Video Writing Tips

Every single day of our lives, we are surrounded by stories, stories that empower us or devastate us, stories true, stories manipulated, and stories that are absolute fabrications. It’s true now, and it has been as long as there have been listeners captivated by a good tale.

But you know what? You can claim your stories. Capture every piece of them, from the moments of fear to the moments of awakening to the moments that drive you to action to the moments that send you back to your family and friends, hugging them tighter than ever.

Eleanor Roosevelt, Frederick Douglass, Anne Frank… so many before us have told their stories and changed the world. It’s your turn.

When we talk about a day-to-day accounting of your life, writing down the moments, capturing your world, your relationships, and your activities, sometimes we don’t take the time to process how it all feels. Take a moment and acknowledge that. How are you doing?

What have been the stages of your emotions through this whole time period? Disbelief? Annoyance? Impatience? Anger? Grief? Determination?

Have you been writing it down, allowing yourself to process the new truths of your life and this moment? Writing anything down gives you time to absorb it, understand it, question it, and spark new ideas.

For journal prompt #9, let’s focus on you.

So much has happened over the past months. So much was going to happen, perhaps, but didn’t. What happened with those plans? Were they cancelled? Were they transformed?

Write it down. People adapt. It’s what we do. It’s one of humanity’s strongest traits. We find ways to keep going, even when those ways are something we never would have guessed possible a short time ago.

Prompt #8: Start with today’s date. Then pick something that was supposed to happen in one way during this time but that had to change dramatically. What was the original plan? What did the change look like? This is your excuse to capture a moment in your life like a time capsule. You’re living through history. Be bold enough to preserve everything about it. This is a moment where we can all be historians. Let’s embrace it.

When everything we know about our world is flipped on its head, we adapt. We shift. We do what we need to do, yet we realize that there will be trickle effects of this moment.

For Writing Prompt #7: Write down today’s date. Then pick an element of your life that has drastically changed (your work, your family life, your relationships, something new because of a choice that you had to make…), and consider the greater effects of that shift. What will be the take-aways from this moment that will continue in some way, after today has passed? Are there lessons learned? Are there new epiphanies that will reshape your future?

Write it down. Because we’re living through history. World history. Your life history. Keep going. Keep scribbling. Keep typing. And take care, everyone.

What is amazing about people is that every single one of us has a story to share. Maybe we tell them. Maybe we don’t. Maybe we express them around the dinner table or at a child’s bedtime. Maybe they are told in family histories written down or memoirs or in art or in dance or poetry. Maybe we tell our stories in the traditions that we pass down from generation to generation.

Right now, you are living through a story in your life that I’m guessing you’ll never forget. How will you preserve it?

You get to decide.

For journal prompt #6: Journal your day today, what’s different from the moment you work up to how you go about your daily to-do’s, to how you communicate with others around you, to how you end your day at the end of the night.

Things are different. What is it that you’ll remember about this, that perhaps you’ve never put down into words? For this entry, begin with the words, “I’ll always remember…” and then keep going, with wherever that start takes you.

Storytelling is an ancient tradition. As far back as at least Herodotus, we have collected our stories to preserve moments in time, to save them from being forgotten, to remember what it was like to live through a moment that changed the course of our lives. Some of these moments are small. Some of these moments are breathtaking and world-changing. We’re living through one of these moments. Write it down.

For journal prompt #5: What was the moment when this new reality set in for you, when it wasn’t just something in some far off place, when it wasn’t an abstract fear but a true new reality? What was it that you heard or saw or learned that made you realized that things would be different?

And then what were your first reactions? How did you prep yourself? Your family? Your home? What did you make sure you had a supply of?

There are moments in history that have probably always intrigued you, making you wonder what it was like to live in a certain place, to walk down a certain street, and to watch the shifts in a neighborhood during a specific, historic time period. Now flip those questions around.

For journal prompt #4, think about your city, your town, your world right now. Capture that story. Capture your story. Write it down.

We’ve been on this journal writing journey together, because this is a time like no other in your lifetime, because this is a time difficult to process, because this is a time you have the ability to preserve with your stories and your voice. We all have a voice. Let yours be a part of this moment in history. Write it down.

For journal prompt #3, let’s talk about relationships. Who do you live with? How’s everyone doing? How does everyone show their feelings? How have you had a chance to connect in new ways? Who’s not with you that you wish was? And lastly, what about your relationship with yourself? Are you treating yourself kindly in the midst of all of this?

We don’t always take the time to pause and appreciate the little things that bring us joy. But right now, in this moment of your life, let’s pause. Collect your thoughts and truly take in the realities of your day. Start by writing today’s date then keep going.

Today’s prompt: What is your favorite thing about your home? A specific room? A specific nook? A specific shady tree? The smell of your kitchen at dinner time? What is something so simple that you’ve never even thought to write down before? Now write it down.

Everyone has a story. In this moment of history especially, take a few minutes to capture your day-to-day. Journal it. Start with today’s date. Then record all of the details you can think of. Hopes. Fears. New realities. Your future self will thank you for it.

Whether you have ever considered yourself a “writer” or not, #WriteItDown. And if you need a partner on this journey, I’m here for you. Today, we’re starting with Journal Prompt #1.