Blogging is a requirement for a writer...or so I'm lead to believe. BUT who reads them?
I have difficulty finding time to write these things, even tho' I think of dozens of things to say daily. You obviously have some time to kill and here I am...ranting or is it raving?
It's a rainy, warm summer day and I'm thinking of things I need to do, want to do, should do and could do. Writing another blog post is not necessarily at the top of the list, but it's what I'm doing.
Now there was a wasted three 'graphs!
The point of my writing is simple...write! Whether it's me or you, everyone should write something. It doesn't matter if it's coherent, logical or meaningful. If you have something to say, to relate, to record for yourself, your family, your neighbors or the world in general...write it down! I think I've been using that phrase for almost 10 years!
Please if you remember something you want someone else to know whether now or 10 years from now...write it down.
I wrote a column for the Hartland Historical Society newsletter for many years...and like a broken record, I simply asked people to "write it down." Write down your memories, your experiences, yes, your thoughts and opinions. It will mean something to someone sometime...even if it's only you.
You remember black and white tv, the Lone Ranger and Tonto or Roy Rogers. You remember walking to school in all kinds of weather or sitting in rows and raising your hand to speak. You remember when they didn't serve pizza as part of a basic food group. Chances are your children or grandchildren never experienced that and likely never will. Tell them what you experienced. It's an old story, but it's one they won't hear the same way they would hear if from you. They would rather know what you felt, what you saw, what you remember. It will be more "real" for them because you remembered, not just a television or Internet documentary.
You've seen some of those documentaries of "remember when." Do they remember it the same way you do? Of course not, you remember the "right way" or your way. No one will have that same memory, and no one will have that same experience unless you "write it down!"
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Perception of memories
Every time I think I'm going to start blogging regularly, I get sidetracked. I have things to say, projects I want to complete. BUT...there it is that word that interrupts the best of plans.
My life is simply interruptible. I could be working on the great American novel, but I have to get dinner, feed the pets, run to the store, or worse...vacuum.
Well, I'm not likely to complete the great American novel anytime soon, because frankly, that's not my interest. But the stories all around me are. I want to tell my stories, my family's stories and your story. Everyone has a story. Experiences that are unique to you or your family. No one can have the exact same experiences as you...yes, even if you're a twin.
No one reacts the same, remembers the same, thinks the same. That's what makes family stories and personal history so fascinating. You may remember where you were for your first kiss, but maybe the person you kissed remembers it differently. You remember your grandmother also did something a certain way, whether it was cleaning, laundry or setting the table. Your siblings will remember it a different way, for just the way that they experienced it.
What was your mother's favorite color? her favorite dessert? her favorite book? You know because she told you. But maybe she told your siblings something different based on the circumstances that prompted the discussion.
You may love cheesecake and say so. But if you're eating fresh apple pie at a family picnic and say "I just love this dessert." Someone around you may think that's your favorite dessert.
It's perception and circumstance that create memories. You may want to remember that as you start your personal history recordings. Did you remember it right? or was it the way your sister remembered...maybe it's a combination of the memories. Ask questions of the family members you want to remember, ask for their perception of their experiences, and don't necessariy rely only on your recollections. Stories can be told and retold, and there is the problem...telling is a perceived form of the story depending on who is telling it. Get the facts, and....write them down...they'll be the same next time you look.
My life is simply interruptible. I could be working on the great American novel, but I have to get dinner, feed the pets, run to the store, or worse...vacuum.
Well, I'm not likely to complete the great American novel anytime soon, because frankly, that's not my interest. But the stories all around me are. I want to tell my stories, my family's stories and your story. Everyone has a story. Experiences that are unique to you or your family. No one can have the exact same experiences as you...yes, even if you're a twin.
No one reacts the same, remembers the same, thinks the same. That's what makes family stories and personal history so fascinating. You may remember where you were for your first kiss, but maybe the person you kissed remembers it differently. You remember your grandmother also did something a certain way, whether it was cleaning, laundry or setting the table. Your siblings will remember it a different way, for just the way that they experienced it.
