YouTube-Google Search Story Memoir Perfect for Practicing Story Building: May Contest

Post #37 – Women’s Memoirs, Book Business – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler

Did you see Google’s Super Bowl commercials? If so, you probably remember the one called “Parisian Love,” which to Matilda’s and my thinking is, in essence,  a Google memoir. Conceptually it’s close to the Six-Word Memoir…only much cooler.

“Parisian Love” is very clever, and if you haven’t seen it, here’s a link to the original Google Search Story (aka memoir).

Create Your Own Google Search Story Memoir

Well now YouTube has a Google Search Stories Video Creator. And not only is it way cool, it’s also very easy to use. Here’s one I created in less than five minutes. It’s my story of leaving Connecticut for Maine.

And here’s Matilda’s story about selling her high-tech company, moving to the country and starting a new business teaching memoir writing to women.

We Have a New Tool for Story Writing

Here’s the link to the YouTube-Google Search Story memoir creator. I hope you’ll all create your own Google Search Story Memoirs and share the links with readers here on Women’s Memoirs so we can all enjoy your creativity, but I think there’s something more we can do with this tool. We have the perfect application for testing our theme and message. Can you express your theme and message in just seven search phrases? In other words, can you express your theme (universal concept) and the message (plot) with just seven search strings? Sounds a little like that old TV program, Name That Tune. “Mr. DeWitt, I can name that tune in two notes.” Okay, so I just dated myself.

Writing students of all ages struggle with theme and message (see my thoughts on this subject over at Story Circle Network’s Telling HerStories blog). Related to this, they also often write stories that aren’t really stories at all…they’re more like character sketches or anecdotes–events without a clear point. The pieces may be beautifully written, but without a plot, an arc or turning point, or a clear beginning, middle and end, they simply aren’t stories.

As I began playing with the Google Search Story Creator, I discovered that while it only took me five minutes to create a video, I was spending 10 minutes or so thinking through my story. I wanted to show clear progression, a point and usually a strong arc in the fifth or sixth search query. Then I wanted to end my story with possibility for the future, a question or even something a little whimsical. This tool provides a good structure for focusing on your own theme and message. Try it and see what you think.

Enter Our May Contest

Matilda and I found Google Search Story Memoirs so much fun to create that we decided to make this our May contest. Just follow this link to the YouTube Google Search Story Creator to get started.

I’ve posted a couple screen captures to help you. It’s not hard, but these may be useful.

1-Here’s the first screen you’ll see after you click the button to CREATE your own Search Story:

You enter your search phrases in chronological order on the left; and select the type of search you want for each search string (Web search, Maps, Product search, etc.) on the righ.t You’ll notice that the preview screen (just below this form–you can’t see it in this screen shot) shows you what your Google search actually found. Try changing from Web search to Maps to Product Search, etc. to give your screens variety.

2-When you’re done and click NEXT, you’ll go to another screen where you can choose from several musical scores.

3-And when you are finally done, YouTube will begin building your video. This will take a few minutes. Be patient.

4-After you watch your video and if you’re pleased with the results, give your video memoir a name and brief description. Put “Women’s Memoirs” in quotes as a tag.

5-To enter our contest, upload your video to our WritingAlchemy YouTube Channel. You’ll be prompted for a Username and Password so that YouTube knows where to store your video. The Username is WritingAlchemy (NOTE THAT’S ALL ONE WORD) and the Password is contest1 (THAT’S THE WORD “contest “IN LOWER CASE, FOLLOWED BY THE NUMBER ONE).

6-Finally, come back to this post and add a Comment below telling us the name of your video. You must do this last step so we’ll know whose video belongs to whom.

That’s all there is to it. Have fun, and good luck. The contest ends May 31, 2010.

theme and message
memoir contest
memoir
YouTube Google Search Stories Video Creator
story arc

Tagged as: craft of writing, Memoir Contest, memoir story, Theme and message