A New Year's resolution: You CAN write a book

Is it time for another update?
Christmas has passed and New Year’s is upon us. Time for resolutions…or not. I don’t really believe in them although we all look for times and statements to improve our lives. Who can resist saying “this year I want to….” Fill in the blank…we’ve all done it.
Well this year, I do have a resolution I hope to make good on. I have a new business that I believe in and I have to become a salesman to make it work. That is foreign to me. Trying to get someone to buy something they may not know they need…or want.
Hopefully, I can convince this is a worthy past-time. It’s all in the name of preservation. Preserving your memories, those of your family. Maybe it’s an attempt to preserve local history…keeping in mind if you are preserving your memories and your family stories, you are preserving local history.
Some people want, and need, to tell the story of their parents or grandparents or a special loved one. Even if your relatives have lived ordinary lives, their story deserves to be told. Your children and grandchildren need to know the stories of those who came before them. It’s who you are…the sum of your background, your upbringing or your values. It explains to a new generation why the family has certain traditions or made specific choices in life.
When I initially started pursuing this line of “work” it was to help people write their memoirs. But that is such a pretentious word for some people…it is just a more succinct word for memories. If you keep a diary or journal, you are preserving the days of your life. One day, someone will be able to review those words and know you. If you simply put your memories into a more formal layout, it becomes a memoir, a storybook of your life.
In this digital world, people have hundreds of pictures on their computers. Will they ever be printed? Likely most will not, but we continue to keep them…at least until the next computer failure. There are websites to help you preserve and protect your digital data…why not do it yourself?
Upload your pictures to a photo site, preferably mine (www.photostoriesNmore.com) and use the software to organize it into a book. Add cutlines (captions) to explain the pictures, or short stories of what was happening that day, for that event, or in that year. In a matter of minutes, even less than an hour in some cases..you’ve got a book. Use a pre-made template for a book, a poster, a family fold or card, or design something for scratch…it’s that easy, and there are classes, and suggested quotes and layouts to help you achieve your goal. We have the whole package…it’s all up to you, but you’re not alone.
I’ve been telling people for years…”write it down.” Savor your memories, your life experience and then save it for the next generation. But now, I’ve got a means to help them do it. You don’t even have to write anything if that’s your preference. Put your pictures to work, or those of your family. Remember a picture can be worth a thousand words.