HOW TO SHARE STORIES

4) Include sense information: Smells, sounds, tastes, touch, and visual. Make those fragrant pears and sweet blackberries. Make Mom’s laughter ring through the house and Dad’s car grease slick to walk over.

5) Include feelings: Tell if you were deeply in love. Tell if you felt loss or joy. Tell if you were frightened, anxious, ebullient, or silly.

6) Avoid the perfect. It’s boring. Share flaws, differences, and idiosyncrasies. Readers love to hear those as they are more believable and make readers feel comfortable in their own imperfect skins and lives. I wish for everyone to be able to say, “I loved (whomever) so much. S/he wasn’t perfect, but s/he was so good to me, or taught me so much, or did his/her best.”

7) Join me at my LOVE STORIES workshop on June 12th. It’s about love of all kinds: parents/friends/children/hobbies/vocations/pets/travel/treasures, etc. The idea is anything that people can and do love. Recalling loving feelings, we've learned, makes us happier and healthier. A workshop like this can stoke my mood for weeks! It's only three hours from 3-6pm and $35. At Greenwood Senior Center in Seattle. Call 206-361-6733 to register.

Visit Sharing Stories on the Local page of NW Prime Times website http://northwestprimetime.com. Stories & photos to ariele@comcast.net.