COLUMN: Viewpoint – Workshop takes on memoir writing

How can I write a memoir? That’s a question a Sept. 27 workshop at Steinbach’s Mennonite Heritage Village Museum will address. I’m privileged to be one of the speakers. I’ll be sharing easy, workable suggestions for how to get started with personal writing. Penning a meaningful memoir doesn’t necessarily involve assembling an entire, detailed chronological life story . There are lots of other creative ways to go about it. I’ll fill you in on 10 ideas that have worked for me.

During her session Sheila Braun will talk about the nuts and bolts of memoir writing providing structures for success. Betty Barkman will provide tips for interviews and research, and Doris Penner, my very first editor when I started writing for The Carillon in 1985, will share her wisdom about refining and proofreading your memoir. Then at the end of the day all four of us will be available for questions about how to get a memoir published.

More information about the workshop is available on the museum website. To register by Sept. 7, you can contact Jo-Ann Friesen, their visitor experience administrator at joannf@mhv.ca or 204-326-9661 ext. 235.

I’m always happy to participate in events at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum because they have been so supportive of me and my writing. My novels are for sale in their bookstore and I’ve been invited to participate in author evenings after both Sixties Girl and Lost on the Prairie were published. On each occasion I had a chance to give a reading from my latest work. I also shared some information about my story and it’s background, and had the opportunity to sell signed copies of my books to those in attendance.

The museum has generously provided me with a table at their Christmas markets where I’ve had a chance to display artifacts and photographs related to my novels and have terrific conversations with shoppers.

In one of my novels a working windmill plays a role in the story. I went to the museum to get a demonstration of how the windmill there operates so I could write authentically about it. One of my favourite photos is of me standing on the deck of the windmill with my good friends Meena and Beena, two women from India who loved touring the museum grounds and learning more about Mennonites.

I remember decades ago being the guest speaker at three special events at the museum, one, a banquet to honour the opening of the Jake Epp Library, another a fundraising evening for Canadian Mennonite University, and the third a provincial meeting of Women’s Hospital Auxiliaries.

Last August, I had the pleasure of being one of the speakers at an event organized by the Women’s Auxiliary of the museum. I talked about the history of the special rock designed by artist Alvin Pauls which stands just outside the main building on the grounds. The rock honors the contributions of pioneer women. I told personal stories each bronzed image on the rock inspired.

The museum also has some family connections for me since my Dad used to routinely demonstrate the traditional art of making manure bricks at the annual Pioneer Days festivities. He donated one of his tractors to the museum when he sold his farm and he and my mother were founding members of the Steinbach Garden Club which plants flowers and greenery at the museum each spring.

I’ve had plenty of meaningful connections with the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum in the past and I’m looking forward to forging another one on Sept. 27 at their writing workshop. Hope to see you there!