Share Your Story

Share Your Story

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I started this blog just over 15 years ago. Last week, I decided to drop into the way-back machine and check out my very first post in 2009 about sharing your story.

I thought the post might be dated.

It’s not. Not even slightly.

So, I decided to run it again, especially since sharing your story in an authentic way works on both the personal and professional level. As I’ve mentioned before, people like to know who they’re doing business with. So, even if you’re not writing a memoir, you can use the tips below to dig into your past and come up with revealing stories that will draw people to you.

Everyone has a story to tell, and more and more people want to put theirs on paper. There is no reason not to. With the right approach, writing your memoir can wind up being a leisurely cruise down memory lane instead of a pileup.

Do you want to share your story? Start by making a list of all the people in addition to yourself who will populate your story. Next, write character sketches of each of those people. Add in every little detail you can remember, from how they look and smell to what they do for a living and for fun. Chronicle any stories you recall about them, whether they involve you or not. Don’t stress if you can’t remember much. As you warm to the task and start writing other character studies, memories will come flooding back. As they do, either return to that character’s sketch or, if you don’t want to break away from what you’re working on, write yourself notes that are detailed enough to rekindle that memory when the time is right.

Once you’ve got your character studies well in hand, start writing about yourself. To share your story, you can start at the beginning of your story (or your life), but you don’t have to. Write about anything that strikes you, in whatever order you like. You’ll have plenty of time to shuffle the bits and pieces around once you’re done.

Now it’s time to weave the two strands together. You can use the timeline as your guide, or focus on connecting similar themes together, or both. The key is to people your story with your character studies in a way that enriches your narrative while maintaining its flow. As with any puzzle, progress will slow at this stage, especially since you’ll not only need to figure out the order, but the transitions as well. Don’t worry about revising the character studies or your own story at this stage. You’ll have plenty of time to tinker once you have the beginning, middle, and end of your story.

Just make sure you sidestep any potential legal issues. That’s definitely not how you want to remember your past.

Celebrating Fanchon Blake–Again

Celebrating Fanchon Blake–Again

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Without ever saying a word, my dad taught me to celebrate every writing-related win.

You finished your rough draft? Celebrate!

You finished the second draft? Celebrate!

Your book sold? Celebrate!

Your book just got published? Celebrate!

So, yes, I celebrated when Open Road Media decided to publish my self-published book, Busting the Brass Ceiling: How a Heroic Female Cop Changed the Face of Policing. And I celebrated the e-book’s pub date on September 19th. And two days ago, on November 5th, I celebrated the paperback’s pub date. I just wish my co-author, Fanchon Blake, who the book is about, was still alive to celebrate with me.

Fanchon Blake was quite a woman. When she joined the LAPD in 1948, walking a beat in heels, a skirt, and a girdle, she was sure her talent and dedication would be rewarded. She had already made a mark in the Army, so why not?

She didn’t factor in the police department’s increasingly discriminatory agenda that made promoting impossible for all but a handful of women on the force. Challenging the policies from within did nothing. A media campaign didn’t move the needle either. Instead, then-Chief Ed Davis decided to eliminate women entirely from active duty. “You don’t know it, Chief,” Fanchon Blake told herself, “but war has just been declared between us.” 

Fanchon Blake knew something about fighting. I still love the story she told my brother, who was filming her at the time, and me about taking care of an unwanted suitor with “touchy, touchy hands.” Let’s just say she hit him where it counts. “And down he went,” she recalled at age 90. “And when he was down there, I whispered in his ear, ‘Next time, listen to me.'” Her subsequent laugh was even more explosive than mine.

There wasn’t much to laugh about for years after Fanchon Blake filed a legal complaint against the LAPD in 1973, thereby initiating what would become one of the country’s landmark discrimination cases. She would be made to pay for violating the LAPD’s codes of silence and loyalty. But today, almost 45 years after the Supreme Court upheld the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in her favor, 18 percent of the LAPD’s sworn officers, who used to be almost exclusively male and white, are women, and 70 percent are non-white. 

