Aspiring scribes explore life stories

Documenting the moments of their lives, a brave band of five aspiring scribes has been attending the "Writing Your Story" guided autobiography course at the Coffield Community Center, searching for answers and enlightenment in the written word.

Now in its final sessions, the 10-week program offered by Sisters Park & Recreation District was devised to focus the thoughts and memories of writers of any age or experience with the goal of helping them better understand themselves and what their journeys have meant.

Taught by Sue Stafford, it hopes to extract emotions and meanings through the process of writing in the autobiographical form, leading her students to a new awareness of their lives and what alterations and additions they would make looking back.

"Some people are doing this for themselves and some because their kids are asking them to document their stories," said Stafford. "So the main motivation there is to leave their family a written record for further generations."

This unique class is based on the work of Dr. James Birren, former assistant director of the UCLA Center On Aging, who created the program and accompanying book called "Guided Autobiography," where he outlines his method of teaching this particular course.

"When you're writing about your own intimate and personal experiences, you often discover untapped literary talent you never knew was there," Stafford said. "At the end of the classes, students will have taken a look at nine major themes in their lives, common to everyone, using important branching points ranging from their dealings with death and dying to their relationship with money."

The heart of the course is more about telling your own story via structured weekly assignments shared with the group and the dynamics of self-discovery that emerge from it. The simple act of getting it down on paper as a memoir, not trying to create a literary masterpiece, is the ultimate goal and reward.

Martha Adamson initially signed up because she wanted more practice writing, and this was the only game in town.

"I didn't think I really wanted to write about myself," she said. "I thoroughly enjoyed this class, although it's not always easy writing about the topics assigned. One thing I've learned is I don't know how to write metaphors, and everyone else in the class does. There's not a metaphor to be seen in my writing. But it's been fun to meet everyone in the class and get to know them."

"One of the reasons this format works is the sharing component every week," said Stafford. "Having the deadline to write your own short piece and reading it aloud to the other classmates. It's often not until you hear it spoken that the real 'a-ha' moment and insight comes where you realize how a particular memory has impacted your life."

Four women and one man formed the writing ensemble, and with the closeness that naturally developed over the span of two months, there's already talk of continuing on as an informal creative writing group after the conclusion.

For Chuck Lambert, the class has generated the will to write more as he received ideas from the other writers.

"I was in teaching for years, so this is something I've been doing for years," he said. "Hearing how other people can talk about their life experiences has enriched me to be more precise about my life and background. Sue has been very insightful and so helpful. We'd love to see another course like this again if possible."