Tips about and stories of~Off-grid Living:Tell us what interests you!

[Dace]

I like all of it Bee

Oh...cold food storage would be one I would be curious in too. Would you be advocating a generator or completely on your own?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I changed my mind.
I was gonna say a mix of story & how to details. But there are lots of books out there with the how-tos. What I want is personal experience. You could include some details, especially for stuff that is "all-yours" Recipes, gadgets, your favorite things. "A year in the life of" book. I like all of the subjects you've listed.

 

[FarmerChick]

Or you could just write a novel.

The Yearling novel was just when the author lady (can't remember her name) moved to the swamps or (wherever it was) and she wrote about the experiences of a little girl and her deer and the people that lived there. And of course a few movies were made from that book!

You could write about your experiences of how your parents did their thing, and write about it from a kid point of view.

The Painted House by Grissom (I think him, not sure again of author) was all about a kid in the depression type time and how his mom wanted a painted whitewash house out on the farm. And the hard farm work, how they fed the field hands, etc. etc. and how they lived thru harvest etc. It was very interesting book and bestseller I think.

So your type of story could really be a novel type book easily.


ahh, the options, the options

 

[big brown horse]

If you were to be interested in an SS book written about actual happenings, what part would interest you the most?

How to get started?
How to do certain chores without electricity?
How to grow things?
Raise animals?
How to cope without the world?
How to cook on a wood stove(can, bake, etc.)?
A typical day?
How kids fare with no conveniences?


Anything else you can think of....just let me know what you would be interested in if you were to choose this book off the library shelf. Would you be interested in the story or the details or both, like in Farmer Boy? Would you want it to be filled with personal details or only the facts about the actual life/living in a sustainable way off-grid?

I would be interested in all of it!

I have this book called: Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep it gives all the facts you need with an added true short storys about different folks raising their sheep. I love it! It is very hands on and has great hand drawn drawings to illustrate it. So I think that I would love a ss book filled with all the topics listed above, written for the newbie, illustrated with helpful drawings and an added ss true life story snuck into each chapter's topic.

 

[big brown horse]

I do think a story short or long to help us understand a person already living ss would help drive the point home.

This is why I love to read all of your journals. It shows me how others incorporate self sufficiency into their daily lives.

 

[Beekissed]

Very good suggestions! Thank you all for helping me get an idea about what folks like to know or read. I like the story and info within the story....sort of like James Herriott type books that tell a story but also give you some good info on animal ailments. Or like Farmer Boy, that tells a story but describes, in detail, all the chores, meals, clothing, etc.

Just tossing around an idea, now that I'm having a mid-life crisis... Not sure how many people would even be interested, as it would be very hard to keep personal items out of a story or book about living off-grid in the late 70s.

Some of the personal items would be very hard for most folks to identify with....financial, family matrix, how and why some things were done (because my dad is a control freak)....hard to leave out why things were done without explaining the thinking behind it. Some of that thinking would not reflect well on my dad, I would be thinking. I could gloss over it but sometimes the hard times are an integral part of the why or the how.

I like the suggestion about writing from a kid's point of view and I think it would be better received than a factual point A to point B journey. Who knows? If I include some of the juicy bits it may even become a movie! Dare to dream.....

I was thinking of chapter headings like "The Move", The Clearing (the massive clearing of brush, old cars, tires, snakes, bees nests, etc.).....and just take it in chapters like that and see how it rounds out. I could throw in little stories about the night we had a mountain lion on the roof of the cabin looking down through the hole left by the stovepipe. Or stories about the milk cow and how horrible she was to milk.

Just trying to get things sorted in my mind and maybe its all a pipe dream but I was thinking it is probably time before mom forgets all the details.....or I do.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Yeah!!! Do it!

 

[big brown horse]

I would be in line for the book and the movie!

My good friend just finished a book on music and radio. He e-published it. They only print out copies that are ordered on line, to save money and not to over publish books that nobody wants.

I'll ask him about the process if you'd like.

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks, BBH! My sis did that last year with her children's book and now she has an offer for republishing it with an actual publishing house. They are going to revamp the book and re-release it. She has done pretty well with her little children's book so far....I think the last total on the e-publishing was over $7000 in revenue. Now that she is getting a real publisher it will be much more.

I don't have any set plans or anything but I may throw you all an excerpt now and again to see if you like the flavor?

 

[2dream]

I guess all of us saying "Bee you should write a book". Finally sunk in. LOL Its about time.