The court decision didn’t just impact the LAPD. It changed the face of policing across the country and set a legal precedent that would help women in all fields.

So, when I celebrated the latest publication of Busting the Brass Ceiling earlier this week, I celebrated Fanchon Blake as well. We all owe her. I’m thrilled that she is finally claiming her rightful place in history.

Writing Lessons From my Dogs: Defensive Writing

Writing Lessons From my Dogs: Defensive Writing

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Heads up! You’ve probably never thought of the concept of defensive writing. Neither had I, until I was on a dog walk–where I do some of my best thinking, especially about blog posts–and realized that I engage in defensive dogging as way to keep us all safe, stress-free, and happy. It didn’t take long to make a connection.

For me, having a dog is not about taking leashed walks around the neighborhood. I prefer to take them on long, off-leash outings where they can run free. Of course, that means that they’re also free to indulge in some of their favorite bad behavior. I have to warn people I come across that I have a jumper and a humper since up to this point, no amount of corrections has curbed those habits.

One of my two pups has also decided that any dog park, especially one where dogs aren’t leashed, basically constitutes a poop buffet. The other one is determined to eat a chipmunk or a bunny. He has yet to catch either one, but he’s sure he will. So Bend, Oregon’s rock outcroppings and plentiful lava tubes draw him in like a siren’s song that plays so loudly, there’s zero chance he’ll hear or respond to my commands.

While he isn’t always in hunting mode, the moment his sister, who belongs to my closest friend, joins us, the game is on. They give each other that let’s-be-bad look, and they’re off. I have two options. The first involves bushwacking to the rocks and clambering up through the manzanita and brush to leash them and then make my way back to the trail, disregarding the bleeding scratches on my legs. My other choice is to engage in defensive dogging, which entails choosing routes that steer clear of favorite chipmunk haunts, engaging their attention with a treat or two, or even a ball, until we’ve scooted past the temptation, or briefly leashing them up.

So how does a writer stay out of trouble? Defensive writing, of course.

On the nonfiction front, you want to clearly note any direct quotes as well as any sources you’re using. While you’re at it, why not just throw in a sloppy-copy footnote so there’s no possible way to make a mistake? The last thing you want is to inadvertently plagiarize someone or not be able to identify the source of an important piece of information.

For memoirs, consider changing the names of people you’re discussing, which you would obviously disclose at the beginning of your book. Just wait until the very end to run a search-and-replace. That way you won’t have to constantly try to remember who’s who.

Fiction writers might consider creating a chart of their characters with their backgrounds and traits. If you’re writing about a world you’ve invented, a list of locales and their descriptions can also help.

Finally, regardless of the genre, take the time to outline your book. I can promise you the outline will change, so don’t worry about being locked in. If you like pantsing, just go for broad strokes. Just as I choose an itinerary that will hopefully keep my dogs out of trouble, it will help to know where you’re going.

Thinking Outside the Box

Thinking Outside the Box

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The other day, I couldn’t stop thinking about making ice cream. Cream cheese ice cream to be specific, with Kahlua and caramel liqueur mixed in.

“You could try using Greek yogurt instead,” I told myself. “That would be better for you.”

Having jumped aboard the healthy bus, I took things a step further.

“As long as you’re looking for a high-protein alternative, I wonder if you could make cottage cheese ice cream?”

It turns out you can, as long as you have a way to whip it up. And it’s delicious.

Sure, my version still has a little sweetener (agave to be exact) and some booze, but it’s a whole lot better for me than the heavy cream and cream cheese version.

What does this have to do with writing?

Not a lot, I’ll admit.

But there is a lesson here, a moral to the tale. Thinking outside the box can make doing the right thing–like working on your book instead of procrastinating–downright appealing.

I’d love to hear how thinking outside the box works for you on the writing front or any other part of your life.

Creating a Story that Works

Creating a Story that Works

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Like an ambush predator, I’ve been sneaking up on that novel I’ve wanted to write for so long in the hopes of finally creating a story that works. I’m starting to talk about it with friends I met decades ago in the High Sierra town that will be the novel’s setting, and to tap their… Continue Reading

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