Family History Playlist

I'm always on the lookout for songs to use in my family history projects. I've used lyrics from songs of a certain era to evoke a time and place, song titles as story titles, and quotes from songs that might say just the right thing for a book introduction.

There are plenty of ways to use songs without actually using the music.

Here's my own playlist of family history music. And if you want to listen to the songs, go to iTunes or Amazon and type the titles in the search bar to hear a sample of each.

• Childhood Memories - Iris DeMent
• Grandfather's Hat - Jeff Daniels
• Family Tree - Lohio
• Family Reunion - Jill Scott
• My Father's Eyes - Eric Clapton
• Family Reserve - Lyle Lovett
• Genealogy - Tom Nickerson
• Family History - Joanne Rand
• Grandma's House - Deirdre Flint
• Family Memories - Mountain Smoke
• Family Hands - Mary Chapin Carpenter
• Heirlooms - Amy Grant
• My Ancestors - Jimmy Cliff
• Anthem of a Family Tree - Steve Bonafel
• Like a River - Carly Simon
• Grandparent's Love - mr. Ray

It's Important to Read Your Writing Aloud

"The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader." —Robert Frost

In my life story writing classes, I encourage students to write the way they speak. I believe that writing the stories from your life should be more like telling stories at the kitchen table than chronological autobiography. It's this storytelling voice that really connects with your readers.

I also believe that writing "for the ear" is important. It helps establish your natural voice—your storytelling voice. The best way to ensure you're writing for the ear is to read your stories aloud.

Once you've finished a first draft and made the necessary technical corrections, it's time to read the story out loud. Listen for:

• Stumbling blocks. These are places where you falter or stumble. I call them speed bumps. They interrupt the flow of your story. Maybe it's a poor word choice or a troubling transition. Make a note where you hit the speed bump and come back to fix it when you're done reading.  

• Errors. It's easier for us to catch our own mistakes when reading aloud. Our eyes are apt to scan over mistakes, but our ears won't.

• Your personal voice. You can easily hear when you lose your storytelling voice. Perhaps you've veered off into a long-winded technical explanation and lost your "voice." Make a note to bring it back to storytelling.

• Rambling off-topic. Listening to your own story will help alert you when you've trailed off from the point of your story. Jot down the places you'll need to make cuts and edits.

Go Back in Time with The Mortified Sessions

Have you seen The Mortified Sessions on the Sundance Channel?

By looking through mementos from celebrity's pasts, we get a peek into their childhood ambitions, insecurities and embarrassing moments. It's a completely different perspective than we get from manicured magazine articles and TV interviews. Here, we get a glimpse of the real person behind the persona.

From geeky teenage photos to angst-ridden love notes, we dip into moments of personal history that shaped the person we see onscreen.

The pre-Sundance Mortified project started in the 1990s when founder Dave Nadelberg discovered a love letter from his own past, compared notes with friends, and found a new level of intimacy and understanding. Next he created events where strangers could come onstage and share their own moments of mortification. The events continue today, all around the country.

"Mortified is a comic excavation of the strange and extraordinary things we created as kids. Witness adults sharing their most embarrassing adolescent journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, and art... in order to reveal stories about their lives. Hear grown men and women confront their past with tales of their first kiss, first puff, worst prom, and fights with mom."

I love the whole idea of sharing your stories this way. Do you have a shoebox full of mementos from school days? Maybe it's time to dig it out and have a look at what you once deemed important. It's a good way to remember who you were, what you felt, and how far you've come.

And if you don't want to feel so alone in your own personal geekdom, have a look at some clips from The Mortified Sessions on Hulu or YouTube!

Try Something New in 2012

The best way to jump-start your creative energy for the New Year is by thinking about your interests and desires. What untapped inner resources do you have that will support your efforts to try something new? You may find you have all different kinds of creative energy that will energize you for exploring new directions. What have you always wanted to try, but have always set aside?

I'm always encouraging people to try their hand at writing to share their stories, but there are many ways to get your creative juices flowing.

• Broaden your exposure to new ideas by including those younger and older than you in your circle of friends.
• Do something for your community; share your unique experience, insight, and talents.
• Work on a collaborative project; enlist friends to share in a new activity.
• Build upon something you've done before, but bring it to a higher level.
• Experiment with your new pursuit as you would a new recipe or a new travel destination; tell yourself it's just an experiment and there's no harm in failing.

And for a bit more inspiration, enjoy this video of Google's Matt Cutts talking about his experiment with trying something new!