I’ve always liked the idea of memoirs, going into someone else’s life, going through someone else’s day and getting out of your own head. – Isabel Gillies
The decision to start this BLOG came from a desire to preserve stories. To capture those bits of memory that get lost as generations pass and years go by. It did not matter if anyone else thought these stories mattered or if they were interesting to anyone else.
The exercise of writing, of preserving what pricked my imagination is enough and serves as my “note cards” for future work. However, putting a name to my unique inner legacy only emerged recently.
Unique Inner Legacy – Mentors
I follow a couple of major online schools. One, as a member of Platform University and the other Storybrand. There is a lot of wisdom, expertise, and information in these forums and I enjoy the interaction. I learn a lot and am exposed to ideas, thoughts, and people I would have otherwise overlooked.
Platform University is about building an online space, a platform, from which a message can be spoken. One of its lynch pins is finding your “niche”, the narrower the better, and building a tribe to serve, mentor, and share your message with. Storybrand serves to ensure that message is clear and that the persons in your tribe are the heroes of the story. It all makes sense, but…
Unique Inner Legacy – Memoire
I have been reading and working through, for some months, a book, “Writing The Sacred Journey” by Elizabeth J. Andrew. It was suggested during a conversation with a friend who teaches writing and composition. She asked what I was up to and I shared that I had begun a blog but was struggling to implement some of the concepts from these two online “mentors”. As we talked, she said it sounded like the genre I was writing fell into the Memoir category. The moment she said it, I knew it was right.
It had never occurred to me to give what I wrote this name. Non-fiction was a far as I had gotten. I simply enjoyed documenting stories, vignettes that would otherwise go unwritten. It made sense, as my father did this kind of thing in his “man of few words” approach only could.
I compiled his writings some years ago and self-published them so family and friends could have access to his musings. Capturing these thoughts on his behalf was fulfilling. Yet, the satisfaction went beyond that. More than a memorial for Dad, it awoke an awareness within not previously recognized.Unique Inner Legacy – A Different Hero
Here’s the rub: in the case of Platform or Storybrand, the reader or customer is the hero. Someone for whom you help solve a problem through a product or service. You then serve as the guide to a solution.
In memoir writing according to Ms. Andrew, the STORY is the hero, not the reader, tribe member, mentee, or customer. This throws the whole “the way online” stuff works out of kilter. I have TRIED to make you the hero so that I can guide you somewhere, but it does not fit. In this BLOG you, come sit alongside me and let the story take center stage.
Giving Lost Stories A Voice – Giving Found Objects Fresh Form And Purpose
So, I write memoir, based on the four stones from life that form THE STONEBRIDGE for me:
- Faith
- Flight
- Family
- Foundations
These are backstories of experiences within these four areas and of the upcycled products on offer. Yes, the latter, too, is a kind of memoir. It is the story of that object’s purpose before and after. Many times the object flows from the Foundations stone, of the renovation of our historic homes.
Unique Inner Legacy – A Trinity
In this kind of writing, where the story is the hero does three things:
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It uncovers, probes, and honors what is sacred in the story
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writing is a means to spiritual growth
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the end product makes the story accessible to others
It is a triune spirit, soul, and body expression which can feel quite vulnerable, yet wholesome. Yes, there are, “How to’s” and “Reasons for”, tied into the writing, that, frankly have more to do with SEO parameters for headlines and googling than core substance. (Oh, the things we dumb down for the internet!). Yet, at its core, in the place of honor, is the story.
I will continue to follow the two schools. They know their stuff and I learn things. At the same time, I will stay true to the thing that fuels the daily sitting down and writing I do. Perhaps they will converge at some future point.
As said before, you are invited to come along, sit with me and enjoy interacting with the hero: The story at hand.
What are the core stones or pillars in your story? How are they significant?
Please share in the comment section and don’t forget to subscribe. The next story hero is on its way!