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I can’t believe I haven’t already blogged about Writing into the Fireplace , but I just tried hunting down that post to send the link to someone, and to my amazement, it isn’t there! It’s time to share this potent secret. Creative Commons photo by Jernas Lukasz, from openphoto.net Writing into the Fireplace is a powerful way to get angry, confused, or hurtful words on paper to allow healing to proceed, without running the risk of damaging relationships with the result. Rather than sharing this writing, you immediately burn or shred it. I unwittingly developed this technique about thirty years ago when I was a grad student in counseling psychology. That degree program was a grueling experience, amounting to an extended course of personal therapy with quasi-therapists at every juncture, and I often found my head and heart spinning like tires in a snowbank. To combat my confusion, I often curled up in a comfortable chair with huge piles of recycled computer print-out — the kind with ho...

Memorial Day is a day for remembering and I spent this day remembering place as well as people. To help in this regard I had a copy Kristen Embry Lichtman’s memoir, Secrets! of a Los Alamos Kid, 1946-1953 . I enjoyed this book on two levels. First, it was a vivid trip down memory lane. I also grew up in Los Alamos, and in my later years there I shared many adventures with members of the Embry family. For me, that combination of place and people formed the heart of the book. Beyond that close connection, I appreciated the craft Kris used in creating the book. It’s a fine example of the scrapbook style of story organization I mentioned in the last post . The book is comprised of twenty chapters of varying lengths. Each chapter covers a designated period of time, be that a single day or several months, and each has a theme. Of the twenty, only six feature a single story. The others group several related incidents of anywhere from a single paragraph to a couple of pages to broaden the cove...

When strangers hear that I teach classes in lifestory writing, they often confess, “I’ve been thinking about doing something like that myself, but I have no idea how to go about it.” While some people start with their birth and write their way through the calendar, another approach is easier for most people to follow. I call this the scrapbook approach to lifestory writing, in the sense that scrapbooks are a compilation of bits and pieces of random material, or a collection of related tidbits. I recommend the scrapbook approach to anyone who doesn’t instinctively reach for a calender, because you can fit the random stories to a calender later if you decide to use a chronological approach. In the scrapbook approach, you write stories about your spontaneous memories, regardless of chronological order. I’m a scrapbook writer myself, and I might follow a story about my preschool years with another about signing up for Social Security. Some stories are three or four paragraphs long, while o...

I’m about to make a counter-intuitive statement: In my humble opinion, the Internet may be the worst enemy you’ll ever face as a writer. I hear your gasps! How can I say this when I’m using the Internet to convey the message?! Yes, the Internet can be a writer’s best friend, serving as a source of background information, facts, and guidance on tricky things like spelling, grammar, alternate wordings, marketing information and so forth. The Internet can also be the most seductive, addictive distraction we’ll ever face. It may be worse than drugs and alcohol. I speak from extensive personal experience. How easy it is to follow links, especially from one blog to another. How easy it is to succumb to the temptation to read “just one more” helpful article, or to surf through a forum or reader board. How comforting it feels to seek advice and solace from Kindred Spirits in on-line groups, e-zines and such places. Why, I might even find other writers and send e-mails back and forth exploring ...

One of the most common punctuation problems writers face is with quotations marks. In Everything You Always Wondered About Punctuating Dialogue , posted last July , I covered the proper punctuation of dialogue, but there’s a little more to the matter. On the computer you have a choice of the “old-fashioned” straight quotation marks (" ... " ) or “curly” (typographical) quotation marks (“ ... ”). Today nearly every word processing program is set by default to insert curly ones, and this can pose a problem. If you look carefully, you’ll notice that the mark inserted at the beginning of a quotation has the “tail” up. The mark at the end has the “tail” down. Our eye becomes so accustomed to seeing them the right way, we only notice when they are wrong, for example, “I said yes, “ she told me. Or, ” No, I do not want to go.” This fluke is caused by a stray space. Your program uses an opening mark if it’s preceded by space, and a closing one if it ’ s preceded by another characte...

“My life is so ordinary,” she said. (Why is it always women who say this?) “I’ve never worked outside the home. The farthest I’ve ever traveled was to go to Columbus once, and I’ve been married to the same man for fifty-three years. I cook dinner, do the laundry and go to church. What on earth would I write about?” “If you met a woman who had lived on the edge of the Kalahari Desert all her life, never traveling beyond the cluster of waterholes where her tribe staked their claim, would you think her life was ordinary and uninteresting?” “Of course not!” “Write about your life to explain it to that woman, and it will no longer be ordinary.” Write on, Sharon Lippincott, aka Ritergal Countdown: 50 days until the release of The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing on July 1. Stay tuned for ordering details.

