In memoir writing, it’s critical that we invite our readers to relate to our life stories. If we don’t, we are cheating them out of the very reason they bought our books—to share our experiences. Here are some of the memoir and life story writing tips I ask my students to keep on their desks beside … [Read more...] about Does Your Memoir Cheat Your Readers?
Memoir Writing
Switching Memoirs—Temporarily
I've put aside work on the memoir, My Mother's Money, that I've written several posts about. The opening chapters could do with some revisions, and I don't have many creative thoughts about them right now. I still feel the story is a gripping one, but I need to take a break from it for a bit. In … [Read more...] about Switching Memoirs—Temporarily
Memoir Writing: One Important Element
A critical building block of your memoir should be emotion. This can be particularly difficult for boomers and seniors to incorporate in their life stories. Although many have an urge to tell their stories, they can be hampered by the constraints of privacy and circumspection their generation often … [Read more...] about Memoir Writing: One Important Element
Tell Me a Better Story
As creative writers, we want to create stories—not reports. We know a story when we hear or read one, but sometimes it evades us when we're writing, especially when we're writing nonfiction, like memoir or autobiography. But even if the audience you envision for your memoir or autobiography is your … [Read more...] about Tell Me a Better Story
Tell Me a Story
In a previous post, I wrote that a "memoir is a story." Here's what I meant. When you're writing a memoir, or doing most types of creative writing for that matter, you're not just presenting a collection of facts or opinions. Not if you want anyone to read and relate to what you've written. Not if … [Read more...] about Tell Me a Story
Teaching Memoir Writing to Boomers and Seniors, Part 2
In Part 1 of this post I wrote that I love teaching creative writing, particularly memoir writing to boomers and seniors, in part because of all I'm learning from my students. In addition to ice storms in the Old West, a nudist in San Diego, and POW life during World War II, a student who recently … [Read more...] about Teaching Memoir Writing to Boomers and Seniors, Part 2
My Mother’s Money, a Memoir of Suspense
While my mother was failing in her later years, she indicated that she wanted me to find some money she had hidden her house. I use the word "indicate" because Mom's stroke had rendered her unable to speak. My siblings and I needed the cash, since Mom was too ill to sign checks to cover her care or … [Read more...] about My Mother’s Money, a Memoir of Suspense