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Words That Will Last An Eternity
By Thomas Bosch
Last month, my friend's father suddenly died and I was immediately introduced to
a new sphere of writing that I had never done before-- writing eulogies. It was
two days before the funeral and my friend called in a panic. He desperately
wanted to give a eulogy for his father but through a mixture of extreme grief and
a general ineptitude towards writing, he couldn't think of what to say and how
to say it.
Enter Thomas Bosch, professional writer, and now eulogist-in-chief.
Being good friends, I didn't charge him money for the eulogy but ever since that
experience, I have noticed writing adverts on places like Craigslist, where
people need eulogies written. Several other writers in my informal writers'
network have also told me that eulogy writing can be quite steady and can bring
in some money. But I found out, however, that it's not as easy as I thought.
Here are some tips I picked up during the experience.
Find out as much as possible about the person you're eulogizing. Ask close
relatives for photos, memories, and funny stories. Ask about the deceased
person's work history; if he was a sheep shearer in Australia, then that would
be an opportune moment to slot in a sheep joke to lighten the mood. Collect as
much information as possible to get a clear idea what the person was like and
what the individual's life was like.
Add humor. Just because a person has died and people are mourning, it doesn't
mean that the eulogy has to be sad. My friend's father's eulogy was a mixture of
emotions, mainly grief and humor. We mourned his passing while at the same time
celebrating his life and achievements. During the war, he was a soldier in the
German Army and he took a British soldier prisoner. So I recounted the story of
the incident which was quite funny and even the priest was smiling. So don't be
afraid to add a funny story to the eulogy. Laughter truly is the best medicine.
Find out what tone to use. While we're on the subject of using humor, check
with the deceased's family to see what tone they would like you to use. You might think
that your joke about the Irish gigolo is funny but the family may prefer
something more serious and somber. Always check with the client.
Look for relevant poetry. We all know the scene from the film "Four
Weddings and a Funeral" where a W.H. Auden poem is quoted ("I thought
that love
would last forever, I was wrong"). Poetry always goes down well in eulogies
because poetry is eloquent, it carries emotion, and good poetry describes
situations better than any other medium. Since my friend's father was in the
army during the war, I used some war poetry to best highlight what he might have
gone through.
Leave your business cards with funeral homes. Ever since I did that first
eulogy, I have found out that eulogy writing can be quite steady and lucrative.
So I have started leaving my business cards with funeral home directors who
recommend me if a bereaved person needs a eulogy written. It isn't bad taste to
do some networking with funeral homes provided you approach them tastefully and
politely.
How do you know if your eulogy is appropriate? After writing it, speak it aloud
to yourself as if you were addressing the congregation. If you're near
tears by the end, you've written something good. Eulogies may last only for the
funeral but the words will live forever. Make the words immortal.
Thomas Bosch is originally from Great Britain but now lives in Germany,
making his words sing and his prose dance. He writes for both love and money and
can be contacted at
http://camelotonline.net/aboutus.html
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