Today has been a true RED LETTER DAY . Although I read blogs by the hour and follow a long list regularly, I've resisted the temptation to list every interesting blog I read in the sidebar. When I began this blog, I defined a purpose: all content, whether links or posts, must relate directly to lifestory writing, providing inspiration or instruction to help readers write extraordinary stories about their lives and experiences. Throughout the fifteen months of this blog's life I've had my eyes open for links to other blogs and websites with related material. I determined to list only blogs focused consistently and directly on writing instruction. Until a couple of weeks ago, I was unable to find such blogs. Then I found The Grammar Police , which you've heard about in a couple of posts. Today, through a series of synchronistic links, I came across not one, but three additional links. You'll find them all in the links list on the sidebar. The first is Terrisa Meeks’ ...

My e-mail today held a Mother’s Day story sent by a writer friend. Something didn’t quite click when I read the story. Is this a flashback story? I wondered. The timing seems off, and ... this does not sound like her writing! This isn’t the way she puts things. This experience sparks several thoughts, and the first relates to my perception that it did not sound like my friend’s writing. I know the sound of her voice on paper, also known as her Writer's Voice, and this voice wasn’t hers. I’ve been thinking a lot about writer’s voice lately, and realized that our writing voice can be compared to an opera diva’s voice. When she first begins to sing, the diva sings naturally, like anyone else, though her gift for singing may soon become apparent. Many people have lovely voices, perhaps even the potential to become divas, but the vast majority of them are content to simply sing for worship or pleasure, and their tunes touch the hearts of all who hear. In contrast, the diva spends year...

Yesterday I surfed into a strange I-port and found an amazing thing: an embedded slide show with lots of facts about our changing world. This slide show was the winner of this year's World's Best Presentations contest at Slideshare.net. Rather than describe it to you, I'm embedding it so you can view it right here or click over to the Slideshare site. You may find it disturbing. You may find it exciting. I hope you find it provides a compelling reason to tell your stories about your own life, because this slide show will convince you to write lots of stories about life as you have known it. Click on the single right arrow to play. You may want to write a story about your feelings, or an essay on your thoughts after viewing this slide show. Have any of the types of change covered in the slide show affected your life, recently or longer ago? How do you feel about the changes it outlines? How do you generally feel about and handle change? Have you learned anything worth passi...

Now and then I run across a sentence that makes me scratch my head. The latest: The list of required items included a white man’s dress shirt, black pants, and a red bow tie. This particular one tickled my funny bone. How does one distinguish between a white man’s dress shirt and one worn by a man of another color? For total clarity, the author could reword it thusly: ... a man’s white dress shirt ... . Here’s another: Being an old junker, I was able to purchase the car for nearly nothing. Oh my! People don’t generally admit to being in that condition, but if I could get a car for nearly nothing, there’s no telling what condition I might claim to be in. Let’s try again: Since it was an old junker, I was able to purchase the car for nearly nothing. The car was an old junker that cost me nearly nothing. I was able to purchase the old junker for a song. One more example: I invited to the seminar led by Rick Warren those reps in the company distinguished by their low volume to get them mot...

In the last post I mentioned the importance of making lists of story ideas as a sign of respect for your muse. I mentioned that a few words will do. As I looked at my current list of blog ideas, I decided to share it to give you an idea of how these lists can work. Take a look: Death Comes to the Archbishop , Willa Cather — well-turned phrases Grandkids, Camp RYLA. perception —> memory Power of “when” — Zippy . Repetition/attribution Awkward sentence examples “I'd know who wrote it ...” Powerful stories take courage to tell — Jane’s grandson Share blog item list Respect — for self and others. How learned? Curly quotes and stuff like that Story organization — build on bones How readers think The order of items is random. As you can see, I’m writing about a random item first. On any given day, I may write something from this list, or I may be inspired to write something else before I get to any or all of these items. In fact, I may never get to some of them at all. The important ...

Earlier this month I posted two messages ( Some Pictures are Best Painted with Words , and Transition Generation ) about my trip last month across western Texas along I-10. Those posts were transcriptions from pages of the yellow pad I carried along. I did little editing — they gushed forth fully formed. Following is the third and last of the inspirations I had that day: Few outside Texas would ever think to seek creative inspiration in West Texas. I certainly wouldn't. Today, after the blessing of spring rains, this basically barren landscape is as green as it ever gets, but it still looks eerily god-forsaken. Obviously this is not so. As I look with my heart, I see there is something ethereal and mystical about this place. Blog ideas are gushing forth at fire hose velocity. Perhaps Sarabelle , my lifestory writing muse, headquarters here. I know better than to spurn Sarabelle's offering, and I know better than to leave home without paper and pencil. Right now, if I were a poe...