Last week I put out a call for those interested in writing their memoirs. Beginning with “It was a dark and stormy night” as Snoopy did in the Peanuts cartoon series is NOT the way to go. It is too easy to get bogged down and lose interest in the project. Plus it might be repetitious and boring. Writing in episodes is the way. Each story of about five hundred words would be about one situation. In writing the story of your life, you are painting scenes, one story at a time. This is a proven method, tested with everyday adults writing about their lives.

The key word is “episodes.” These are stories we need to single out and develop, one at a time. For our purpose, “memoir” refers to the book as a whole. The plural, “memoirs” refers to its contents. By focusing on one subject at a time, you can bring forth more about you and your family on that subject. Breaking your history down into parts makes it easier for a member of your family to read.

Your writing has to be aimed. Your objective should be to inform, enlighten and entertain your audience (your family) as you narrate the high points of your family's lives. Helen Keller at the onset of her autobiography, The Story of My Life, said, “In order not to be tedious, I shall try to present in a series of sketches only the episodes that seem to me to be the most interesting and important.” What wonderful advice for all of us!

There is an ancient saying that the beginning is half the deed. Before that happens, we need three to six participants in the class. One has shown interest so far. I have a number of hand-outs to sharpen your skills. We did a class like this in Halls and it worked out well.

1. Did you have an ancestor in the Civil War? On which side?
2. What about World War l , World War ll, Vietnam or the Iraq Conflict?
3. Can you recall a problem you faced in your life and how you solved it?
4. Was there some special person in your life that influenced or befriended you?
5. Did your granddaddy make “shine”?

I have a number of writing pointers to help you get started. In class, we will each read the story we prepared for that class. Then we will help each other improve our stories by doing such things as tightening up the sentences and correcting punctuation. It would not be done to criticize, but to help each other. You wouldn't need a story for the first class. There are things to do before you begin to write.

You will find that the stories told by your classmates will help you recall episodes in your family that your descendants would never know if you hadn't written them down. With so much interest in genealogy these days, your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren would want to know those stories. The only cost for the class is your time and writing materials. Please respond soon.