2013 and January Journaling and Memoir Writing Classes Notes and Homework

REMINDER
If you are interested in either one of these classes, it does not have to be January, nor the year 2013. Read this for your time-frame.

2013 STORYKEEPER ODYSSEY CLASS NOTES
Can you believe that for the 2013 Storykeeper Odyssey Class that the first of 12 months are coming to a conclusion? Wow. Time flies. I hope that this time has been worthwhile and that you’ve been able to dive into your 125 memories and are remembering even more by the day. I also hope that you’re writing them down to the side in your “Future Journaling List.”

Read the January Class Notes now, along with the rest of this blog post.

JANUARY MEMORY LAUNCHPAD CLASS NOTES
Can you believe that this is the last week of this journaling and memoir class? We’ve listed our 125 memories and have started to write about each of them in detail. Of course, we will not be able to write a long journaling entry of each in 30 days (unless we did nothing else in our lives, of course). However, by the end of the year, you can have at least 3 types pages of each of those 125 memories. Make this your goal. Or, do more memories if you want. We have a year to cover 125 memories so that we can leave our legacy. That’s one memory every 2 days or stretch it into a 2-year project and write about 1 of those 125 memories every 4 days instead. That way, you can do other journaling and writing as well. Just a thought.

MEMOIR WRITERS
January has been the time to get 125 memories down on the page.

Notes and Homework: Read the January Class Notes. Ideally, you’ll spend this year writing your memoir. Therefore, ideally, you would write and journal  about those 125 memories, every day for 125 days. Then, you can get to the organizing and writing of your memoir for the rest of the year. After all, your first draft or your memoir is actually journaling, particularly with these 125 memories.

CLASS NOTES AND HOMEWORK
If you read the above notes, you know what to do.

Recap: Flesh out your 125 memories. Write them out to at least 3 pages each over the next year. And, make sure to write daily 3 new memories you’ve made each day and put them on your Future Journaling List. And, make sure to add to your Future Journaling List any other memory that comes to mind. Then, once a day, write a few sentences at least of one of those on that list. Once a week, write even more about at least 3 memories.

OPTIONAL HOMEWORK
Participate in this week’s 5-Day Journaling Retreat--even if it’s just your normal journaling time. Read the blog posts and do what they say.

RECOMMENDATION FOR YEARS AHEAD
I recommend doing this every January with a new set of at least 52 memories, one per week, for 2014 (and every year thereafter). After all, you’ve put 125+ on the page already through your daily journaling and since you took items from your Future Journaling List. So, you do not have to do so much this year. Although, the ideal would be to do 125 and start it all again--so you can leave as full of a legacy as possible.

THANK YOU
Thank you for participating in each class. I hope you’ve been able to to get a great deal out of them.

COMMENTS
So, what did you learn this month? I would love to hear from you.

~ Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Memoir Writer

2013 and January Journaling and Memoir Writing Classes Notes

As you might have guessed, the homework for last week and this week have their purposes. Last week's homework was meant to get you to write the top 125 memories from your life  that came to your mind. This week, you are fleshing out 5-7 memories and writing as much as you can about each.

Are these classes nothing but busy work and homework? You might wonder. 

But, I bet you see at this point that there might be a method to my madness. There is one. Trust me. Today, I wills tart to explain a little of what that is,

Journaling is very personal--and so are your memories. My whole goal is to help give yourself the permission to experiment and get these things down on the page, so you can leave your legacy and start to write your memoir. I have provided some guidance with the homework, but I've left a lot of it up to you. Why? It's because you need to experiment and figure out what works for you. You need to feel free when you journal--and not have so much instruction that it stifles your creativity or your flow. 

That being said, if you were too lost or stifled, I was sure you would contact me and request help--or search my blog for more tools to help you--of which there are plenty. 

HABIT GROWING

I have not wanted to ask you to set a daily word count goal. That can put undue pressure on you and can stifle your muse. Therefore  I have not done so. However, can you see, this week in particular, that you are starting to write a certain number of words per day? 

You are developing the journaling habit without even realizing it. And, as to how many words per day... It you are new to journaling, I recommend 500 words or so. If you are a regular journalkeeper, I recommend 1,000. But, again  the choice is up to you. Do what works. That's the bottom line. And, make it your goal to journal a little more every week. 

If you are writing your memoir, this is really important. Make a decision as to how many words you want to write a day--and get after it. The average word count for a memoir is 80,000 to 100,000 or so words. Some are a lot more and some are less. 

PATTERNS

What comes to mind, when it comes to mind, is important. There are patterns there and reasons there you will need to explore. Are you starting to see this?

MEMOIR WRITERS

Your journal is your first draft of your memoir. 

We need to mine through our memories and then figure out the patterns  so we know how to write our memoir. We will start to see the patterns next week. Hang in there. But, your journaling is the first step that's needed. 

YOUR MEMORIES

Your memories are a key as to what has happened to you, who you were, who you are, who you will become, and where you go next in your life's journey. So, mien them deeply. Get all of them on the page, and keep writing as much as you can about each of your original 125 memories. Keep an ongoing FUTURE MEMORY JOURNALING LIST so that you can also mine those later. 

HOMEWORK

* What patterns are you starting to see?

* How has mining your memories impacted you? 

* What new memories have you uncovered as you think about other memories?

* Do you see how you became who you are today and why?

~ Stacy Duplease

Journalkeeper

2013 and January Class Notes and Homework

2013 Journaling and Memoir Homework Week 2:
Complete the homework of the January class, but with one exception. Rather than write about 5 memories, write about 7 this week. So, that is write about one memory per day.

