Writing Stories of Culture
Dear Fans of World So Bright, Our themes for August through September will be the culture of the EXTENDED FAMILY and how it plays a role in a person’s life and the painful subject of RE-ENTRY…that awful time when you are reintroduced to your HOME CULTURE and how it all plays out in your life. I am eager to hear…
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Each week, I am bumping into new friends who want to start writing their Life Stories. With this in mind, I’ve designed a download for you called, “21 Prompts for Finding your Life Story.” This little booklet affords you a viable method of locating the most powerful memories to write about. Many times, people ask me how I accessed my…
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Were the good old days better? Were ancient cultures pure of malicious motives? Were those cultures never rude or cruel or greedy? One phenomenon in the study of culture is the sense that “culture or society is DETERIORIATING.” You’ve heard this type of comment from older folks, haven’t you? What was once normal and good, is left along the way…
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The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume One, lies open before me. These 467 pages represent just a portion of the extensive memoir of Samuel Clemens who wrote under the pen-name of Mark Twain. I close the volume to study the cover. Twain is presented in his later years in this photograph of black and white. The photographer captured Twain with…
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The theme for August and September is the EXTENDED family and how the norms are passed on or ignored by the next generation. This cultural phenomenon of teaching a type of BEHAVIORAL CODE or SOCIAL GRAMMAR is inevitable. To live together is to learn from each other. Mom’s habits may become my habits. Grandfather’s values might become mine. In tighter…
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LORI, HOW DID YOU GET INTO WRITING? Ever since I was a child, I’ve been captivated by her international friendships and the teaching of English. I am mesmerized by the power of short works to inspire true understanding of the cross-cultural experience. I aim to expand my writing skills in creative nonfiction, guiding others to do the same….
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One year ago around this time, I took a 3-credit graduate course on Writing all based on Mark Twain and Hannibal, Missouri. I learned several ways to incorporate his SHORT STORIES into writing prompts for students, both elementary and high school. As we went from cave to steamboat, to monuments to museums, we wrote in our journals. We wrote flash-fiction,…
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