Stories To Tell

The came to Door County from Illinois and Iowa, from Minnesota and Wisconsin.  They came to The Clearing, a residential learning center near Ellison Bay.  They came to write stories.  Their own stories, as they participated in my “Writing From Your Life” workshop held last week.

They wrote of early childhood fun.  They wrote about tragedy—death in the family. They wrote hilariously funny stories.  They wrote about little things important in their lives—a rocking chair passed on from generation to generation, a mother’s coffee cup filled with memories, a favorite pair of boots.

They wrote six-word stories patterned after Ernest Hemingway’s six-word story: “For sale.  Baby shoes.  Never Worn.”

They laughed.  They cried.  They shared and critiqued each other’s work.  And they wrote and wrote some more.  Wonderful stories.  Stories from the heart.  Stories from the past with meaning for today.

CHECK THIS OUT: For a guide to writing your own story, see my book RURAL WIT AND WISDOM (Fulcrum Press, 2012).  I include a long chapter on writing personal stories with many tips to help you get started.

 THE OLD TIMER SAYS: When we forget our stories, we forget who we are.

CHECK THIS OUT:  You can preorder my new novel, THE TAMARACK RIVER GHOST (fifth in my Ames County Series) from Amazon.com.  See press kit at this link for information about the book: http://uwpress.wisc.edu/Presskits/Apps_RiverGhost.html

UPCOMING EVENTS:

September 7-8, Southwest Wisconsin Prairie Festival, Folklore Village, 3210 Co. Hwy. BB, Dodgeville, WI. I’m giving keynote talk, Saturday, Sept. 8, 1:00 p.m. “People and the Prairie.”

October 13, 9-4.  The Clearing.  Writing Workshop: Writing From Your Life.