What was your mother's favorite color? her favorite dessert? her favorite book? You know because she told you. But maybe she told your siblings something different based on the circumstances that prompted the discussion.
You may love cheesecake and say so. But if you're eating fresh apple pie at a family picnic and say "I just love this dessert." Someone around you may think that's your favorite dessert.
It's perception and circumstance that create memories. You may want to remember that as you start your personal history recordings. Did you remember it right? or was it the way your sister remembered...maybe it's a combination of the memories. Ask questions of the family members you want to remember, ask for their perception of their experiences, and don't necessariy rely only on your recollections. Stories can be told and retold, and there is the problem...telling is a perceived form of the story depending on who is telling it. Get the facts, and....write them down...they'll be the same next time you look.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
starting early....
Two Cents Worth…on my favorite subject.
Christmas is coming.
I know. It does every year.
Those over-organized individuals we all know and love are already thinking about it. And, I sometimes think of it in June or July and vow…again, I will not be a Christmas procrastinator… and get an “early” start.
Truthfully, how many of us ever really do?
I’m offering you a chance…one I hope to follow through on myself.
Now is the time to start some of those Christmas projects or maybe even the shopping. Your decision is what to start or where. Quilters, scrapbookers, the do-it-yourselfers of the world are on it…eagerly clipping, stitching, pasting or nailing something in place and ready to wrap by October? November? Wow, that is dedication…am I up to it? More importantly are you?
I’ve made a quilt…it just took about 10 years to finally wrap it up.
I tried traditional scrapbooks…with a promise to apply the finishing touches after it was presented as a gift. Guess what? Those finishing touches are still waiting…maybe this is my year. But it won’t be with scissors and glue or all those expensive buttons, bows, or sequins embellishments.
My computer and a large folder of digital photos will be my only tools. My “scrapbook” table is my computer screen and my keyboard serves my fingers.
Digital scrapbooking is here in many forms. Several photo sites offer ready-made templates to “plug” your pictures in. Still others offer infinite opportunities to start from scratch, using blank pages and digital embellishments. Try any photo site and you are likely to find an opportunity to create. Better yet tryout my site at Heritage Makers, the premier digital scrapbook site…yes, that is blatant advertising, but if I didn’t believe it was the best I wouldn’t be involved.
Simply put…you can publish a book…your book. Digital scrapbooks are available in paperback, hard cover and spiralbound versions. If you can use a computer, you can do this, too.
I‘ve “been there, done that” no reason you can’t, too!
Christmas is coming.
I know. It does every year.
Those over-organized individuals we all know and love are already thinking about it. And, I sometimes think of it in June or July and vow…again, I will not be a Christmas procrastinator… and get an “early” start.
Truthfully, how many of us ever really do?
I’m offering you a chance…one I hope to follow through on myself.
Now is the time to start some of those Christmas projects or maybe even the shopping. Your decision is what to start or where. Quilters, scrapbookers, the do-it-yourselfers of the world are on it…eagerly clipping, stitching, pasting or nailing something in place and ready to wrap by October? November? Wow, that is dedication…am I up to it? More importantly are you?
I’ve made a quilt…it just took about 10 years to finally wrap it up.
I tried traditional scrapbooks…with a promise to apply the finishing touches after it was presented as a gift. Guess what? Those finishing touches are still waiting…maybe this is my year. But it won’t be with scissors and glue or all those expensive buttons, bows, or sequins embellishments.
My computer and a large folder of digital photos will be my only tools. My “scrapbook” table is my computer screen and my keyboard serves my fingers.
Digital scrapbooking is here in many forms. Several photo sites offer ready-made templates to “plug” your pictures in. Still others offer infinite opportunities to start from scratch, using blank pages and digital embellishments. Try any photo site and you are likely to find an opportunity to create. Better yet tryout my site at Heritage Makers, the premier digital scrapbook site…yes, that is blatant advertising, but if I didn’t believe it was the best I wouldn’t be involved.
