Perspectives on Giving:

writing your story

My friends:

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this venture. I am so excited to complete it. It is my goal to have at least 20 stories submitted by the end of February. I would like to have them all edited by the end of March. My intention is to submit them to a publisher in April. I would like for them to come out in time for Mother's Day.

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This image and all references to CircleofLoveadoption.com
and/or CandaA designs are sole property of Carin Wilson
owner: CandaA Designs.

My Vision:
Containing stories written by
personally selected writers, this book
will educate, motivate, encourage and
reassure all of its readers. The success of
this book is inevitable, because God
is working thorugh me and the beautiful
women who are courageous enough to tell
their stories. We will spread a message of love
and open the minds of anyone who has any
misconceptions about this very personal,
very important act of love.

How to Write Your Loving Story:

You have taken the first step. You have already shared your beauiful story in a very non-thretening environment on Cafemom. You have been selected, personally, to submit your story to this book. Please read below for a few tips and some small guidelines for writing your story.

Write in your own voice:
In writing, your voice is just as unique as the sound that comes from your throat when you speak. Your speaking voice is always a part of you and, unless you are making funny noises or imitating someone, it is one of those wonderful characteristics that makes you unique. Your writing voice is similar to your personality. Think about some of the times you have written in non-pressure situations, such as chatting or posting on message boards, writing friendly letters or emails, or keeping a diary of your thoughts and feelings. These are times when you probably used your voice, if you were being yourself. When we write technically, for business or school, we often leave out our voice. There is no "extra padding" to set the writing apart from just a bunch of words. Your voice is the reason you were asked to write this.

Here are some questions to consider about your writing voice:

Ask a friend to read some of your past writing to tell you how you come across on the page.

Is your personal writing literary? funny? romantic? poetic? factual? upbeat? depressing? straightforward? flowery? How do you sound?

Do you write your mind? Express opinions? Or are your words over-polite and politically correct?

Is it stilted? Does it flow?

Do you sound like YOU or does it sound like an article in a newspaper?

Does your writing have a rhythm? (Do you feel like it is moving in a certain direction?

Do all your sentences sound the same? Do they all begin the same way? (If so, see the part of this blog titled: "Making your Sentences Interesting")

Do you have 'favorite' words and phrases that you repeat often? If so, which ones? Can you find alternatives?

Do you use cliche's that you hear people say often? EX: "cried like a baby", "down and out", "nowhere to turn", "at the end of the day". Cliche's are not YOUR VOICE. They are overused phrases that do not cause eyebrows to raise. Look at the cliche': "cried like a baby" and consider this: "the tears, burning my cheeks, seemed to flow like hot lava."