Friday, August 3, 2012

Would’ve…Should’ve…DID



You should write a book.  How many times have I heard that over the past 20 years?  Granted my life has certainly had twists and turns but interesting?  Not really.  My day to day existence is quite simple:  teacher of at-risk high schoolers; adoptive parent; writer; midlife divorcee; recipient of not one but two economically-based layoffs; work-a-holic.  And least I forget, that whole ugly incident in February when I shattered my foot rappelling in Costa Rica.  OK, so maybe there is a story or two in there but none quite ready to fall onto paper.
 I have filled my desire to write through publishing magazine articles, hosting a blog and writing the hometown hero column in a monthly online magazine.  Pieces of my life have appeared in articles and blogs.  Apparently my adventures are  pretty comical based upon what readers share.  
Many of my published stories focus on my adopted son Joshua and our adventures as a mother/son pair.  Finally becoming a mother was when I embraced my love of memoir writing. I traveled to Russia in 1996 landing right in the middle of the Soviet military machine to bring a sickly baby to the US.  Our trip involved AK-47s, screaming Russian border agents (I still can’t understand Russian even when you yell at me), a Rottweiler and “pimping out” a hunky US police officer traveling with us to a female staffed KGB office in exchange for expedited visas.  We maneuvered through a rule-less system relying on sheer wits in order to adopt.   Most importantly through this experience, I learned to smile when scared to death and survive when completely out of my element.  I also found resilience tucked away inside of me.    These life lessons have appeared in my memoir vignettes time and time again.
The resilience of people fascinates me especially when they turn very simple moments into something life altering.   Over 15 years ago I began working as an English teacher at an urban high school with at-risk teenagers.  You know these kids, the ones you cross the street to avoid when paths pass at night.  I certainly had an eye-opening experience those first few years in the classroom but once my “street cred” grew, the kids started talking.  I became the student as they taught this sheltered, middle-class, white,  yuppie a thing or two about real life and survival.   While I could get them to talk, transferring their stories into writing became a challenge as once a tale landed on paper, it lasted forever.  These stories were too precious to lose so capturing them became my mission. 
First, I created a series of activities to entice students’ words onto paper.  I layered the prompts with different challenges and levels of difficulty.  The activities touch upon all aspects of life from family, self-identity, childhood and dreams.  I learned which activities worked and which ones didn’t so after a decade or so of teaching, crafting student memoirs became a district-wide project for all students from the youngest to the oldest. 
Seeing the excitement from my kiddos year after year nudged me back into the adult world where I started running memoir writing groups and workshops.  Adults have stories to tell too!
So when asked again to write a book, the one that landed on paper is my newest release Slices of Life:  the Art and Craft of Memoir Writing published by 10 Keys Publishers.   This how-to guide leads readers down a path to tell their life story.
With this book now off the launching pad, I am focusing on my next writing adventure:  one of  my many slices of life.

Bio:
Cheryl Stahle’s newest release Slices of Life:  the Art and Craft of Memoir Writing is available at www.yourbestwritinggroup.com as well as Amazon.  The marketing plan evolves and grows every day assuming a life of its own.  You can keep up with Cheryl’s adventures on FaceBook by liking Your Best Writing Group or following her on Twitter.  Cheryl still teaches English  and runs writing groups helping authors of all ages and abilities capture life stories.  There will be many vignettes coming in the next year as Cheryl prepares for an empty nest.  Cheryl resides in Bucks County, PA with her son and slightly off-center cat.

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