Simply put…you can publish a book…your book. Digital scrapbooks are available in paperback, hard cover and spiralbound versions. If you can use a computer, you can do this, too.
I‘ve “been there, done that” no reason you can’t, too!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Capturing Your Stories
Oops...I thought there were updates here since the new year. Guess I've been writing them, and forgetting to post them. Time to get back on track and focused.
For eight years, I’ve been asking people to “write it down.”
That’s not a request to start a “to do” list. It’s the line I’ve used in the Hartland Historical Society’s quarterly newsletter for eight years hoping more people would realize the importance of writing down their memories.
Reading a newspaper, newsletter or magazine, whether daily, weekly or monthly, you are reading the stories of our lives: People doing good, and bad, in the world; interesting jobs, hobbies, habits or stories of overcoming adversity for an individual or a group or conducting business, publicly or privately.
Your daily reading is history or current events…and you probably hated those classes in school, unless you had some of the teachers I did.
News reporters are today’s historians. They record the day’s events so you are better informed about the world around you, and so years down the road you can go back to that report whether in a saved clipping, a scrapbook or in the newspaper archives, whether they are kept electronically or as hard copy. More and more it is electronically, digitally. Either way it’s preserved.
What reporters can’t do is tell the stories you know.
You may have lived through an historic moment, locally or nationally. Maybe you just remember simpler times, when your family grew all their own food, vegetables and meat; when you walked “miles” to school or worked on a farm or in a long-gone factory. If you are one of those people who readily say “today’s kids don’t know how lucky they are,” you may have some stories to tell.
As an avid “local historian,” I revel in the memories I’ve been permitted to share with my readers or simply with the person with the memory.
The fact that you are reading this column says you may be of a special generation…one that still reads.
We are constantly bombarded with an opinion younger generations are not interested in the printed word…but hard copy, newsprint, or digital, people will continue to read…how else will they learn about the world around them? And better still, how will they learn about the people who came before them?
Writing down your memories is your contribution to education, to history, and to improvement for future generations and appreciation for what earlier generations accomplished.
If you have “lived” a life time, you have seen the changes for the good that have happened around us, as well as some of the regrettable actions of local residents, governments or businesses. How will later generations know what they’ve missed…if you don’t “write it down”?
As a local historian and a writer, I would love to tell your stories or help you write them yourself.
I am Brenda Seekins, freelance writer, photographer and personal publishing consultant.
Share your thoughts and stories with me at brendaseekins@gmail.com or just support your local reporters and writers and call them.
For eight years, I’ve been asking people to “write it down.”
That’s not a request to start a “to do” list. It’s the line I’ve used in the Hartland Historical Society’s quarterly newsletter for eight years hoping more people would realize the importance of writing down their memories.
Reading a newspaper, newsletter or magazine, whether daily, weekly or monthly, you are reading the stories of our lives: People doing good, and bad, in the world; interesting jobs, hobbies, habits or stories of overcoming adversity for an individual or a group or conducting business, publicly or privately.
Your daily reading is history or current events…and you probably hated those classes in school, unless you had some of the teachers I did.
News reporters are today’s historians. They record the day’s events so you are better informed about the world around you, and so years down the road you can go back to that report whether in a saved clipping, a scrapbook or in the newspaper archives, whether they are kept electronically or as hard copy. More and more it is electronically, digitally. Either way it’s preserved.
What reporters can’t do is tell the stories you know.
You may have lived through an historic moment, locally or nationally. Maybe you just remember simpler times, when your family grew all their own food, vegetables and meat; when you walked “miles” to school or worked on a farm or in a long-gone factory. If you are one of those people who readily say “today’s kids don’t know how lucky they are,” you may have some stories to tell.
As an avid “local historian,” I revel in the memories I’ve been permitted to share with my readers or simply with the person with the memory.
The fact that you are reading this column says you may be of a special generation…one that still reads.
