If you write about yourself or your family, what is your mission? What inspires and propels you? Do you feel strongly about what you want to say? Do you want others to understand your experiences or your family’s? My mission is to coax out the (accidentally or deliberately) concealed parts of my … [Read more...] about What is Your Life or Family Writing Mission?
Creative Writing Tips
Writing Contests: Are they Worth the Hassle—and the Cost?
Considering the Value of Writing Contests I’ve been absent from this blog while polishing up my essays and memoir opening to submit to contests. Entering these contests has provoked several questions with answers, some good, others not so much. In a blog post several years ago, I asked my site … [Read more...] about Writing Contests: Are they Worth the Hassle—and the Cost?
Try Small Vignettes in Writing Your Memoir
Dani Shapiro has written a number of novels and memoirs; perhaps the best known of the latter is Devotion. A few months ago I found her newest, Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage. It's a quiet book, which isn't to say that it's boring or tedious. In fact, its contents consist of small vignettes … [Read more...] about Try Small Vignettes in Writing Your Memoir
An Approach That Could Work for Your Memoir
I've been asked a number of times to share information about my favorite memoirs and why I cherish them. One post is too short to cover them all, so today I'll just tell you about one: Three Dog Life. This is a big favorite of mine. It was written by Abigail Thomas, whose work I admire a … [Read more...] about An Approach That Could Work for Your Memoir
Answer to Question on Writing About Your Life or Your Family
In my last post, Questions About Writing About Your Life or Your Family? I asked you to let me know any questions you have about writing about your life or your family. One site visitor responded with a dilemma, one that many life and family story writers share. (I know because I get similar … [Read more...] about Answer to Question on Writing About Your Life or Your Family
Time to Write?
Typically I’m thoroughly impatient with my writing students and clients who say they have no time to write. Their most common excuse for not writing is lack of time, but I’m unsympathetic. At least, until recently. For the past two weeks, my time—and my mind—have been so busy and fractured … [Read more...] about Time to Write?
Ideas for Writing Family History
Many of us want to document the stories of our families. This is more than just a genealogy (which is a challenging undertaking in itself, but deals more with family trees than stories). Family history is more likely to be a narrative, that is, stories and memories about members of your family or … [Read more...] about Ideas for Writing Family History
5 Mistakes That Trip Up Budding Memoir Writers
When you begin your memoir, there are important aspects of the writing to keep in mind if you want your audience to find your book engaging. If it's boring, even your nearest and dearest won't bother to plod through it. So here are some mistakes to avoid: Writing your memoir as if it's a report, … [Read more...] about 5 Mistakes That Trip Up Budding Memoir Writers
Compelling Reasons to Write About Your Life or Your Family
Can’t think of reasons why you should you invest the time or effort to write about your life or your family? Here are just a few reasons to write down stories about your life or your family. To create a record To preserve memories To protect personal and family history from being lost To … [Read more...] about Compelling Reasons to Write About Your Life or Your Family