MGMS WRITERS GROUP

Hello Fellow MGMS Shedders,

‘Stories from the Shed’ Writers Group project

Thank you to those members who have nominated to tell your stories as part of the Writers Group project between now and September, when the grant funds have to be finalised. We are working our way around contact with you to develop your stories as part of the project.

What does the project look like? Well, it simply tells the stories that people have wanted to tell about their own lives and experiences. It can also be that others encourage you to tell stories they have heard and enjoyed, and believe you should make them available for others. We will not always be here to continue the personal telling. Our world may be poorer if some stories are lost.

Some stories are very brief and usually tell a tale around an incident in life that was sometimes unexpected, and often have an ironic or humorous twist to them. The sort we often tell over a coffee break around the shed and other places.

Some tales are longer and relate a life story that sometimes even the family are unaware of in any detail, and perhaps you want them to know about. In some cases people have already recorded their life and family story for family members, and highlights can be extracted to make a tale of about 20 minutes in the telling, or 3000-4000 words in written form.

The stories will be printed for access by shed members. They will also be available electronically from the Shed website. Story-tellers will also get both print and electronic copies for their own use for adding to themselves or by other family members or persons.

Photos often enhance personal stories, if available, and copies submitted can also be stored electronically, sometimes by photographing a print photograph, and added to stories and personal electronic storage.

We invite you to take a bit of time to appreciate some of our efforts so far. The first collection of stories assembled are attached as a pdf file. One is a collection of tales of varying length and subjects. The others are individual life histories. Through this you can learn more about the authors, and see the scope of the project and its work.

You might even consider being part of the project with your own stories. If so, please contact us through the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or the MGMS website forum for the Writers Group. To use the Forum, you may need to register first, if you have not already done so.

Please read the following documents as further introduction to the project.

- Interviewing the shedders.

- Introduction for storytellers.

- About Copyright

- Dealing With Sensitive Issues

- Writing family histories, telling tales, writing memoirs

- School Curriculum Guide

- Storytellers Guide

- Project Introductory Letter

Collection 1 - Life Stories

Collection 2 - Stories From The Shed