{"id":6248,"date":"2019-10-05T22:06:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-05T22:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/05\/my-favorite-expert-advice-on-writing-the-storie\/"},"modified":"2019-10-05T22:06:25","modified_gmt":"2019-10-05T22:06:25","slug":"my-favorite-expert-advice-on-writing-the-storie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/my-favorite-expert-advice-on-writing-the-storie\/","title":{"rendered":"My Favorite Expert Advice On Writing The Storie"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><body>&#13;<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">&#13;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\">&#13;<br \/>\n  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/abbtop.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"120\"\/><\/a><br \/><a 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class=\"style7\">&#13;<br \/>\n                <font color=\"#FB7014\" size=\"4\" face=\"Tahoma\">My Favorite Expert Advice on Writing the Stories of Our Lives, Gleaned From My Favorite Books on the Subject<\/font><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n            <\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" height=\"19\">\n<div align=\"justify\"><span class=\"style2\">by: &#13;<br \/>\n                <font size=\"3\" face=\"Times New Roman\" color=\"#FB7014\">Lisa J. Lehr<\/font><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n            <\/tr>\n<tr>\n<div id=\"article\">\n<td align=\"left\" height=\"12\"><span class=\"style2\">&#13;<\/p>\n<p>This outline is adapted from a handout I give to my lifewriting students. The points made here apply to writing in general as well as to writing our life stories in particular.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>I. Why should we write?&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>A. Frank McCourt in Writer\u0092s Digest, Feb. \u009299, p. 19: \u0093But now I realize that everyone has a story. Nothing is significant until you make it significant. It\u0092s not what happens to you, but how you look at it.\u0094&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>B. Frank P. Thomas, How to Write the Story of Your Life: \u0093God created people because He loves stories.\u0094 \u0093Humans are happiest when we are creating.\u0094 There is a revival of activity today in search of our roots and family history.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>C. Strunk &amp; White, The Elements of Style: Writing is a way to go about thinking.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>D. Rick DeMarinis, The Art and Craft of the Short Story: Storytelling is how we make sense of the world.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>E. Robin Hemley, Turning Life Into Fiction: Writing is a discovery process. Part of the fun is learning why you wrote what you wrote.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>F. Writer\u0092s Digest, Aug. \u009200, pp. 20-21: You might find that the greatest rewards of writing\u0085evolve during the process of bringing your ideas to the page. As you reveal more of yourself on the page, you might notice patterns in the way you think, behave, react to people and situations. This self-awareness can help you make better decisions, understand difficult situations, sort through feelings. It is a powerful way to find answers to some of your most difficult questions. And it can remind you that there are no easy answers\u0097this is the root of wisdom. Life becomes richer, observations and senses sharper.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>G. DeMarinis: Anyone will tell you his or her life story, given a little encouragement. It\u0092s the human thing to do.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>II. Why should we write well?&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>A. DeMarinis: Poor writing can falsify experience.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>B. Various sources: Writing is rewriting. Craft moves from the back of the mind to the front during rewriting. Allow the first draft to be crude and ill formed.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>C. DeMarinis: Say everything that needs to be said in as few words as possible.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>D. Aristotle: \u0093the proper and special name of a thing.\u0094&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>E. Hemley: Words shape the way we view an event.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>F. DeMarinis: Be conscious of word selection. Develop an ear for language. The sounds in a sentence can produce three-dimensional images in the mind. &#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>III. Regarding truth, and the accuracy of our memories&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>A. P.D. James, in Reader\u0092s Digest: \u0093Memory is a device for forgetting as well as remembering. To that extent, every autobiography is a work of fiction, and every work of fiction is an autobiography.\u0094&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>B. Robert Olmstead, Elements of the Writing Craft: Memoir is a narrative composed from personal experience. It depends on memory, which is somewhere between truth and how the writer sees the truth. Setting in a memoir is intensely personal and emotional.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>C. DeMarinis: Story is always biased. Hidden in the fiction is need, and need is always truthful. We need sympathy and approval, and want to be understood.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>D. The Write Stuff (a compilation): Memory is what people are made of. What\u0092s remembered is never the event. Memory is faulty.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>E. Hemley: What you have chosen to tell, and how, and what you have chosen not to tell reveal what kind of writer you are.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>F. Hemley: Memory plays tricks. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. It\u0092s more important for an event to work than to be true.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>G. Tom Chiarella, Writing Dialog: Stating what literally happened is less important than interpretation of those events.