Some Seniors felt that, by today's standards, they had had a minimal amount of formal education, and this contributed to their reluctance to enter the writing program, "I don't know how to write." Of course, many wrote extensive letters for years before they had access to telephones; consequently, they are experienced in descriptive, persuasive forms of waiting. By assuring them that there will be instruction in teaching the process, the process ceases to be an issue. Also, through the introductory lesson on "Myths about Good Writers," the Seniors come to see themselves as writers; whereas, previously they had believed the term "writer" belonged to only a select few.

For Seniors who want to record their stories, yet are limited and frustrated by memory lapses, it is valuable to write for them as they talk. By doing this, something is recorded for the next session. Copy and save what has been written. Return the original to the Senior. Do a quick review of these notes at the next session, and the client can add to these ideas. This is a very slow, painstaking approach. Many sessions result in a small piece of prose, but there is great pride in the Senior's face when you finally present to them a typewritten story of their own making. They, most importantly, have felt included in the group.

For Seniors who cannot read/write, it is valuable to work on Language Experience stories. They dictate. You write. Do a short paragraph. Read the story back to the Senior. Have the participants pick five words they would like to "ream" from the story. Highlight the words in the story. Put these words on flash cards. Read the story to them and have them say the highlighted words when you reach them. Do this as many times as time will allow. You can be doing this during a time when the more independent writers are involved in their own waiting. Ask the Senior to try to "rehearse" these words between sessions. Make sure to include the Language Experience story, provided the Senior wants this, in the next week's sharing section.

Some Seniors who wanted to write private sections for their personal books, often chose to simply share the material with me, and it was sent for word processing but not shared with the group. As time passed and trust grew, some chose to share painful sections of their stories with the group. They were astounded that they were able to express these traumatic experiences on paper and found the experience accommodated a need for release and closure. For these, the process became cathartic. One lady composed letters to all her deceased sisters, her mum and dad. These were not regretful; they were letters of gratitude.. Intimate stories became part of some members' personal books created for their families.