The Story of My Life

There is something companies like Storyworth  don't understand.

It is easy to complete a memoir when you are already a writer and have a productive writing practice. But what happens to the rest of us who want to share their story with their family but don't know where to start or even how to do it?

If you have tried to complete any memories-to-book platforms like Storyworth, A Life Untold, Memorygram, and My Life in a Book but dropped out before completing it, then this is the perfect course for you.

By the time you complete the first five minute video lesson, you can start working on all the stories you've been meaning to write but haven't.

If you put in five minutes a day, come next year, you can have at least 52 stories of your life ready to share with the people you love.

Each module comes with one short video lessons on storytelling. We will cover the tricks I use to get going on a draft, what I take into consideration to make it lively and engaging, how to carve time when you are busy, and even how to cheat the system and get a lot done even without writing.

My wife's words were a reminder that I wasn't doing anything about My Life's Dream

 I remember the time I told my wife I wanted to be a writer, and she looked at me in surprise and said, "That's funny because I never see you write." The words hurt, but they were true since we had already been living together for two years.

I have wanted to write since I was thirteen, and I have spent most of my time lost in novels. But I struggle to complete anything or find the "motivation" to do it.

Fast forward a couple of decades later to when I had my daughter, and all of a sudden, it became painfully obvious I needed to figure this out and write a little part of my story and leave it to her (and later to her sister) in case something happened to me.

(I struggled to write that last paragraph because I want to keep this upbeat. I am also trying to be honest. When my daughter was born, life came into focus, and I didn't want to take anything for granted)

I started working with an amazing life coach, thinking I was hiring her to keep me accountable on my productivity. Instead, I started one of the most difficult, transformational periods of my life, where I had to confront my limiting beliefs about sharing my story.

This work helped me become more productive; I co-founded a digital magazine that became one of the most prominent art publications on Medium. I was offered a newspaper column, started two newsletters, and performed at theaters, open mics, festivals, and slams.

But none of it, and I mean it, none of it matters more than knowing that if something were to happen to me, my daughters now have a little piece of me to visit with.

Sometimes, it still hits me.

The other day, Jovie, my oldest, wanted to roughhouse with me. We played for five minutes, and I told her I was done. She wasn't. As I was getting up, she bodyslammed me. I turned around and realized she slammed her face with her mouth open against my back. One of her front teeth became loose, and within a day, she lost it.

My baby is no longer a baby!

These are all reminders that we are moving fast through this life, and I am at peace knowing that as we move through it, I am staying present, jotting down our memories and sharing with them the ones of my upbringing.

When I took storytelling more seriously, it opened me to life. I started paying more attention to what was happening around me, jotting those things down, journaling, taking more pictures, adding them to shared albums, and making stories out of them. As I do, I am leaving a legacy for those who care about who I am, what I think, how I love, and what I teach.

You can do the same.

You can probably even do it better!

Never feel stuck again with your writing.

Don't let anyone else miss out on who you are, what you think, what you are all about.

Become the David Sedaris or Nora Ephron of your story.

This course is not for you if you are already a prolific writer with a system and framework that helps you to continuously write stories and essays.

The course is $97, and it includes all the above with lifetime access to the online material.

Also, there is a 30-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.

I imagine you have questions.

Why would I pay for this? You have tried to go at it alone, but it hasn't worked.

Could I do this myself? You totally can. At my storytelling newsletter, The Story Frame (www.thestoryframe.com), I publish the mindsets and tools I use in my craft. If you implement what I suggest, you can do it yourself. There are also tons of free resources in my newsletter and all over the internet. But why haven't you started yet?

How do I know this is good? It is the same method I have used to prolifically write hundreds of essays quickly.

Will it work for me? Yes, it will. I am not special. I just needed a few tweaks to my mindset and my practice.

I don't have time for this. If you don't have five minutes a day, this might not be the time to join. You still need to put in the work to write your anecdotes and memories. I can show how to make time as someone with a full-time corporate job, two newsletters, a column, a wife, and two amazing girls.

If this is not right for you now, subscribe to my newsletter or download my free guide. I know there are times when even five minutes are hard to find.

But if you are tired of not writing, then I can help.

Curriculum

Lesson 1: The Story Frame. The story frame is the structure that will help you stay focused and productive.

Lesson 2: Time Constraints. Introducing space and time constraints to keep you writing consistent.

Lesson 3: Story Blocks. How to fill paragraphs and how to make them interesting.

Lesson 4: The Story Bank. You told that one story, now what? Learn how to manage your story bank.

Lesson 5: Tech Help. Two apps that can help you tell stories consistently.

I am an award-winning essayist, columnist, and monologuist. I write humorous essays about growing up in Colombia during its most violent years, being married to an amazing human being, and almost gently parenting my two incredible daughters in the San Francisco Bay area.

I am the writer behind the traditionally published opinion column “We Have a Real Problem!”, the storytelling newsletter “The Story Frame,” and the cultural newsletter “Unequivocally Ambiguous.”

I dropped out of engineering school in my fourth year, moved to the United States, and graduated cum laude from San Diego State University’s School of Communication.

Through college, I competed regionally and nationally in Impromptu Speaking, Entertainment Speeches, and Policy Debates.