• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Tools and Tactics for Writers

  • About
    • Lynette Benton
    • Selected Publications
  • Work With Me
    • My Process
    • Classes
    • Portfolio
    • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact

essay writing

Are You An Anxious Writer?

March 3, 2019 By Lynette Benton 1 Comment

Meredith Arthur runs Beautiful Voyager, one of the top 10 anxiety sites with personal stories, guides, and a community for overthinkers. She is also the editor of Invisible Illness, a group blog appearing on Medium.com. I asked Meredith to share her views on the connection between writing and … [Read more...] about Are You An Anxious Writer?

Filed Under: Creative Writing Tips, Personal Essays Tagged With: creative writing tips, essay writing, Personal essays, writing resources, writing tips

Use These Resources to Submit Your Writing To Contests

February 26, 2019 By Lynette Benton 2 Comments

Writing contest opportunities are listed below, followed by some ways to protect yourself against contest scams. Please note: I have no affiliation with any of these web sites or contests. Poets & Writers The Poets and Writers link, Writing Contests, Grants & Awards,  is recognized … [Read more...] about Use These Resources to Submit Your Writing To Contests

Filed Under: Contests, Creative Writing Tips, Personal Essays, Writing Resources Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing tips, essay writing, Personal essays, writing resources

More Challenges to Writing About Your Life or Your Family

February 4, 2019 By Lynette Benton 5 Comments

In my last post, 5 Emotional Challenges of Writing About Your Life or Family I discussed a few emotions—none of them good—that writing about our lives or our families can generate in us. Here are some other obstacles we life and family writers face. You Think Your Writing is Boring We’re … [Read more...] about More Challenges to Writing About Your Life or Your Family

Filed Under: Creative Writing Tips, Family History, Memoir, Memoir Writing, Personal Essays, Writing Resources Tagged With: autobiography, creative writing tips, essay writing, family history, Memoir Writing, Personal essays, writing resources, writing tips

5 Emotional Challenges to Writing About Your Life or Your Family

January 30, 2019 By Lynette Benton Leave a Comment

When we write about our lives or our families, our challenges aren’t just literary. Emotions play a significant part in our efforts and they can actually undermine our creative process or shut it down altogether. Emotions that can affect life and family writers: Fear—of getting the facts wrong … [Read more...] about 5 Emotional Challenges to Writing About Your Life or Your Family

Filed Under: Creative Writing Tips, Family History, Memoir, Memoir Writing, Personal Essays, Writing Resources Tagged With: autobiography, creative writing tips, essay writing, Memoir Writing, Personal essays, writing resources, writing tips

Writing Contests: Are they Worth the Hassle—and the Cost?

January 17, 2019 By Lynette Benton 3 Comments

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?

Filed Under: Creative Writing Tips, Memoir Writing, My Mother's Money, Personal Essays, The Writing Life, Writing Resources Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing tips, essay writing, Personal essays, writing tips

Try Small Vignettes in Writing Your Memoir

July 19, 2018 By Lynette Benton 4 Comments

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

Filed Under: Boomers and Seniors, Creative Writing Tips, Family History, Memoir Writing Tagged With: autobiography, creative writing tips, essay writing, Memoir Writing, Personal essays

Combining Family History and Travelogue

July 15, 2018 By Lynette Benton 4 Comments

Writer Barbara Boudreau has written a good deal about her life and her family over the years. She's successfully used the tools of creative writing to bring her stories to life—and add humor to them. When I learned she would be researching her Lithuanian roots, I was captivated. When I was in … [Read more...] about Combining Family History and Travelogue

Filed Under: Boomers and Seniors, Family History, Memoir Writing, Travel Tagged With: essay writing, family history, genealogy, Memoir Writing

Answer to Another Memoir and Family Story Writing Question

June 10, 2018 By Lynette Benton Leave a Comment

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

Filed Under: Family History, Memoir Writing, Personal Essays, Writing Resources Tagged With: autobiography, creative writing tips, essay writing, family history, Memoir Writing, writing resources, writing tips

Repaired Link: Welcome to My New Memoir/Family History Website!

March 26, 2018 By Lynette Benton Leave a Comment

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!

Filed Under: Boomers and Seniors, Family History, Memoir Writing, Personal Essays, Writing Resources Tagged With: autobiography, baby boomers writing, creative writing tips, essay writing, family history, Memoir Writing, writing resources

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Lynette Benton

Lynette Benton

Categories

  • Boomers and Seniors
  • Contests
  • Creative Writing Tips
  • Family History
  • Fiction
  • Hating Your Book
  • Journaling
  • Memoir
  • Memoir Writing
  • My Mother's Money
  • Mystery
  • Personal Essays
  • Poetry
  • Polish and Publish
  • Publishing
  • Quiz
  • The Writing Life
  • Travel
  • What Keeps Me From Writing?
  • Working
  • Writing Resources

100 Best

100 Best

Footer

 

 

Copyright © 2026 · Tools and Tactics for Writers. Lynette Benton.

  • Home
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Practices