Writing is easy—or not!

 

“Writing is easy,” wrote Mark Twain. “All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”

 

Ha! If only it could be that easy!

 

What has been your experience with writing?

 

Some people find writing stress-free at first, but later it becomes a struggle. It can be discouraging. And even mysterious.

 

Some even wonder whether it’s worth finishing.

 

Don’t let that happen to you!

 

Mick Silva at Higher Purpose Writers offers this perspective:

 

“Every writer who’s finished

has taken the axe into the woods

and carved out their path

where there seemed to be none before.

They broke through their blocked way

swinging word after word after word.”

 

So persevere—word after word after word! Your first draft won’t be ready to publish but you’ll definitely be one step closer.

 

Most people who have finished writing their stories and placed them in others’ hands had to work to:

• learn the writing craft,
• apply what they learned,
• join good writing groups,
• revise their manuscripts,
• edit them,
• and refuse to give up, often year after year.

 

Such authors did not likely succeed because they were gifted writers. Getting that story in print was not a breeze.

 

They were always trying. Always growing, always working.

 

You can do this.

 

Envision where you want your memoir to be six months from now, 

and then twelve months from now.

 

Focus. Commit. Persevere. Be steadfast, unwavering.

 

Remember:

 

One story can change a life.

 

Who needs to read yours?

 

Tuesday Tidbit: A prayer for you as you write your memoir

 

Here’s a special prayer for you, the writer of your memoir:

 

“Sovereign Father . . . 

I lift up my voice in confessing total dependence on You. 

I believe that You are the author of my life 

and destiny. 

I know that the work You began 

when you called me to follow You 

will continue to develop to fruition. 

Help me move forward in keeping with Your vision. . . .

 

Think Your thoughts through me, 

speak Your truth through my words, 

and enable Your best for others 

through what You lead me to do.” 

(Lloyd John Ogilvie, Quiet Moments with God)

 

I love that. Don’t you? I especially cherish this thought: “Enable Your best for others through what You lead me to do.”

 

What a privilege God has given us to serve Him and to bless others through our stories!

 

There you have it, a little Tuesday Tidbit.

This is so fun: “Where are you from?”

 

Today I’m delighted to share with you one of my most favorite writing projects ever.

 

I have a hunch you’ll love it, too. It’s called Where I’m From.

 

Based on a piece by George Ella Lyon, you can take a jaunt—a pleasant meander, a treasure hunt—that leads you to “the sources of your unique you-ness that you’d never considered before,” according to her old website.

 

George Ella Lyon’s Where I’m From begins this way:

 

‘I am from clothespins,

From Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.

I am from the dirt under the back porch.

(Black, glistening,

it tasted like beets.)

I am from the forsythia bush

the Dutch elm

whose long-gone limbs I remember

as if they were my own. . . .”

 

(Click here to read more of her piece and how she got started with this adventure.)

 

Here is an excerpt from the “Where I’m From” essay Ann Kroeker wrote:

 

“I am from the persimmon tree, ripe fruit dropping, splitting, squishing soft into the grassy lawn below. I am from sweet-spring lilac and lily-of-the-valley. . . . I am from soybean and corn fields, hay and straw, and Black Angus cattle. . . .” (Click here to read more of Ann’s essay.)

 

My own attempt to write of where I’m from has been great fun. And it’s many pages long!

 

Where are you from?

 

Your own Where I’m From essay

is valuable material for your memoir.

It adds details and richness and pizzazz

and personality to your stories.

 

Lyon’s template (which I can no longer find online) suggests you write something like the following:

 

I am from ______ (specific, ordinary item), from _____ (product name) and _____.

 

I am from the _____ (home description . . . adjective, adjective, sensory detail).

 

I am from the _____ (plant, flower, natural item).

 

I am from _____ (family tradition) and _____ (family trait), from _____ (name of family member).

 

I am from _____ (something you were told as a child).

 

I am from the ________________ (description of family tendency) and ____________ (another one).

 

I am from _____ (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.

 

I’m from ___________ (place of birth and family ancestry), and ___________ (two food items representing your family).

 

From the ___________ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the ______________ (another detail), and the ______________ (another detail about another family member).

 

I am from _____________ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).

 

Lyon’s template is a good place to start—but think of it as a jumping-off spot. Feel free to soar way beyond it. Branch out in new directions.

 

For example, consider including:

 

song lyrics, poems, Bible verses,

sounds, sights, smells, tastes, textures,

popular hobbies and pastimes,

hairstyles, shoe styles, and fashion trends.

 

What information, even everyday stuff, might your kids, grandkids, and great-grands never guess about you?

 

A word of caution:

Writing “Where I’m From”

can be addictive.

Keep a pen and paper on your nightstand.

 

Personal news: I’m a great-grandmother!

 

Our oldest grandchild just gave birth to little T.T., making my husband and me great-grandparents! His birth has been a joyous event for this big family. We’re all celebrating.

 

And once again I am convinced that we—you and I—must share our stories with our families.

 

Tell me: Did you know your great-grandparents? Mine died before I was born.

 

If you never knew your great-grandparents, perhaps, like me, you have many questions—about their personalities, talents, experiences, values.

 

I’m also very curious: Am I shy like one of them? Am I afraid of something that one of them also feared? Is my dry sense of humor like theirs? Do I look like one of them, speak like one of them, think, love, or giggle like one of them? Do I instinctively treasure something one of them also treasured?

 

Maybe, like me, you wonder: If they’d have known me, would they have loved me? Would we have enjoyed each other? What activities would we have done together? What would they have taught me?

 

Did they love and serve God? If so, how did that impact the ways they chose to live?

 

What stories about themselves and their ancestors would they have told me? What adventures did they have, what challenges, what heartaches? What failures, what successes? What obstacles did they overcome?

 

And this is so important: If I had known their stories, what lessons would they have taught me?

• How would I have lived my life differently?
• Would I have avoided certain mistakes?
• Thought differently?
• Sought different goals?
• Chosen a different profession?
• Been a kinder person?
• A better spouse?
• Parented my children differently?
• Had a stronger faith and commitment to God?

There’s a reason Jesus said, “Go, tell your family everything God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). Write your stories for your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. It’s the most important job in the world. (Be sure to click on that link.)

 

Include humor, mystery, romance, pets, childhood escapades, teenage pranks, athletic competitions, parenthood, hard work—the list could go on and on.

 

Always examine each account, connect the dots,

and explain what God was doing through them all,

often behind the scenes.

 

If you’re about my age, you realize you might not live on this earth much longer.

 

“We will all die one day. That is one of the few things we can be sure of,” Henri Nouwen wrote.

 

“But will we die well? That is less certain,” Nouwen continued.

 

“Dying well means . . . making our lives fruitful for those we leave behind. The big question . . . is . . . ‘How can I prepare myself for my death so that my life can continue to bear fruit in the generations that will follow me?’ . . . .

 

“Dying can become our greatest gift if we prepare ourselves to die well.” (Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey)

 

Prepare yourself for your death

by writing your stories.

 

Teach your kids, grandkids, and great-grands about keeping a commitment, working hard, being kind and honest. 

Teach them about God.

 

Inspire them to handle tragedies with tenacity and faith.

 

Help them choose courage over fear, generosity over stinginess, integrity over cheating, compassion over meanness, thankfulness over ingratitude, and so much more.  

 

 “The world’s greatest wisdom passes through stories,” writes Kathy Edens.

 

Take in what Kathy says:

The world’s greatest wisdom

can flow through your stories!