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>H. Olmstead: What makes an experience important?&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>I. Marcia Golub, I\u0092d Rather Be Writing: Old memories are mysterious. A lot of what gives them narrative drive is trying to figure them out. Of everything that happened during childhood, why do we remember these things?&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>J. Dwight V. Swain, Creating Characters: How to Build Story People: It\u0092s not the experience that creates the trauma, but the way the character reacts to it. (If you\u0092re writing your life story, that\u0092s you.)&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>K. Hemley: What\u0092s most powerful is often what you most want to hide.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>L. Hemley: Dig deeper\u0097try to understand why a particular event stands out.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>M. Hemley: Distance from a place enables us to see it more clearly. What you remember is what\u0092s most important to you\u0085the feeling it gave you. Description of a place should be anchored in the character\u0092s consciousness; it says as much about the character as about the place.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>N. Stephen Wilbers, Keys to Great Writing: \u0093Given that all writing is to a degree fictitious\u0097\u0085it can only represent reality\u0085use the elements of artifice to your advantage.\u0094&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>O. Pablo Picasso: \u0093Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.\u0094&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>IV. Getting started&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>A. William Zinsser, On Writing Well: Believe in the validity of your life!&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>B. DeMarinis: The very act of writing sentences produces more sentences. This sometimes leads to inspiration.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>C. Hemley: ordering real life takes a lot of imagination and understanding.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>D. Writer\u0092s Digest, Feb. \u009299: Avoid chronology as an organizing principle. Instead, free-list key images.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>E. Opening should be \u0093crisp and economical\u0094 to grab the reader.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>V. See my related article, \u0093My Favorite Errors to Correct (Don\u0092t make these mistakes, and your writing will rise above most other writing).\u0094 Happy writing!&#13;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#dddddd\">\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><b>About The Author<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance writer and editor with a specialty in business and marketing communications. She holds a biology degree and has worked in a variety of fields, including the pharmaceutical industry and teaching, and has a related interest in personal history. She is also a graduate of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), America\u0092s leading course on copywriting. Contact Lisa J. Lehr Copywriting <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ljlcopywriting.com\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.ljlcopywriting.com<\/a>, <a href=\"mailto:Lisa@ljlcopywriting.com\">Lisa@ljlcopywriting.com<\/a> for help with your writing needs. &#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>This article \u00a9Lisa J. Lehr 2005.&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;\n<\/p>\n<form action=\"http:\/\/www.articlecity.com\/cgi-bin\/search.cgi\" method=\"post\">&#13;<br \/>\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"sf1\" value=\"The_Author\"\/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"words\" value=\"Lisa J. Lehr\"\/><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><input type=\"submit\" value=\"Other Articles by Lisa J. Lehr\"\/><\/p>\n<\/form>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><i>This article was posted on December 15, 2005<\/i><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/td>\n<p>&#13;\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p align=\"left\">\u00a0        <\/p>\n<p>&#13;\n      <\/td>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n    <\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<hr width=\"800\" noshade=\"noshade\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/ADSENSEWEBSITES\">RETURN TO ADSENSE BUSINESS-IN-A-BOX MASTER ARTICLE INDEX<\/a><\/p>\n<hr width=\"800\" noshade=\"noshade\"\/>\n<div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/\" data-layout=\"button\" data-size=\"large\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fon-line-interactivity.com%2F&amp;src=sdkpreparse\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share<\/a><\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div id=\"fb-root\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n<script async=\"\" defer=\"defer\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v4.0&amp;appId=103650273035821&amp;autoLogAppEvents=1\"\/><!-- End of FACEBOOK SHARE BUTTON CODE --><span class=\"style6\"><br \/><span class=\"style2\">\u00a92019 - All Rights Reserved by <a href=\"http:\/\/HelpMeFindFreedom.Online\">HelpMeFindFreedom.Online<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.website.ws\/kvmlm2\/my.dhtml?sponsor=geekzonehostingcom&amp;bannercode=gif002&amp;language=english\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.website.ws\/images\/english\/banners\/kvmlm2\/468x60_02.gif\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n<\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; \u00a0 &#13; \u00a0&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; Article Navigation &#13; Back To &#13; Main Page &#13; &#13; &#13; \u00a0 &#13; Click Here &#13; for more articles &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; My Favorite Expert Advice on Writing the Stories of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adsense-business-in-a-box"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6248\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}