4 minute read
My Blood Type is Coffee
My life story, told a week at a time
My Blood Type is Coffee
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BY RHONDA MOSSNER
Ahh, Spring! Finally, the seasonal Alps have melted in the yard and we see green growth once again. While many of you have been out tilling gardens and planting seeds, I’ve been doing some homework. I’ve been completing weekly writing assignments gifted to me by our sons for Christmas. I will admit that it sounds like one of those presents that rank up there with soap-on-a-rope or new underwear. I was skeptical at first, but it’s turned out to be quite enjoyable. It’s helped pass the long days of winter and the pandemic quite nicely. In fact, at times I’ve found myself amazed at how quickly we turned the pages on the calendar. The gift was a book that I will write myself over the course of a year. Now, before you consider running down the street with your hands in the air from the idea of writing your own book, let me tell you it’s possible. In 52 steps, it’s possible. Each week, we are sent a question about our lives to write about. Our Monday morning breakfast conversations have gone from wincing over pandemic numbers to what question we were each assigned for the week. Some I’ve personally written about include, “What was your first job?” “How did your parents pick your name?” “Did you like school?” “What was your favorite book as a child?” and “Can you tell us about your best friend from childhood?” Our kids told us that they handpicked 52 questions they wanted answered, so I try to stay with the question assigned, but sometimes the topic isn’t applicable or I choose to hold my cards on the topic a bit closer to my chest and search out another from the list of thousands provided on the site. There is an option to list emails of people you’d like to receive your weekly contribution so our kids can get a little entertainment out of my stories as I go. One of the people I have mine sent to is my older sister, who sometimes responds that she doesn’t quite remember things exactly as I did. We then have to negotiate how we’d like a story to be told for future generations to read. The first week, my financial analyst son quickly emailed me back after he received his first story. “Mom, remember we are on a limited page plan. You need tone it down a bit and do some editing.” I guess he was willing to spring for the basic book-writing package but refused to consider his mother’s tendency to embellish the stories now and then. I’m not saying what I’m writing isn’t true. I’m just saying I might have added some details that embellish situations and at times add characters to the tales. I am a fiction writer, after all. Perhaps I should insert a disclaimer somewhere on the title page. On a serious note, the whole experience asks you to consider people and experiences that you’ve tucked away somewhere for years. A few weeks ago, my question was, “What were your grandparents like?” I noodled on that one for three days before I started writing. Sometimes there are so many memories that it’s hard to decide which to use. I incurred yet another page limit warning from the budget-conscious son on that one. I have a year to complete the book, at which time, I will simply hit the Publish key, and within a couple of weeks, a solid bound book will arrive on my doorstep. There is no free editing involved, so that’s part of the process as I go along. My husband and I plan to edit each other’s work before printing. This is a fun project that is great for those who like to share stories both verbally and in writing, and you don’t have to buy into a purchased program to do it. Just ask your children and grandchildren to write out some questions they’d like you to answer and type them up on your own.
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A simple Google search, “How To Write My Life Story,” will help you get started. Happy Writing! Rhonda Mossner is a professional speaker, freelance writer, quilter and chef who lives in Verona.
