I always advocate the importance of journaling and the archival character of the written word. Unfortunately, I don’t always do as I preach… Too often I would leave an empty journaling spot on my layout without telling the story.

I always have a perfectly good reason for not following my own advice and leaving the pictures without their underlying stories. Either I am not inspired enough for writing or I cannot find the perfect words to describe the moment I have captured on my page. Sometimes I just haven’t got the time to sit down and write the complete story, but I don’t want to leave anything out so I write nothing. Can you believe that sometimes this kind of reasoning makes sense to me…

I am ashamed to admit that I can’t remember ever coming back to a clear journaling spot and filling in the story. In the meantime, many layouts and some complete albums are bashfully waiting with abandoned journaling spots. The stories are left untold and sometimes are even forgotten.

Having said that, I am now determined to stop this bad habbit. From now on I am going to document all the stories of all the moments that I can possibly remember and not forgetting to interweave the emotions which the stories evoke.

The best way to do so is be preceding the words to the photos. If the layouts can wait for the stories, so can the stories wait for the layouts to be created and for the photos to be taken (or printed). This way no story will be left untold (in the worst case it would be left “unscrapped”).

This week’s prompt is to make an “heritage” folder on your computer (or online).

• First, create the main “heritage” folder.
• Then, create a sub-folder for each person who’s important to you. Do not forget to make a folder for your own personal stories. YOU are important too.
• Tell each story in a separate document in the relevant folder.

You can organize each folder either chronologically or thematically or in what ever way you deem right – these are your stories and you are going to make the rules of telling them.

After you have prepared the interface for your stories you can start telling them. You can either designate 15 minutes a day for writing stories OR you can write whenever you feel inspired or when you feel like reminiscing.

While documenting the stories, don’t forget to include the sad as well as the happy. The angry as well as the loving. You do not have to share all your stories, but you would like to remember them and to derive pleasure from the good ones and strength from the sad ones.

Go on. Write your stories. You are also welcome to share the process of documenting your heritage with me.