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The Story Woman Story Salon Sizzles with Emotion

04/26/2009 By 4 Comments
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Three fabulous firsts... #1:  Last Friday night "The Story WomanTM Story Salon" was launched in Boise, Idaho. It was an overwhelming success in every way. There were fifteen of us ‘ordinary' women who came together in my sister Dana's  living room to listen to true tales, bio-vignettes, that were written by a wide variety of daughters to capture the character of their mothers' from my collection, TellTale Souls: Keeping Spirits Alive One Story at a Time. The evening went beyond my (our) expectations and beyond the meaning of profound in so many ways. I don't know if the following words do it justice, but it was truly: Inspiring Intimate Connecting Emotional Educational Supportive Bonding Passion filled These ‘Wonderful Women' (as I call them - I know, rather a lame name, but they were simply wonderful) won't let it end, nor should they! They plan to continue on this journey of discovery we started on April 17th by meeting once a month to work on their

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Tales from the Doctor’s Office

03/27/2009 By 1 Comment
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Last night I finished reading the book, The Orange Wire Problem and Other Tales from the Doctor's Office, just off the presses, written by Dr. David Watts. His first book of stories, published in 2005, was Bedside Manners; you may have read it. This new book is another delight, a treasure, comprised of vignettes shedding more light on the doctor-patient relationship. Watts is not only a doctor, he's a gifted writer and poet, and his brand of storytelling comes across elegantly on every page of his book. I'm not suggesting you write like he writes. Don't. To take on the style of someone else is the best way to choke your story.  If you attempt to write by imitating the technique and voice of someone else, you will kill the authenticity of your story. Find your unique voice by trusting yourself and the process. To be sure, the stories I've collected for the TellTale Souls' anthology, written by "ordinary" people, are beyond compare. The Orange Wire Problem review I wrote is

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Women Tend & Befriend, Men Fight or Flee

03/19/2009 By 7 Comments
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The Story Woman says, "Don't do it!" IT'S DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH TO PUT YOUR GIRLFRIENDS ON THE BACK BURNER UCLA STUDY ON FRIENDSHIP AMONG WOMEN By Gale Berkowitz A landmark UCLA study suggests friendships between women are special. They shape who we are and who we are yet to be. They soothe our tumultuous inner world, fill the emotional gaps in our marriage, and help us remember who we really are. By the way, they may do even more. Scientists now suspect that hanging out with our friends can actually counteract the kind of stomach-quivering stress most of us experience on a daily basis. A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to stress with a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain friendships with other women. It's a stunning find that has turned five decades of stress research---most of it on men---upside down. "Until this study was published, scientists generally believed that when people experience stress, they trigger a hormonal

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Write Passion and Emotion into Your Story

03/10/2009 By 5 Comments

Since I've received so many questions asking me how to get more passion and emotion into writing, in general, and "Mother Memoir," in particular, I'm hoping the following thoughts will shed more light on the subject. We each see people and actions in a special light - a light stemming uniquely from the very core of each of us.  As a collector of stories, I revel in this light; it is this reflection of ourselves that ignites the radiant glow of the prismatic colors making up the spectrum of our collective souls. The best way to write passion and emotion into your stories is to put yourself in your characters' shoes.  In each particular circumstance, take yourself to that place where the character you're writing about is. With a little practice, you will learn to use your innate powers of imagination to feel what the other person is feeling, so that you will infuse your story with emotional intensity and enthusiastic passion. By envisioning the scenes, you will come up with ideas

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VIEW FROM A CAGE by Colette Hosmer, Sculptor

03/01/2009 By 4 Comments
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From my position on the worn, overstuffed chair, I can see outside the window and through the bars of my second story balcony to a wall of similar Chinese apartments beyond the narrow alleyway.  A neighbor across the way has an identical balcony, only the rusted bars of her confine support a few potted plants and the door to their kitchen is flanked by two red Spring Festival banners with gold letters – another banner is pasted horizontally across the top.  A caged bird flutter-jumps from perch to the top the cage to perch to bottom and back again. The woman of the house is slight, middle aged and gentle looking – neatly bobbed hair frames her round, expressionless face.  Sometimes I see her sweeping the balcony floor or watering her two plants, while the husband watches television at a deafening volume.  A small window reveals images shouting from the screen in 1 to 2 second intervals. It is always on, and he is always sitting in front of it, his presence exposed by clouds of

