I’ve been doing this for a while. The key is, don’t wait. We have a very mobile society, and you can’t count on being able to tell your story to the people who mean most to you. They may have to read it later.
June 20th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
An inspirational article Ruby, thanks for sharing the photo of your sister. I would be fascinated to read your life story!!
June 20th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I can write my life story in about one sentence. Pathetic, isn’t it?
I am currently seeking a publisher for a novel I wrote. My wife keeps telling me to write a story about her life and it would sell. She is a cancer survivor.
Hm, maybe.
June 20th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Dear Ruby, Thanks for the advice. My story is so long….
Take care,
François
June 20th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Thanks Ruby, I have already turned some of my childhood into stories but there are other parts I am not sure I want to relive.
June 20th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Very nicely done article Ruby. I agree with you on Harper Lee`s book. It has been my favorite since I was a kid. I read it every year or two and never get tired of it.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
If you ever decide to write it, I’m sure it will be interesting.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Your article was very well put together. I have thought about writting my story, I wonder if anyone would believe it, I wonder if anyone would want to read it.. I wonder if I would be ashamed to have family and friends read it…
June 20th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Good advice.
Inna
June 20th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I hope to write my own story some day. I want to get some novels published first.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
I think you just started writing your story… keep going….
June 21st, 2009 at 6:48 am
Eveyones story has merit in my opinion, and I love reading about real lives and the ups and downs that we all go through. I imagine that your life-story would be very interesting Ruby.
June 21st, 2009 at 7:55 am
That was a great article – and I think you give wise counsel. Especially to just write – start writing – we all forever say we are going to write that book. I myself though would have a very boring life story to tell – so I shall instead tell the one that lives in my head – which is by far the more interesting one
June 21st, 2009 at 7:56 am
ur suggestion has inspired me. thank u
June 21st, 2009 at 10:59 am
Nice way of expressing your own story.Thanks for sharing.
June 21st, 2009 at 12:03 pm
a very good advice, I’m planning to write a novel soon.
June 21st, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Thank you my friends for your comments and “I likes”
They are greatly appreciated. I do think we all have that one unique story that no one else can tell. We can write it at least to let our children and grands know our life as we have lived it.They will learn of things they never dreamed of unless we leave all the interesting stuff out..
June 21st, 2009 at 2:38 pm
You have a lot of great advice in this article. Most of my stories on Triond…and they are ridiculous stories…are based on my experiences. I have always taken events that have frightened me (Like taking an adult education class in my 50s when I had never walked into a classroom since I was 17) or hurt me (A broken heart) or other events and exaggerated them so I could laugh at them. It is my belief that laughter is not only the best medicine…it is a miracle drug.
June 21st, 2009 at 6:06 pm
This is a great article, Ruby. I have always wanted to write my own story. Yours sounds pretty good.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:10 am
I agree with your post. There are cool technologies that we can just jot down keywords or create a short story as we go by. Or just bringing our own mini notebook wherever we go and jot down our thoughts and actions.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Great article, Ruby. I had contemplated writing my autobiography but decided against it. I think that some of my revelations would perhaps be a shock and an embarassment to my family.
By the way, I believe that ‘Gone With the Wind’ was the only book that Margaret Mitchell ever wrote, and look what happened to that!
June 24th, 2009 at 3:04 am
Chinese proverb “A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step”. I think that’s the problem with writing, putting the first word down.
Small articles feel easier, and we daunt oursleves with the idea of the thousand (plus) words.
July 6th, 2009 at 3:38 am
my story is very intriguing so i keep it for my self, haha!