Post #26 – Memoir Writing, Journaling – Amber Starfire
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For journal writers, especially those of us who use journaling as a starting point for memoir, it’s important to think about the safety and storage of our writing.
I think about this topic from time to time, because when my mother died I was gifted with boxes and boxes containing copies of every letter she’d ever written or received, as well as her personal journals — no small thing, as my mother was a prolific writer in her own right. Many of those letters and journals were written before the advent of the personal computer, but just as many were not. She had, however, printed everything and filed it away in an envelope with the year written on it.
And I’m glad she did, because my mother — never an adopter of new technologies — was still using an old Windows PC, an antiquated version of WordStar, and floppy disks. When she was moved out of her apartment, everything she owned was put in storage. By the time she passed away, the disks and computer had been separated, and the computer itself no longer seemed to function properly.
Yes, I’m sure we could have found an expensive someone to read the data on those old floppies and transfer the files to CDs or a hard drive, but because my mother printed hard copies of everything, there was no need.
The lesson, for me, was to think about where I was storing my most precious documents — my digital pictures, journals, and correspondence — and whether that storage media would be sufficient. A few days ago, this topic resurfaced when I read an article in the Guardian about Digital Archiving.
My bottom line advice? Don’t let your writing pass away with you. If you want to preserve your work, print hard copies, file, and store everything in a secure location. (In my opinion, this would not be in your attic, but in an off-site storage location.) Also, be sure to assign someone the rights to all digital accounts that relate to your work. For example, I keep files on my Mobile.me and Dropbox accounts, which allow me to work on current writing projects from any location. My assigned executor will be able to access my files and ensure that my work, including my journal writing, is preserved.
For more on this topic, read my related article, What Will Happen to Your Journals? on WritingThroughLife.com.
Join the conversation. Have you thought about this topic before, or is it new to you? Where do you store copies of your journaling, memoir and other writing? Where will your writing be in 100 years?
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journaling
memoir journaling
journal writing prompt
reflective journaling
Photo by Raymond Gilford
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Amber, these are good points, and ones I’ve been exploring for my father and myself. It’s tricky and often a tangle.
It’s an area I term “Harvesting.” The work I do with my father I call “Harvesting: Heritage and Lineage.” But, for my own work the harvesting is daunting in sorting out those boxes of journals, letters, and ephemera.
It’s an area we’ll be exploring in the Creative Catalyst column on Story Circle Network blog “Telling Her Stories.” Stay tuned. We’re as interested as any of our readers in the answers we might find. I’d also welcome your thoughts or resources you can point me too.
Janet Riehl
Wow!
I have been journalling longhand for most of my 61 years. I ended up with more paper than I could fit into my apartment. I only recently began to collect my thoughts on my first laptop. I NEEDED THIS INFORMATION!
Thank you so much!
Margarett Meyers
(P.S. I am originally from Hollister, lived in Gilroy and Morgan Hill for several years, and have now relocated a total of 106 times covering nine different states! I now make my home in Joplin, MO, and I do think I am finally settled down. I like to call myself an emerging writer with a lot to say. Each of those relocations has its own stories to tell. And Go, Garlic Festival!)
Janet, thanks for your comment. I look forward to reading your post on the Telling HerStories blog (http://storycirclenetwork.wordpress.com/) about harvesting and deepening this conversation.
Margarett, thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I thought I had moved a lot (over 50 times)! You definitely have the prize for that, and many stories I’m sure. I hope, if you are so inclined, that you will leave the treasure of your journals for the historian in your family. Or perhaps write your own history, mining your journals for memoir. And yes, the Garlic Festival is so much fun. Garlic ice cream anyone?
Hi Margarett:
Thanks for your comment. You may win the prize for the most moves among our readers — 106 times. I just wanted you to know that I appreciated your origins — Hollister, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, etc. I have just moved from Gilroy to Oregon. New adventures, new stories.
Intersting topic. My mother is an avid journaler. She attibutes her personal growth and who she is today to her journaling. She has often said that when she passes she is okay with us reading them, that she would even like that so that we may see and understand more about why she did certain things at certain times. Messages from beyond. She has also requested though, that after we are done with them that we burn them and scatter their ashes on our traditional territory on a road trip, returning her words to the land that sparked it all.
rachel
http://www.pen-to-paper.com
http://www.pen-to-paper-justwrite.blogspot.com
Rachel, thanks for sharing. A middle of the road solution — read and then burn. I think I would have a difficult time burning my mother’s letters and journals, especially after reading them. It’s wonderful, though, that your mother is willing to share her journey with her children.
I am 87 years-young and started writing my memoirs about 10 years ago. I add to it as i think of events that I want to record. I need to find the name of a place to store my writings safely. I have some on disc but would like to have a more secure place to put them.
Helen, thank you for your question. Where you store your work is truly an individual choice, based on need for security and/or comfort level. I recommend keeping two copies of your work. One might be on your computer, or a hard copy stored in boxes in your attic.
Then, you want to get the second (backup) copy out of your home in case there is a fire or other disaster.
Some storage possibilities include:
* where you store your will and/or trust documents — an excellent choice, because it can be paired with your instructions for what happens after you pass on.
* a bank safe deposit box
* a storage unit outside your home
* or, even, the home of a good friend.