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Emotion, Passion, Sex Sizzle

02/16/2009 By Leave a Comment
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~Spring sale on Give the Gift of Story guide book~ EMOTION and PASSION are the big buzz words lately. And hasn't SEX been selling since time began? So what's new?   Those three words, emotion, passion, and sex are battered about everywhere I turn from writers' conferences to blogging tips and to all aspects of media and human conversation. I‘m not quite sure why all the buzz at the moment.  It's not as though emotion, passion, and sex in writing or just plain living one's life are new feelings, ideas, or actions, but they have landed front and center once again. The daughters (and now sons) who are writing bio-vignettes for TellTale Souls are doing so through the passion of their souls, and emotion is alive in every sentence they put down.  I you haven't done it, you can still imagine how capturing the essence of your mother's character in a story to keep her spirit alive, as no photograph could ever do, must come from deep within. But you say, "I don't have what

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Be Mine, Valentine

02/12/2009 By Leave a Comment
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             Just a couple days ago something extraordinary ‘happened' to me, that I want to tell you about.       It was heartwarming, so appropriate for Valentine's Day - can't help being a romantic.  I was raised in a wonderful place in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota at a little country store, Kelvin, just 4 miles south of the US-Canadian International Peace Gardens and 9 miles north of Dunseith, pop. 800!  We, kids, were the Dunseith Dragons, "Blue & White Dynamite, Fight Team Fight."  Yes, I'm reminiscing way back to my formative years where  a "man's" handshake was his word, where the work ethic was not asking, "what's in it for me," but rather, "what can I do for you," where the community came together for what we called a ‘building bee' if someone lost a home or barn or store to a fire, where we could wander the town without fear or supervision and swim in the lake without life guards (luckily, no one drowned).  Of course those were

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BEWARE – You Might get Hooked!

02/02/2009 By Leave a Comment

"I'm hooked, in spite of myself." Those words from an editor and a woman, who initially didn't find the idea of "Mother Memoir" to her liking, warmed my soul.  After reading the TellTale Souls (TTS) manuscript and the "How-to" Gift of Story (Gift) guide book, she went on to make many comments, I'll share a few:   I confess, I needed to be ‘shown' that this book has value and tremendous appeal. "The Work" made me a believer. There are so many books in the marketplace, and the idea of reading (slogging) through 50 or so stories about other people's "mothers" didn't, personally, appeal to me.  This being said, I found that most of the stories made me cry. I'm jealous of the love they feel for, and felt from, their mothers - stories I don't have. But, when I read through the Gift of Story guide book, I realized that there were aspects of my mother I could write about and be grateful for, because, Lynn, you provide not only latitude, but also charitable thinking in your

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Five Reasons to Write Mother Memoir

01/25/2009 By Leave a Comment

1. Honor someone other than ourselves. Isn't it time to go beyond today's cult of self-absorption by chronicling the spirit of others?  2. Keep our mothers' spirits alive. There is nothing like paying tribute to a loved one with a simple written record. A photograph captures a look at best, whereas a bio-vignette captures character and spirit.  3. Discover the secrets of women from different walks of life. Possibilities for embracing life unfold before us when we read true stories about mothers different from our own. It compels compassion, understanding, and unity.  4. Create catharsis. The outcome of writing a short, true story about one's mother results in emotional or psychological healing, when the relationship between the mother and daughter/son was sometimes difficult or rocky.  5. Become richer from the experience of actually writing a bio-vignette. Those of us who have embarked on this journey reach the other side more thoughtful, more knowing, and more

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Learn to Write Mini “Mother Memoirs”

01/22/2009 By Leave a Comment

Inspiring Mini “Mother Memoir” Online Writing Class Now Once again, that stimulating question, “If you could tell just one story capturing your mother’s character to keep her spirit alive, what would it be?”  If you need help answering this provocative question, sign up for my next 5-week online inspirational memoir writing class by going to my Classes page. Next class begins Wednesday, February 4, 2009. Register by February 2nd. Learn how to turn just one memory of your mother into an unforgettable story. Learn to capture the character of your mother in story as no photograph could ever do. ·         Learn by immersing yourself in the story woman™ memoir writing method that I’ve developed over the past decade. If you’re anyone who’s ever had a mother - read on . . . By portraying the essence of her character in a short, distinct memoir, you’ll learn and earn the joy of Keeping Her Spirit Alive. And “mother” can be any woman who

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