Your family stories could be part of our next anthology
Marilyn Norry and Michelle Hohn
co-editors of My Mother’s Story: Gone Too Soon
issue a challenge:
WRITE YOUR STORIES
For our next anthology
GENERATIONS
Open to women and men, including those who have already written their mother’s story. This is your opportunity to write your grandmother’s story or have your child write yours. Submitters need to take a workshop where we really explore patterns of intergenerational storytelling.
You have your assignment. This is your deadline November 30, 2025.
WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS WORKSHOPS
Listen to Michelle give a GENERATIONS interview on the Wellness News podcast: https://www.wellness.news/
Write your first draft in a 6+ workshop
What’s a 6+ workshop?
Right now you already have enough stories in your head to write a great first draft telling the story of your mother’s life (or your grandmother, grandfather etc). The challenge has always been
· First: knowing that you know enough to start writing and sitting down to do it
· Second: not getting lost or overwhelmed in all the memories and emotions
· Third: sticking with the story until both you and the story are done.
All this is accomplished in the 6+ workshop!
In one 6 hour day you will plough through all that resistance you hold, you’ll do some memory inducing exercises, and get your courage up and put your fear to one side to WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT. No more thinking about it or worrying about it.
Once you have your first draft, you’ll know what you don’t know, and you’ll be ready to check facts, edit anecdotes, debate what you’ve said in the scary bits, and clarify, clarify, clarify.
A few weeks after that full day (TBD by each workshop), we will meet again for 2 hours to hear what people have written, get feedback, and celebrate our good stories well told. That’s the +!
Reading your story to others and hearing their stories is the best part of this workshop. You may think this project is all about you and your mother but it’s in the hearing and sharing of stories that we experience how amazing our stories really are and how valuable they are to the human race. Women all over the world and throughout history have given birth to babies and it’s stunning to realize there’s a different story every time. Wow!
If you want your stories
to be considered for the GENERATIONS book, you have to take a workshop.
Regardless whther you’ve already written your mother’s story or you’re starting from scratch, in these workshops we will be discussing the intricacies of intergenerational influences – trauma, genetics, personalities, fame and fortune. We will also discuss how to split the facts of a family story into two 2000 stories.
If you have some people you can get together (work mates, book club, family members) we can give you a custom made live experience if we can get there!
- “Light touch” for one workshop and one follow-up session (for those who want a meaningful experience and guidance for creative narrative output but do not necessarily plan to publish or write a story ‘pairing’ for GENERATIONS) = $349 CAD (+GST for Canadians)
- “Full Story Package” which would be the workshop, TWO follow-up sessions (full story process takes longer/typically more than one follow up) plus a 1-hour editing session = $500 CAD (+ GST for Canadians)
Contact Michelle today to sign up: michelle@akashiccommunications.com
Marilyn Norry has finished her current workshops but more are planned. Contact her for current workshop offerings at mothersstory@gmail.com