I was listening to an audiobook recently, and the author talked about a social media phenomenon from a few years ago calling for people to post "25 Things You Don't Know About Me." Well, I'm a sucker for a good list, so here we go!
1. I was born in Naples, Florida, which has formed me into a total beach snob.
2. I hate beach sand. Hate it.
3. I once ate a delicious meal in the country of Liechtenstein.
4. I've had a near-death experience.
5. I have seen over fifty bands/singers in concert (including U2 3x, Britney 3x, The Killers 2x). I love live music!
6. My favorite movie is Beasts of the Southern Wild, but I'm also a sucker for Roman Holiday.
7. If I could eat as much of one food as I wanted with no consequences, it would be chocolate cake with chocolate icing.
8. I have a caffeine intolerance. My body hates it. I love it. Chocolate has caffeine in it.
9. I have traveled to nine countries and sixteen states.
10. I would move to England tomorrow.
11. My personal library has 773 books in it (not including Special Collections).
12. I keep my special books in a china cabinet.
13. I've been to Disney World too many times to count, and my favorite ride is The Haunted Mansion. Hands down.
14. When I left home for college, I had a complete emotional breakdown and begged to come home. Now I work there.
15. I am an only child.
16. I'm an introvert (no one believes this, but I promise you, it's true).
17. I love to be on stage. My favorite of all of the roles I've played is Adam in The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr: Abridged.
18. When I grow up, I want to be like Michelle Obama, then RBG.
19. When I was a kid, I fished with a cane pole on a homemade raft and used chicken livers as bait. (I grew up on a four hundred acre farm.)
20. I'm fabulous with power tools.
21. I've dealt with anxiety as long as I can remember, but I only realized it senior year of college. If you see it in someone you love, help them recognize it.
22. I have a record of chasing famous people down the street to get their autograph. #noshame
23. My hair has been brunette, orange, pink, and blonde--but my natural color is light brown and I have a birth mark in my hair--a white streak!
24. The book I've read more times than any other is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
25. I once dressed up as Paula Abdul for my school's "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up" day.
I thought I should put something really profound, but I'll save that for another list. Let me know if I should elaborate on any of these facts...I'm a storyteller, after all!
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Oooooooooooooooo......Ghostwriting
Some of you may recall that I've taken on a ghostwriting project. One of my friends has a remarkable personal story, one of those that you listen to and say, "That sounds like a novel!" I am honored that she asked me to help her put her story on paper.
But ghostwriting is hard. When I'm working on a novel, it flows. I listen to the voices tell me their stories, and I let it pour onto the page (or rather, click click onto the page). I recently had someone say to me, "I don't put much stock in it when writers say they didn't know what the character was going to say or where the story was going to go. That's just, whatever." Spoken like a non-writer. I don't know where it's going most of the time. So much of writing is listening.
But ghostwriting is different. The story doesn't come from within me. I listen to voices, but they're informed by the stories I've been given. I don't cultivate the voices; they've already spoken.
Here's the process we're working through. My friend is writing out her story in a series of journals which I am transcribing and forming into a memoir. We've sat for hours looking at pictures and talking about the people, places, and events she's written about. When I sit down to write, I try to read her notes in her voice, and then keep that voice in the words I put to the page. I write, imagining what she might have felt, posting questions in the margins asking for the colors of clothes, the sights, smells, thoughts. I put commentary into the "characters'" minds and make a note to ask if that's a reasonable assumption.
This is hard work.
And yet I love it. I am a storyteller. I've written on this blog about the power of stories, the necessity of stories. So using my words to give voice to someone's authentic story? I'm all in.
I'll say it again. We need stories now. We need your stories. Pick up a pen. And if you just can't craft it, find someone who can. Everyone's life has value and meaning, and everyone's life is worth sharing, if you're up for it. Tell someone your story. Validate it. Affirm it in all its messiness. Speak it.
Your story matters.
But ghostwriting is hard. When I'm working on a novel, it flows. I listen to the voices tell me their stories, and I let it pour onto the page (or rather, click click onto the page). I recently had someone say to me, "I don't put much stock in it when writers say they didn't know what the character was going to say or where the story was going to go. That's just, whatever." Spoken like a non-writer. I don't know where it's going most of the time. So much of writing is listening.
But ghostwriting is different. The story doesn't come from within me. I listen to voices, but they're informed by the stories I've been given. I don't cultivate the voices; they've already spoken.
Here's the process we're working through. My friend is writing out her story in a series of journals which I am transcribing and forming into a memoir. We've sat for hours looking at pictures and talking about the people, places, and events she's written about. When I sit down to write, I try to read her notes in her voice, and then keep that voice in the words I put to the page. I write, imagining what she might have felt, posting questions in the margins asking for the colors of clothes, the sights, smells, thoughts. I put commentary into the "characters'" minds and make a note to ask if that's a reasonable assumption.
This is hard work.
And yet I love it. I am a storyteller. I've written on this blog about the power of stories, the necessity of stories. So using my words to give voice to someone's authentic story? I'm all in.
I'll say it again. We need stories now. We need your stories. Pick up a pen. And if you just can't craft it, find someone who can. Everyone's life has value and meaning, and everyone's life is worth sharing, if you're up for it. Tell someone your story. Validate it. Affirm it in all its messiness. Speak it.
Your story matters.
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