Making Stories out of Bits and Pieces
When we're writing about our lives, the secret is writing many short
pieces, or vignettes, rather than trying to write one long story.
There are several good reasons for this. For one thing, our memories work
this way: we remember vivid flashes of experience, rather than long sequences.
For another, the idea of writing long chapters or even a whole book can
be almost paralyzing. The "I-can't-do-this" voice pipes up and we give
up the project before we begin.
So instead of thinking about writing one long story that contains all your life's experience, organized sequentially, instead think about writing lots of bits and pieces. Think of these various pieces as short scenes, each with its own plot and setting, with you (of course) as the main character. Try to keep each story to just a few pages--that way, you'll grasp the central concept of the experience easily and convey it readily. When you've written these pages, lay them aside. A few days later, come back to them. Now that they're "cold," you'll be able to see what you might want to add, what you might want to subtract. You'll also see where your story needs a little polish: a new word here, a phrase revision there, or even the shifting of some sentences.
What about sequence? Don't worry about that just now. When you've written a number of these short stories--perhaps five or ten--you'll begin to see how they fit together. That's the time to start thinking about the order in which they should go and what bridges or transitions (if any) you want to build between them.
| If you'd like to see an example of short pieces arranged together in a book, read Love, Loss, and What I Wore, a short (164 pages) but richly evocative book written and illustrated by Ilene Beckerman. Beckerman uses the thematic topic of clothing to tell her life story in a simple but beautifully subtle way. The book is a brilliant example of how to use short vignettes to construct a personal history. |  |
Want more ideas for writing your life? Go to the Story Circle website
and click on LifeStory
Briefs.
--Susan Wittig Albert