We are constantly bombarded with an opinion younger generations are not interested in the printed word…but hard copy, newsprint, or digital, people will continue to read…how else will they learn about the world around them? And better still, how will they learn about the people who came before them?
Writing down your memories is your contribution to education, to history, and to improvement for future generations and appreciation for what earlier generations accomplished.
If you have “lived” a life time, you have seen the changes for the good that have happened around us, as well as some of the regrettable actions of local residents, governments or businesses. How will later generations know what they’ve missed…if you don’t “write it down”?
As a local historian and a writer, I would love to tell your stories or help you write them yourself.
I am Brenda Seekins, freelance writer, photographer and personal publishing consultant.
Share your thoughts and stories with me at brendaseekins@gmail.com or just support your local reporters and writers and call them.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
This year, I need to create more tree ornaments. Last year, my tree was covered with red and gold ornaments from simple foam poster board....the centerpiece? All my family's pictures. You can do it,too. Make a memory tree...another one-of-a-kind Christmas decoration. No one will have a tree like yours, because yours is all personal pictures.
But you can make a more personal Christmas all around.
'tis the season...and I can help. Yep, this is blatant sales, but it's so easy I can't resist. I'm excited to introduce my newest venture, and it's still in keeping with my basic beliefs...preservation! Preserve your history, your family's, your town's whatever...if you don't tell the story who will?
In this message, I simply want to show you how to make truly personal Christmas cards. Use a favorite photo from this year's activities, or pull up an old family photo that should be shared.
The Heritage Makers Holiday Hits Sale! This is my biggest sale of the season! Let me help you cruise through this month and next knowing you have your gift giving under control -- especially your Heritage Makers gifts.
This week, Christmas cards are on sale for only $49.95 for 50! A little steep? They’re personalized, one of a kind…made by you. Contact me today to get this amazing deal!
To see this week's special, follow this link www.photostoriesNmore.com
Not ready to embark on a new past-time? Check us out after Christmas and let me help you start next year's presents...personal ones. The story of your life, a family member, record a special trip or just create a one-of-a-kind photo album...and indestructible one with a guarantee! Of course, you can cut and paste, but chuck the scissors, and ditch the glue...all you need is a computer and all those pictures stored on your computer. Got boxes of pictures in your closet, the attic, maybe your junk drawer...scan them or let me help...we offer scanning services, too!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Personal publishing consultant…
I always think the word “consultant” sounds a little pompous…like I know more than someone else so therefore I can be a consultant. At my age, I could be a consultant on many things…but not necessarily something you would want my advice on.
However, personal publishing in this context means I might know something, and with a little more training, to go with the experience I already have…and I’m it…a consultant.
It will take a little cash…doesn’t everything? But that’s just to get the supplies that make the business a little easier, AND direct you, the customer to the right site. Well, if I do this my way, my consulting could take you in many directions.
I want you to follow something I believe in. I’ve written about. I’ve practiced. But, with this new pursuit, while you’re doing it and maybe helping me with a business, I’ll have time to do more myself.
Of course, there is the little matter of my job, but with a little creative scheduling…And I’ve done that many times, this can work.
Thousands, millions? of women, and some men, I suppose, across the country have invested in paper, scissors, punches, glue and glitter to scrapbook their way to family fame.
Well I’m not a scrapper in the traditional sense. Goodness knows I have plenty of scraps that need preserving. I just choose to do it with no mess no fuss…digitally. And I found it, the site I want to use to do my digital scrapbooking. It’s a little pricey-er than some sites, but it offers so much more than some of the standards.
Anyone can sign on to a photo site and compile a photobook with digital images, embellish it with backgrounds, digital “stickers” and even a few quotes or captions ( my journalese let’s me call them cutlines). But I want you, and me, to do more.
You CAN write a book! You can tell your stories, your family history, capture your memories or those of your family members. People are doing it and I want to help more people do it.
All those readers of the Hartland Historical Society newsletter have heard me expound on it for years…a few have tried…the trick is “write it down.”
