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
creative writing tips
Answer to Another Memoir and Family Story Writing Question
Remember I asked you to send me your questions about writing memoir, stories from you life or about your family? Well, a reader asked the following: Something I struggle with is knowing when to ask for feedback on my writing (or more honestly, being willing to show others something that I … [Read more...] about Answer to Another Memoir and Family Story Writing Question
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?
Repaired Link: Welcome to My New Memoir/Family History Website!
First I apologize for the broken link to this site. The renovating a web site unfortunately creates undesirable vulnerabilities. I'm so sorry you were subjected to the 404 or 403 errors, whatever they mean. We think finally we've wrestled the problem to the ground! If you remember my previous … [Read more...] about Repaired Link: Welcome to My New Memoir/Family History Website!
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
The Survey’s Over
Thanks to all of you who participated in the quiz about your writing! Your answers will help make this site more responsive to you and writers like you. The results will be posted here soon. And I'll keep you updated on the changes I'll be making to the site. In the meantime, take yourself on a … [Read more...] about The Survey’s Over