January Class Homework:
This week, write about 5 memories. Use all seven days to write as much as possible for each.

Both Classes Notes:
This week, we are going to start to expand our memories and get the whole picture of the memory on the page. So, how will we go about it? Do the following with each memory:
1 Act like a reporter on the scene and write what you see and hear.
2 Switch to your perspective and ask who, what, where, when, why, and how questions of the memory.
3 Add all five senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, and hearing/sound.
4 What did you think, feel, sense, and pray?
5 Do you have any photos of the memory? Pick three and describe each photo, if you do.
6 If you don't have any photos, and could take three to fix, what would you take? Describe each photo. This is called Missing Photo Journaling Exercise or Prompt.

~Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Writer

2013 and January 30-Day Journaling Classes Homework

Day 7

The homework for today is two-parts:

1 Add more memories until you have at least 125 memories listed.

2 Pick one of the 125 memories and start to write a long journaling entry on it. Write at least one-page. Make sure to ask who, what, why, when, where, and how questions and answer when. Make sure to include all of the five senses.

-- Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Author

Journal to Memoir (2 classes): A thought and clarification

Your journaling entry of a memory is the rough draft of your memoir.

You memoir is your second draft of your journaling.

-- Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Author

2013 and January Journaling and Memoir Class Notes

GREETINGS
A couple of times per week to once a day, I will do a blog post of notes, journaling exercises or prompts, thoughts,encouragement, teaching, etc. I will combine both classes into these notes--for the most part and there will be some separate blog posts for both classes.

Why am I combining class notes? The 30-Day class is actually part of the 2013 class and so the next eleven classes.

WELCOME TO DAY 1 OF CLASSES
I published both classes homework already, but wanted to touch base with you. So, how are your memories coming?

Is getting to 25 going to be easy or difficult for you today?

Remember this: Just write. Don't think. Just write whatever memories that pop into your mind. There is a reason why they pop into your mind when they do. Do not fight it. Do not second-guess it. Just write. Get them on the page. Analyze things later.

Make sure to write the good, the bad and ugly, and the indifferent memories. Write them all. Each memory is important. Remember, you can write more memories than suggested. Also, you can start to write a longer journal entry for each memory.

Walk down memory lane. Enjoy the journey. Each memory has shaped who you are today.

-- Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Author

2013 Storykeeper Odyssey Class Notes and Homework

2013 Storykeeper Odyssey: Writing Our Memories Class Notes and Homework: Week 1

WELCOME

Welcome to the 2013 Storykeeper Odyssey: Writing Our Memories Class. This is a free year-long journaling class that's focused on getting all of your memories recorded in your journal over the course of a year. 

this year should be quite the journey and I look forward to sharing it with all of you. 

READ THIS

You might want to read this before you continue. It will help give a context to what I share here today:

http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/2013-storykeeper-odyssey-writing-our.html

INVITATION
You are invited on this Odyssey if you journal and/or if you want to write your memoir and put your life on the page.

JOURNAL KEEPERS AND MEMOIR WRITERS

This is a class for journal keepers and memoir writers.

ME? ME WRITE A MEMOIR?!?
Do you feel the pull to write your story? Do you wonder how to begin? If so, 2013 is the perfect time to start.

Do you have any idea what you want to write?

It does not matter if it is a story just for your journal or if you want to have it published. 2013 is the year for you to write your memoir and leave your legacy in whatever format you desire.

THE MEMOIR CALLING
Do you feel compelled to get your life down on the page?

There is a reason. You are supposed to do so. So, do it. This is your year. You can do this. 

EVERY WEEK

Every week, I will post a week worksheet on my blog and will link it to the Journaling & Storykeeping Google+ Community. I invite discussion about the week worksheet, by the way, on the blog and in the community.

I will also do extra blog posts throughout the week and will add thoughts, questions, discussions, etc. on the Google+ community. Make sure to check out both and join the Google+ community, please. 

Join us at any time. You don't have to start on 01 January. 

Official website: http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com

Official Community: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/113054405863121223338

GOAL

Our first week has the goal to write as many memories on the page as possible. 

WEEK 1 HOMEWORK: JOURNALING EXERCISES OR PROMPTS

Ideally, at the end of the week, you will have 125 total memories listed. Do a minimum of 50. Remember the goal is to get all of your memories on the page in 2013. 

Day 1 List at least your top 10 strongest memories.
Day 2 List your top 25 at least.
Day 3 List your top 50 at least.
Day 4 List your top 100 at least.

Day 5 Memory Snapshots of ast least 5 different memories
Day 6 List 25 more memories at least.
Day 7 Write at least a paragraph summary more of each of your 125 memories.

THOUGHTS ABOUT WEEK 1 HOMEWORK

Try to list them off the top of your head. List them fast. Do not think. Just write. Don't stop. Write as many as you can without stopping for at least 10 minutes. Do a Stream of Consciousness List at first. 

If you complete your daily exercise quickly, jot down more memories. Also, write the story of what happened with each memory. start with making it a paragraph long description. Then, keep adding a paragraph description to each as you have the time. 

IF YOU NEED MORE HELP COMING UP WITH MEMORIES
Read these former blog posts. They should inspire you:

1 http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/journaling-retreat-day-after.html

2 http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-storykeeper-odyssey-journaling.html

3 http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/another-memory-snapshot-or-mining-your.html 

-- Stacy Duplease

Journalkeeper & Author