LifeWriters Talk About LifeWriting

Becca Taylor has been a Story Circle Member for a year and has thrown herself into her new passion for telling her life story. Born in Texas and raised in New Mexico, Becca trained as a Technical Communicator and now lives and works in Houston, Tex. Through her work, she has learned to use the very newest technologies to tell her story. And the Journal interviewed Becca by email to find out more about her interests and the many possibilities she sees in new technology.

Story Circle Journal: In your work you're obviously very involved in using technology to convey information. Please tell us about some of the technologies that you use.

Becca Taylor: I began my career as a technical writer and web designer, so computer technology was integral to my everyday job. These days, I use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint more than anything else, so that has helped me become an expert Microsoft Office user.

When you use the computer day in and day out, it's hard to keep it from spilling over into your personal life, too. As a professional communicator, technologies like blogs and podcasts pique my interest. In particular, the internet has given us so many new ways to communicate—over the last decade the world has become smaller and more accessible. I think they're all a natural fit.

SCJ: You've just made SCN's first podcast of our members' stories. Can you tell us what a podcast is? How can members listen to the stories in your podcast?

BT: A podcast is basically a multimedia (audio or video) file that is posted to the internet for wide distribution. With podcast catchers, you can create subscriptions so you know when new episodes of your favorite podcasts have been released. Perhaps the best known podcast catcher is iTunes, but there are many tools out there. You can subscribe to the SCN podcast, or you can just listen to it from our podcast web site (scn.libsyn.com).

SCJ: How were you were able to record these two writers reading their work and incorporate this into a podcast, when you are all in different cities?

BT: I have to admit that my interest in starting a podcast began with purchasing my Apple Macintosh computer. The Mac comes with so many cool tools, I just had to try them out. So I used my Mac tools (GarageBand) to record my voice. To record the storytellers, there are a few options. There's an internet program called Skype. It's an instant messaging tool that allows you to do voice chats and even place internet phone calls. So, for the November episode, I called Joyce on my computer for our interview. The technology is so fun to play with! I also had two storytellers record their stories on their own computers and email the files to me. The options are almost endless with the technology that's available today.

SCJ: What are your plans for the future for these podcasts?

BT: For now, I'm sticking with the same format: an SCN member reading their story, a short editorial from me, and several songs that I hope inspire listeners to find one of their own stories. As much as possible, I'll be interviewing SCN members and other lifewriters. In the future, I'd love to get contributions from other SCN members. For example, our SCN e-newsletter asks readers to send in postcards. I'd love to have an SCN correspondent or reporter who does their own segment. Ultimately, my goal is to make this a community effort.

SCJ: What other technologies do you use to reach an audience with your own writing?

BT: I have my own personal blog, but that's mostly a product of my own laziness. It allows me to share little snippets of my life with my friends and family. Now I don't have to remember to email them when I have a story to share—I just post it to my blog! Several years ago, I lost contact with my college roommate. Last fall, we reconnected and she told me that she felt like she never lost touch with me because she always checked my blog to see what was going on in my life. Hearing that from her convinced me that I need to keep that blog going.

SCJ: Do you have aspirations for your own writing and storytelling?

BT: For now I just want to find a rhythm that allows me to write regularly! Joining SCN has given me the impetus to find a routine that includes at least a little bit of writing everyday, whether that be in my blog, my journal, an email to friends, or the SCN podcast. I'm a romance novel junkie, so someday I'd love to pen a novel (or six or twenty) that others would enjoy reading.

SCJ: Most of our members use computers but still have a lot we can learn. What are the three most useful things that you think all lifewriters need to know how to do on their computer (after using email and a word processing program)?

BT: Wow, I have to limit it to just three? These days, I'd say the first thing any writer needs is a backup system. Don't lose those precious stories! Secondly, learn how to make the most of your word processing program. There are features like reviewing tools and styles that make writing so much easier, but many writers I encounter don't know about them. Lastly, since I'm limited to three, explore the writing of others using tools like RSS readers (also called news aggregators) that allow you to subscribe to blogs and newsfeeds. For example, I've set up my RSS reader so I know when any SCN blog has been updated (using the list of blogs provided on our web site, www.storycircle.org/blogs.shtml).

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication—it's simply a way for content providers to send headlines and stories to their readers, without the reader having to come look for it. You can read more about RSS and readers/aggregators at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_aggregator. I use the tools built directly into my Mac web browser (called Safari), but I've also used My Yahoo!, which I thought was easy to use.

SCJ: What advice would you give to a lifewriter who wants to get even more out of her computer and out of the internet to tell her story?

BT: Move beyond the written word in your lifewriting. Buy a scanner and scan photos to put in your stories. Record your own voice telling some stories. Better yet, record the stories of your relatives. As a genealogist who loves telling life stories, I am saddened by how many stories of my family have been lost because I didn't take the time to document them. I do think that audio will become much more prevalent.

SCJ: What are your interests (besides writing, blogging etc.)?

BT: Oh, too many to be healthy, I'm sure. Reading (I'm a voracious reader), scrapbooking, photography, genealogy, gardening, soapmaking, crocheting, card making, crossstitching, web design, and now sewing. Too bad I'm not into housekeeping, because my house could really use it.

SCJ: Who have been your biggest inspirations recently and whose books do you like to read?

BT: The book that stands out most recently is Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd. It's her memoir of her own spiritual journey. Being on a journey of my own, it really resonated with me and showed me that every evolution worth attaining is not immediate. It truly is a journey. So I've been reading a lot of inspirational and philosophical books lately. And, of course, being a romance novel junkie, I keep up with my share of happily-ever-afters. The romance novelists I like to read are Nora Roberts, Susan Wiggs, Debbie Macomber, and several others. I also have really enjoyed a relatively new line by Harlequin called "Next." It's a line of books about women who have lived a lifetime but find themselves in a transition that leads to a whole new chapter in their lives.

—Email interview conducted and edited by Jane Ross

Last updated: 11/28/06