Write what should not be forgotten. – Isabel Allende
As a determined creative, this BLOG began with a simple premise: to capture story in four themes that have occurred over the 65 plus years of my life: Family, Foundations, Flight, and Faith, and share them on this platform.
Giving Lost Stories A Voice…is my tagline. I just want to write stories that otherwise will be lost. Over the past year, that desire has expanded into helping others do the same. Yet, I find myself bogged down.
A Determined Creative – I Just Want To Write!
Here is where my rant begins. Please indulge me for a few paragraphs so I can get this off my chest and move on. You see, writing and then sharing that content on this medium requires two broad skill sets:
- First, the discipline of setting aside time to put words in some kind of order to communicate a story,
- Second, dealing with the “backside” of a website and all the tech that goes with that.
The former is a right-brain creative activity. I have grown to enjoy this part, once the research and outline are in place, filling in the details takes me to the place I am recreating. It is refreshing, even nourishing. Even when recalling difficult situations, there is a cleansing that happens as I put the words to “paper”.
The latter is a total drain to me. A left-brain activity, which, as a former air traffic controller, I am quite adept at, but in this context is a distraction to a determined creative:
- plug-ins to keep updated when I just want to write!
- RSS feeds, themes to tweak, and links to maintain when I just want to write!
- Images to sort for ease of access – (yeah right…..)
- Headlines to optimize for SEO – huh?
When all this determined creative wants to do is write!
Two Personal Examples
Yet, if all I do is write, my objective of “Giving Lost Stories A Voice” would not be achieved. Writing the story is, of course, key to this objective, but giving it a voice means it must have an audience.
I was given a gift by my father when he died: A blue sachel filled with his writings. It contained hundreds of pages of letters, prose, poetry, and musings, written over several decades.
These writings had a limited audience since he shared them sparingly. After he passed, I compiled these writings and made them available first to immediate family, then, on a wider scale, in a self-published book.
Another gift to which I steward is “the Rightmeier Trunk“. Filled with photos and mementos of my maternal grandfather’s family, the items in this trunk raise more questions than provide answers. Stories upon stories, yet to be written, reside in this trunk. As a determined creative, I plan to rescue them, at least in part.
I Just Want To Write!
Bloggers who successfully monetize are able to hire out much of the backside work. Alas, I am not (yet) among those. So for now, I get to write and do the rest that goes with it. Funny, writing down this rant lifts the burden a bit. The load remains but having you share it helps somehow. Thank you!
Are You A Determined Creative?
If so, here are links to posts that may help:
A Simple Three-Step Process To Writing That Special Story
Your Story Emerging As A Powerful Heirloom
Another resource, “Give Your Story A Voice” is available for purchase. Email me at nhcullen@cfaith.com for information on how to order.
Need some ideas to get started – download the FREE PDF below – FIve Legacy Stories
Let’s just write!
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