Narrative Writing Presented at Kosova Live by Valeriana

Narrative Writing Presented at Kosova. Live by Valeriana Dema and April Gardner “Stories are life; life is stories”

What is Narrative Writing? Narrative writing is writing that allows people to tell their own stories. The goal of this presentation is to provide participants with the tools they need to tell their own stories in a positive way.

“Be Your Own Story” by Toni Morrison https: //www. c-span. org/video/? 182148 -1/wellesley-college-commencementaddress

“A person’s life story is the way a person integrates facts and events internally—picks them apart and weaves them back together to make meaning. This narrative becomes a form of identity. ” – The Atlantic

“Ultimately, the only material we’ve ever had to make stories out of is our own imagination, and life itself. ” “In order to have relationships, we’ve all had to tell little pieces of our story. ” “Two themes in people’s stories tend to correlate with better well-being: agency, or feeling like you are in control of your life, and communion, or feeling like you have good relationships in your life. ” Overview of “Life’s Stories” Article

Facts from “Life’s Stories” “The default mode of human cognition is a narrative mode. ” Autobiographical reasoning is “identifying lessons learned or insights gained in life experiences, marking development or growth through sequences of scenes, and showing how specific life episodes illustrate enduring truths about the self. ” Story construction develops significantly in adolescence. Having positive themes in one’s life story is generally associated with greater well-being, while negative themes tend to coincide with poorer mental health. Studies have shown that finding a positive meaning in negative events is linked to a more complex sense of self and greater life satisfaction.

Overcoming Obstacles Activity: Break into small groups. Read the prompts and discuss how the given situations could lead to a positive outcome.

Writing Exercise Write about a story from your own life.

Overcoming Challenges

“I’m not just living out this story, I am actually in charge of this story. ” Closing Thoughts