I’ve started a few “memoirs” and it really isn’t about setting down to write a book. It’s about capturing memories…one story at a time, one event at a time, maybe one person at a time. Today, more than ever, people are discovering what they’ve lost in family memories, the stories, the pictures or maybe the stories that go with the pictures. Don’t you ever wonder when you see an old picture? Who is that? Why are they doing that? What are they doing?
I have a great family album, leather-bound, gilt-edged and a brass clasp…but who are the people? I now know two of them with some creative sleuthing. But no one identified the pictures in the 1800s and here are these people…my relatives and I don’t know who they are or why we have their pictures.
I’ve written columns about this…mark your pictures, date your pictures, keep them in an album, create a scrapbook or now even better, and easier create a digital album or scrapbook…it couldn’t be easier, even if you don’t own a computer.
But, of course, you do…you’re reading this.
And if you are reading a blog you are not just an occasional computer user. You know your way around the Internet. You can use the software. Maybe you already upload your digital pictures to a photo website. Maybe they offer a digital album, photobook option….most do these days. Some sites offer more…more backgrounds, more design options, more help and classes, too. Check it out….as soon as my wehsite is set I’ll let you know how to get there and how I can help you.
Heck, I can help you now…it just depends on how much you want to do in the way of family history.
However, personal publishing in this context means I might know something, and with a little more training, to go with the experience I already have…and I’m it…a consultant.
It will take a little cash…doesn’t everything? But that’s just to get the supplies that make the business a little easier, AND direct you, the customer to the right site. Well, if I do this my way, my consulting could take you in many directions.
I want you to follow something I believe in. I’ve written about. I’ve practiced. But, with this new pursuit, while you’re doing it and maybe helping me with a business, I’ll have time to do more myself.
Of course, there is the little matter of my job, but with a little creative scheduling…And I’ve done that many times, this can work.
Thousands, millions? of women, and some men, I suppose, across the country have invested in paper, scissors, punches, glue and glitter to scrapbook their way to family fame.
Well I’m not a scrapper in the traditional sense. Goodness knows I have plenty of scraps that need preserving. I just choose to do it with no mess no fuss…digitally. And I found it, the site I want to use to do my digital scrapbooking. It’s a little pricey-er than some sites, but it offers so much more than some of the standards.
Anyone can sign on to a photo site and compile a photobook with digital images, embellish it with backgrounds, digital “stickers” and even a few quotes or captions ( my journalese let’s me call them cutlines). But I want you, and me, to do more.
You CAN write a book! You can tell your stories, your family history, capture your memories or those of your family members. People are doing it and I want to help more people do it.
All those readers of the Hartland Historical Society newsletter have heard me expound on it for years…a few have tried…the trick is “write it down.”
I’ve started a few “memoirs” and it really isn’t about setting down to write a book. It’s about capturing memories…one story at a time, one event at a time, maybe one person at a time. Today, more than ever, people are discovering what they’ve lost in family memories, the stories, the pictures or maybe the stories that go with the pictures. Don’t you ever wonder when you see an old picture? Who is that? Why are they doing that? What are they doing?
I have a great family album, leather-bound, gilt-edged and a brass clasp…but who are the people? I now know two of them with some creative sleuthing. But no one identified the pictures in the 1800s and here are these people…my relatives and I don’t know who they are or why we have their pictures.
I’ve written columns about this…mark your pictures, date your pictures, keep them in an album, create a scrapbook or now even better, and easier create a digital album or scrapbook…it couldn’t be easier, even if you don’t own a computer.
But, of course, you do…you’re reading this.
And if you are reading a blog you are not just an occasional computer user. You know your way around the Internet. You can use the software. Maybe you already upload your digital pictures to a photo website. Maybe they offer a digital album, photobook option….most do these days. Some sites offer more…more backgrounds, more design options, more help and classes, too. Check it out….as soon as my wehsite is set I’ll let you know how to get there and how I can help you.
Heck, I can help you now…it just depends on how much you want to do in the way of family history.
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