Write Your Stories

Not a week goes by - sometimes not even a day - that I don’t want to ask my mother or father or a brother a question about their life. Where did you go to high school? Did you play in the marching band? How did you meet your spouse? What was college like? What kinds of toys did you have? Was I a good son/brother? These are all pretty mundane questions but they all, and more, have occurred to me over the years. I can’t ask them because my family has all passed away.

Back in the day, it was possible to record the details of your life but it required a commitment to keeping a journal or a diary. Or there had to be a concerned relative that thought to use a tape recorder to record an interview with your mother/father/grandmother, etc.

Today it’s much easier!

We have voice recorders on our devices. We can speak our story to it and even have the voice recorder automatically transcribed. That can produce a pretty dry story and there can be disjointed memories and things that don’t really fit together. But we can do even better! We can speak or type our memories into an AI like ChatGPT or Claude and have it organize them and turn it all into a coherent story!

You may think you don’t have anything interesting to say. Believe me, you do! If you have children I’m sure that at some point they will want to know the same things I wanted to know of my parents. If you have siblings, the same holds true. Even if you don’t have children or siblings, I’d bet you have some friends who would be interested in some aspects of your life.

Don’t make it a chore:

You don’t have to write a 1200-page novel. You can pick an aspect of your life and tell that story. Myself, since tech has always been such a big part of my life, I chose to tell the story of my tech life. I started with my interest in science fiction books and magazines as a youngster and traced it through college, into my professional life, into my retirement, and, ultimately, my writing things like this. I dictated what I remembered and what seemed important to the story. I didn’t do it all at once, I did it when I felt I had the time and the motivation. When I tired of it or if I ran out of time, I would put that AI conversation aside and go about my business. Then, when I was again motivated or I remembered something I wanted to add, I would pick up the AI conversation again.

I did mine over the course of about a week - a bit one day then nothing for a day or two and then more as I had the time and inclination. A friend of mine told the story of setting up an in-home intensive care unit to take care of her parents and she did it pretty much in one sitting. Do it how and when you’re comfortable with it. If you’re a person who needs a schedule, sure go ahead and put it on your calendar. Set it up the way that is comfortable for you.

How?

There are many ways you can do this. For instance, start your favorite AI (ChatGPT, Claude, whatever) and tell it “I’m going to tell you the story of <whatever you want> and I want you to organize it and turn it into a readable story. Break it into chapters if appropriate.”

Or, perhaps, “I’m going to tell you about an aspect of my life. When I tell you to I want you to rewrite it into an interesting story. Stick to what I tell you. Don’t research to find other things to add.”

Or, maybe, “I’m going to feed you some information about my life. I’ll do it one statement or paragraph at a time. You can ask questions about it to clarify things but don’t add your own stories. This is about me. When I’m ready I’ll tell you to start writing.”

Or, maybe just simply “I’m going to tell you about my life and I want you to turn it into an interesting story. Use only the facts I give you.”

What?

Tell the story of how or why you chose your profession. How you met your spouse or your first love. Tell the story of the birth of your child(ren). What your daily life was like after high school or college. Who your friends were and what they were like. What you did every day after school. The TV shows or movies you particularly enjoyed. Your memories of learning how to cook from your mother or father. You don’t have to tell a single story, you can tell multiple stories. Heck, you might not only enjoy remembering them but also reading them back someday.

We all have stories to tell. And we have a perfect set of tools with which to do it now. Why not start? Pick a memory or an aspect of your life and record it. See what you think.

That’s all for this time

I hope you’ll take the time to start telling one or more of your stories. It really is easy. Don't hesitate to write to me if you have questions!

As always, my intent is to help you understand the basics and equip you to search for more detailed information.

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If you like, you can read my most recent newsletter in the Hillsboro Times Gazette at https://go.ttot.link/TG-Column - I should have that link updated shortly after this edition of the newsletter appears in the online version of the newspaper.