Don’t tell me you don’t have a family story. I will pry one out of you in the blink of an eye! We all have a family and a personal set of stories, they are part of what makes us who we are. That family story may not be the 1950’s family image, family to you may be a gang of street friends who were there when you needed them. Family may be the people in your military unit. A family is a loose term for the people we are connected to. Some of the best relatives are not related!
Maybe your childhood included one of the cheek pinching Grandma’s with the strong cologne. Was your Grandfather the guy who could fix anything? Which Aunt spoiled you just a bit and you could see it irked your mother? This is the way to dig up a family story. Have you got one yet?
Now that you have a story what next?
- Dress the story
How did the character dress? If you were too little to remember, does someone have a photo? If not then how about a internet search for fashions from those years. I love Pinterest for fashion based
searches.
2. What was the conflict in the story?
Was it your Mom bothered that the Aunt bought you something more expensive than she did? Did that Grandfather hook you up with a not so safe mode of transport? Did your gang of friends dare you
into a stupid stunt?
3. Resolution
Not all stories fall into the “Happily Ever After” category, it’s OK! Even if an event will happen again, you can always say, “I’m wiser, until next time” Find a way to close your story, Don’t leave the
listener hanging.
Stupid Stunt: There are a lot of those stories, and I know a few. This post has prompted me to think of a story my Dad told. On Halloween night, one year of his youth, my Dad and his gang of friends stole the Mayors outhouse and put it in the middle of the town green. Now that will be a fun story to construct.
Did you come up with a story? Tell me a bit in the comments.
My blog is dedicated to family and historical family stories, If you would like to attend a workshop ( in Connecticut) I am hosting my workshop “My Roots are Showing; Collecting and Telling Family Stories” March 20, 2016 1-5 the afternoon will be workshop followed by open mic here is the Facebook Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/942273462520816/ or for more info email me at carolyn@carolynstearnsstoryteller.com
Here are links to other blogs on family stories:
https://www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.com/5-ways-to-preserve-family-stories/
https://www.carolynstearnsstoryteller.com/what-does-your-family-sound-like/
