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Lesson: Six Views of Yourself

Define Your “I”

In this lesson, you’ll write six short descriptions of yourself, using creative comparisons to explore your first-person voice.


Why Personal Storytelling Matters

“Writing down everything that goes through your head ‘without fabrication’ is exactly the same as observing your breathing without modifying it.”

— Emmanuel Carrère[1]


 

SIX VIEWS OF YOURSELF
At a Glance

Introduction – read first

Lesson Steps — do them in order

  1. Dream First: Six Objects
  2. Write Fast: Six Comparisons
  3. Vision Share: Pick a View
  4. Think Again: Another View?

Stretch Activities

Main Tools

  • Self-awareness
  • An Eye for Details
  • Questioning

Main Takeaways

  1. Explore who you are and how you view the world.
  2. Express yourself more effectively and authentically.
  3. Set writing goals for yourself.
  4. Discover your creative flow for generating new work.
  5. Document your journey as a writer.
  6. Extend your stories beyond words with multimedia.

Self-Evaluation – finish here


  1. From "The Enclosure" in Yoga by Emmanuel Carrère, translated from French by John Lambert (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022), p.69.

License

Lessons for Life: Finding Your First-Person Voice Copyright © 2023 by Martha Nichols. All Rights Reserved.