Why Share Your Story on FMMW?

Written by Braiden Rex-Johnson on August 25, 2011

As a professional writer all my life, I have never had any problems opening my thoughts, heart, and emotions up to others.

And so the entire concept of Five More Minutes With has never seemed awkward or scary–instead, I view it as a forum for consolation and commiseration. . .an inspirational-tribute website.

But although an old high-school buddy of mine is intrigued by the Five More Minutes With concept and website, he voiced trepidation about actually sharing his story. And especially about revealing his true identity.

“Dave” says:

“I feel happy and accomplished when I’ve finished writing something, regardless of the subject matter. But it is a difficult and sometimes grueling process for me.

“This is the main reason that I have historically been and remain a terrible personal correspondent to even my favorite people.

“I feel a compulsion to write something that meets my standards of being both meaningful and really saying what I want it to say.

“So I tend to agonize over language.

“I’m flattered that you find my words worth sharing, and I’m willing to allow them to be shared in any forum where they might be enjoyed or appreciated in some way.

“I would prefer to remain anonymous, at least for the time being.”

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Are you too private to share your name?

Then please consider posting anonymously.

One writer said that sharing her story with the Five More Minutes With audience was more cathartic than years of therapy!

More stories from: Featured Story

Happy First Birthday to FMMW!

Written by Braiden on March 25, 2011

It was with a great deal of excitement and pride that we launched the Five More Minutes With website last year on March 26, and it has been an exciting and ultimately gratifying ride ever since.

During our first year in operation, we’ve published more than 60 Featured Stories, I’ve written 65 Editor’s Notes, and we have more than 150 individual pieces of content on the site. I was too lazy to count the number of photos I’ve posted; suffice to say several hundred sunrises, sunsets, floral arrangement, and cloud formations have graced Five More Minutes With pages.

We’ve welcomed guest columnist John Paul Carter and printed part of a memoir by Seattle writer Teri Citterman.

Mom remains the most popular category so far; dog stories outpace cat stories by almost two to one; the same with grandmothers versus grandfathers. We even received a story about an errant wild alligator!

We’ve held contests honoring mothers, fathers, lost loves, and the winter holidays. And created special sections of the FMMW website that feature radio interviews and film. There’s even a mobile version of FMMW for your smartphone!

We are well on our way to our ultimate goal: to publish a book in whatever form it may take (print or digital), so please say tuned and please continue to share your stories with us.

And a special thanks to each and every contributor! Whether you gifted me with a story, a comment, a testimonial, or just by reading this website’s edgy, “out there” content, we thank you and applaud you.

Goals during our second year of operation? To keep spreading the good word through personal referrals, reaching out over the Internet to sites and individuals with similar mindsets and goals, and even more presence and involvement with the social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.

More stories from: Editor's Notes

God Stories

Written by Braiden on January 18, 2011

I am long overdue in bringing to the attention of the Five More Minutes With audience God Stories, a Web site and book written by former CNN investigative reporter Jennifer Skiff.

In one of those “chance” encounters in life that seem to be pre-ordained by the powers that be above, I first heard about Jennifer last October when I was having lunch as part of my other life as a food-and-wine writer. I was at a culinary conference composed of high-powered women in the food, beverage, and hospitality fields, and ran into a buddy of mine I’d first met at the Greenbrier Food Writers Symposium years ago and had lost touch with in the meantime.

As we caught up on our lives during the ensuing years, I told Carolyn about Five More Minutes With.

Carolyn got a surprised look on her face. “I need to tell you about a friend of mine, Jennifer Skiff,” she exclaimed.

She scribbled down Jennifer’s Web-site URL and e-mail address. Once back in my hotel room, I went to the God Stories site and immediately fell in love with it.

Not to mention her book–“God Stories”–a collection of inspiring first-person accounts of miracle-like encounters with God.

Jennifer’s second book is sure to touch the hearts of all animal lovers. “The Divinity of Dogs: A Collection of Spiritually Enlightening Canine Interventions,” will be published soon.

As inspiration, here’s a short video featuring Jennifer’s own dog.

More stories from: Featured Story,With My Dog

FMMW Called a “Super-Specialized Blog”

Written by Braiden on April 2, 2010

Happy Friday, and what a week it’s been! Last Friday we launched Five More Minutes With, I worked most of the weekend, then on Monday, we hired a Seattle-based public relations firm to write and distribute the press release announcing the official launch of Five More Minutes With.

On Wednesday, at 12:39 p.m. PST/3:39 EST, a beautifully written release went out over Business Wire to hundreds of media outlets across the country and around the world. Forbes.com, CNBC.com, and many other well-known businesses picked it up and printed it, so our “baby” has officially trotted out into the world.

Oprah hasn’t called (yet), but the hosts of a local radio show called Chat With Women did. I’ll be on air, live in their Bellevue, Washington, studio, on May 11, at 8:30 a.m. for a 20-minute segment.

I’ve gotten a lot more familiar with the WordPress blogging platform. It is really amazing all the things you can do with it, and the way our Web site designer/guru has integrated all the moving parts of what he calls this “super-specialized blog.”

More stories from: Editor's Notes
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