My Trip To Tuscan, Arizona

Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are now. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story” (O’brien 36). Life within itself is a story, a story ever present and ever changing, defining the person one becomes to be. Stories are etched into the minds every individual person, the good and the bad. This novel is a cluster of short stories experienced by the protagonist and his fellow companions.

In “How to Write a Memoir” William Zinsser gives very detailed and important advice to writers interested in writing a memoir. He gives the specific advice of “Be yourself,” “Speak Freely,” and “Think Small” (Zinsser, 2, 4, 6). These tips advise writers to not only think about what they want to say in their story but also how they want to tell their story. Many memoir authors choose to follow this advice and write their story using these points, but many do not. In the memoir “A Summer Life”, Gary Soto follows Zinsser’s writing advice through his use of writing from the point of view of a young child, speaking freely about his early life events, and writing about his life in small structure chapters.

I was in high school the first time I had to write a narrative. I was a freshman. This was Ms. Bradley’s first time teaching at Union Christian Academy. On her first day, she gave us our syllabus and said, “I do not accept late work, especially on writing assignments.” We, literally, sat there stunned. My freshman class had it very easy during eighth grade year. We were not expecting this. As I looked through the syllabus, I saw that our first assignment was due in a week and it was a narrative. At this time, I did not even know what a narrative was. Ms. Bradley explained that a narrative was an account or story of events. It could be either true or false. Our narrative had to be true. It had to be a true account of something that happened to us over the summer. She wanted to gauge how are writing skills were. Our narrative had to be at least two to two and a half pages long. I chose to write my first ever narrative on my trip to Fort Worth, Texas. Once again, I was plagued with writer’s block. I had the story in my head, but everything I

“By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, like the night in the shit field, and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but

By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, like the night in the shit field, and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless help to clarify and explain. (O’Brien 152)

Storytelling is something we all do naturally. It is an innate ability that has been practiced since the dawn of civilization. Stories can be told through literature, visuals, performances, or word of mouth. As time elapses, the way in which we tell stories involves. Although, the way in which we tell stories change, the essence of them remain by incorporating the basic elements of good storytelling.

Short-stories have made a name for itself through the various accomplished publications by initiating emotions, imagination and love between the characters and the reader. As Harold Goddard in The Meaning of Shakespeare stated “The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.”

In the American society, storytelling continues to play a critical role. Each story, storytellers tells, serves a deep meaning towards their life and provides a medium, allowing the storytellers to keep the information they hold as a remembrance. Indeed, storytelling would bring meanings into one’s life as well. Storytelling offers a pathway that allows ones to stimulate continuous learning, development, connection and to look ahead to their future. Storytelling is an expression of power providing pathways to spiritual knowledge.

Stories are powerful. In the past, long before books, people used stories to pass down history and legends to create a deeper understanding of their heritage. It was also a way to pass down morals and values from generation to generation. More than just a way of preserving the past, storytelling is a great way to bridge the gap between a reader’s heart and that of the writer. Everyone has a story to tell no matter what kind it may be. Although there is an art to storytelling, at its very foundation, the practice is merely a means of communicating one’s experiences. Perhaps out of a lack of

In Zinsser’s “How to write a Memoir” it gives very specific advice for a memoir writers. He gives great suggestions such as “Be yourself, “Tell your own story,” and think small” (2,4,6). These suggestions encourage writers to think about how they would want to tell their story as much as they want to say. Some of his memoirs seem to follow his guidelines and some of the books don’t. In her memoir popular. Maya Van Wagenen supports Zinsser’s writing ideas throughout her use of a child’s point of view, an honest storytelling, and a structure of small memoires.

The Gift of Writing: An Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s “Writing Short Stories” 2) Flannery O’Connor, true to her nature, does not just compose an essay about “Writing Short Stories” but weaves a tale about the human nature of “telling stories all [their] lives, and yet, here [they] sit, come to find out how to do it”. People always look for a procedure or a technique to completing a task, the step by step instructions on how to live life. Unfortunately “the ability to create life with words is a gift” and is challenging to teach, meaning that there is no step by step guide. This story telling technique captures the attention and the mind of the reader, never allowing the tone to become monotonous, or the essay to purely become a list of facts.

I’m from Tucson, Arizona; I’ve lived here my whole life. I travel to California every other year due to having family there. I have two young siblings, one is named Cole, he is one-year-old and the other is Koen, a 5-year-old. I dislike getting called on to speak in front of the class I get anxiety and feel like throwing up… My mom is a fourth grade teacher, I live with her, her boyfriend, who is a sheriff, and my two brothers. For hobbies, I listen to music, do puzzles, read, eat, play with my dogs and draw. As a student, my weaknesses are; test anxiety, time-restrictions, I procrastinate and I get distracted easily. However, last year a 504-plan was installed, so that’s taken care of. I’m inspired by Malala Yousafzai to continue school and

My most significant experience in my life is unforgettable. I was there with my sisters, my mom, and my dad. It was the most horrifying event that I have ever witnessed. The daunting image in my head is still clear as day, as though it happened yesterday. This event did not affect only me, but also my family. The story that I am about to tell you may change the way you see things and it may not. All I can say is, it

I love reading books and telling stories. I choose stories and books that I can relate to. When I feel a connection with the writer, I enjoy the book more. Using my experiences as a reader, I try to find ways to connect with my audience while writing and I found that story telling is the key to that connection. Storytelling is a great element to use when writing. It is not only a way to grab the audience’s attention; it is also a way to connect with them. I’m a great storyteller, because I always add my personal experiences to my writing and it helps me connect with my

They way stories are told may morph, but never will storytelling cease. From their people skills to their memories, there is no argument that storytellers possess boundless talent and intelligence. They were the first educators. And now, storytelling is a large part of everyday life. The news in the morning, the gossip throughout the day, the casual response to the casual “What’s up?” – It’s all a form of storytelling. Our lives are steeped in it. In almost every conversation a story is told. At every turn a story is born. So we all are storytellers, and the world is our audience, just waiting to hear the gospel leave our