What Exactly Is Life Story, Anyway?

Although the name itself appears self-explanatory (the story of one’s life), the term “life story” nevertheless evokes many questions from individuals who attend my life story presentations.

For example, what exactly does a life story include? Should you incorporate every last detail of your life, from your birth to the present day? How does life story differ from memoir…or is it the same thing? Where does autobiography fit in?

If you’re reading this article, then you probably have similar questions. Let’s break it down to discover the differences.Read More

7 Ways Pumpkin Carving Is Like Writing a Book

7 Ways Pumpkin Carving Is Like Writing a Book – Every autumn, I envision the cute costumes I could whip up in a jiffy without breaking the bank. The striking family photo taken of us in our coordinating outfits in the perfect pumpkin patch. And of course, displaying two award-worthy carved pumpkins (one for each child) at the entrance to our home.

Then I awake from my daydream.

The sad fact is that I’m not creative and I‘m certainly not crafty. I can’t sew on a button, let alone create an entire outfit, so I end up spending a small fortune on overpriced store-bought costumes that won’t fit again next year.

My family, apparently, cannot color coordinate nor smile simultaneously for a group photo no matter how many times we try in the fake farm setting next to the main road in the center of town.

And when it comes to carving pumpkins, well, let’s just say that it’s an adventure in humility.

“Pick something simple,” I instructed my youngest son.

Away to the Internet he went and a few minutes later, he happily supplied me with a printed image of Nintendo’s character, Kirby.

How hard can it be? I thought. It’s just a circular blob with eyes.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s do it.”

From that moment forward, the steps involved in carving that pumpkin reminded me of the steps we authors have to go through every time we write a book.Read More

Piecing Together the Content Puzzle: How to Write Your Nonfiction Book

Writing a book is similar to completing a puzzle. I love puzzles, and growing up, I believed everyone else did, too. After all, everyone in my family looked forward to our annual holiday gatherings, where we often caught up on family news while piecing together a puzzle in the sitting room. But I have since come to realize that many people find puzzles boring, overwhelming or downright frustrating.

The same is true when piecing together the content of a book. I’ve written several books, and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out which piece of information belongs where. But what comes naturally to me, doesn’t necessarily come easily to others.

This was revealed to me recently in a survey I conducted among my subscribers. I assumed that they were struggling with the writing process itself. As it turned out, their biggest challenge was organizing their existing written content.

So, to help those of you who have books stagnating on your desktop because you’re bored or overwhelmed with the process of organizing your content, I’ve put together the following tips:Read More

What My Dinner Fiasco Taught Me about Writing

The other night I decided to make something different for dinner. My family had drifted into a summer rut of eating whatever was quickest and most convenient, not necessarily what was actually tasty or healthy. So, I determined to make something from scratch.

After searching through some recipes (yes, I actually looked through the old recipe box, not online), I found two that I thought would fit the bill. One was for the main meat course and the other for a side dish. Both sounded delicious and, most importantly, included ingredients I knew my family members, for the most part, would enjoy. Oh, one or two would prefer the meat over the side dish and vice versa, but at least everyone would appreciate the extra effort of a quality meal.

Or so I thought.

The meat that I thought everyone would love was not a hit with the kids. My fourteen-year-old suffered through it and ate it because he was really hungry (when isn’t he hungry these days?) but my nine-year old wouldn’t touch it.

As for the side dish, let’s just say it got a little overbaked. Some of the noodles became quite crispy, resulting in the unexpected and disturbing sound of crunch, crunch, crunch at intervals around the table.

And to top it all off, the brownies I made for dessert were flat and oily because I forgot to add an egg to the batter. That remains our little secret. My family never asked why the brownies didn’t look – or taste – like regular brownies (maybe they were afraid to ask), so I never shared my faux pas with them.

Needless to say, it was not a dinner I would have wanted to serve a guest.Read More

A Writer’s Summer Quandary (and 5 things you can do about it)

Ah, the so-called “lazy days” of summer. I love summertime, especially here along the coast. The beach beckons, the days lengthen and there’s an aura of fun and relaxation.

However, summer also usually means that school is out of session. Thus, for those of us writers with children (or grandchildren) in our homes 24/7, it also means that our established writing routines tend to disappear between June and August.

As an author and book coach, it’s a challenge for me to work at full capacity in the summer. It’s also difficult to not feel a bit guilty no matter what I do. If I spend time working, I’m spending time away from my kids. If I spend time with my kids, I’m not working my business to bring in necessary income.

So I strive to seek balance.Read More

Genealogy & Life Story: An Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Michelle Ule

Genealogy research is distinctly different from life story writing, but genealogists often unearth interesting facts that can shed new light on their own life experiences. I recently interviewed Michelle Ule, a New York Times bestselling author and speaker, who writes inspirational and historical fiction and is currently finalizing the biography Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman behind the World’s Bestselling Devotional, which can be preordered now. She is also a longtime genealogist who self-published a family biography titled Pioneer Stock and is currently editing the life story of her grandfather. I think you’ll find her genealogy tips and surprise findings quite interesting. Prefer to listen to the interview? Click here to access the recording.

Dalene [D]: Welcome, Michelle, and thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.

Michelle[M]: I’m happy to chat with you, Dalene.

D: So with my audience being primarily life story and even family history authors, I thought I’d start out by asking why you think family history and life story writing is important.

M: That’s actually where I began. In my case, the grandfather biography I’m updating was written twenty-seven years ago to celebrate my grandfather’s 100th birthday.

D: Oh, wow!

M: And my end of the celebration was to write his history so I interviewed my aunts, my uncles, my cousins. I had a whole lot of material. I did auxiliary reading to put his life in context. He was an immigrant from Sicily prior to WWI and our family got our citizenship as a result of his service in the Army during WWI. Read More