Conveying the emotion of true events is the key to writing for one former Olds resident.
“I look for a way in words to describe what I'm feeling because it's something that's uplifting and I want to touch you as a reader. I know my style is different and I don't even know what my style is,” said Ellie Braun-Haley, who now resides in Calgary.
Braun-Haley had two stories published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada, The Wonders of Winter, in November, one of which recounted her time volunteering for the Olds and District Christmas Angels Society. The story recounts how Braun-Haley and her granddaughter delivered goods collected by the society to the residences of those in need and the emotion involved in that.
She lived in Olds for about 10 years and worked at Horizon School and at Padnoma Support Services.
“I wanted my granddaughter to participate (with the Christmas Angels). She was just a small elementary school youngster and I wanted her to feel not only the importance of service to others, but I wanted her to feel the emotions involved with it because I think whenever we do something that helps somebody else and they say effusively, ‘Thank you so much,' it touches our spirit, and we want to do more,” she said.
“I had my granddaughter carry in the toys, the things that were going to be for the children and the woman said, ‘Thank you, that's for Christmas,' and I just really got all choked up and teary and I still do just thinking about it because it's like they wouldn't have had a Christmas if not for the people in Olds and when she thanked me so profusely, I'm saying we didn't bring this. This is from all the good people in the area,” Braun-Haley said, her voice filled with the emotion of the memory.
She said she has lost count of the number of stories she's had published in different versions of Chicken Soup. She's been published in several different publications and on the Internet. She formerly had a notebook and would note whenever a story was published.
“It's never stopped being a thrill (of being published). I get the same excitement, the same thrill that something that I have written is going to be in front of the eyes of millions of people,” she said.
Braun-Haley believes her mission in life is to help and everything she does tries to do that in some small way.
“I also have a very strong feeling – a belief – that goodness begets goodness. If you are surrounded by stories that are filled with goodness and are filled with the beauty of other people's actions, you will yearn to do these same good things yourself. I believe we need more positivity in the world. We are meant to be uplifted and I think that's part of my job,” she said.
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a series of inspirational books on different topics ranging from parenthood to faith to dating.
