Kristena Tunstall

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Kristena Tunstall > My Journeys > 365 Day Writing Journey > Day 30: Out of the Box

Posted on January 5, 2014 By Kristena Tunstall

Day 30: Out of the Box

Think outside the box IThe age-old saying goes, “Think outside the box.” But first we must have a box to think outside of.

Is our box more of a literal box we throw different things in for differing reasons? Or is it more of a mental box in the far corners of our brain? For some it might even be both.

So what’s in our box? For me, I have boxes for tax related stuff. Shoe boxes with shoes, sometimes. While others I use as a temporary storage facility for whatever is around at the time. Then I have them for my crafting stuff like sewing, cross stitch, yarn, scrapbooking, and much more. Sometimes they are just miscellaneous with what is found to get it out-of-the-way. But these are the physical type.

The mental boxes store all kinds of things. For me, one of my boxes has what happened to Mari. It’s a box that can be easily infiltrated simply by a memory or a sound. When I was writing her book, it’s kind of like I was stuck in the box. The book that I thought was okay didn’t seem to be working for others. I thought for sure it would as it felt like I’d poured my heart and soul into it. But then it dawn on me. By keeping myself in that box I wasn’t able to show what needed to be shown. I needed to look and think outside that box to come up with the perfect story about Mari.

And then it hit me. I needed to take Her Hospital Story and turn it into a full length book. Be creative with it so the reader understood emotionally what we went through during that time.

It took taking a moment to step away from the box to realize that outside that box was the real story.

 

Day 31: Dreaming Your Ship

January 6, 2014 Kristena Tunstall 0
I love this: "If you say your story is fiction, it’s fiction. Period. How much or what part of it is autobiographical is nobody’s business." That was quoted from the author of the book I'm using. As most of you know, I am very new to writing fiction, well writing…
 

Day 29: First Things First

January 4, 2014 Kristena Tunstall 0
              There's an old saying that goes like this: In order to start your journey we must first know where we're going. For example, in order for Keith and I to know the exact route we would take to get to Alaska when we…

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  1. Jean Williams says

    January 8, 2014 at 9:01 am

    My son left a box of journals. Even though it’s been nine years, I’ve tried to read the journals but can’t. That box stares at me. The timing is not right. It may never be right.

    I’m writing a book of devotions about my loss of Joshua. It took seven years to get an idea of what to write about his life/our loss. A dear friend gave me the idea of a book of devotions, and it smacked me in the face like God’s idea. I praise Him!

    • Kristena Tunstall says

      January 8, 2014 at 9:24 am

      It’s been over five years and I still have most of Mari’s things like her toys, puzzles, her Dora ATV Super Wheels, and many other things. I’ve slowly gotten rid of some things like her old ratty high chair and the sandbox we had for her. I know when, and if, the time is right I’ll be able to give the things away that were hers. But for now, it’s not the right time and just like you that’s okay.

      I think it’s awesome you’ve figured out what God is leading you to do in remembrance of your son. It’s a beautiful thing. 😀

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