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What I Learned From My Favorite Memoirs
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....
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Combining Family History and Travelogue
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....
View ArticleA Writing Approach I Learned From A Favorite Memoir: 2
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,...
View ArticleWho Do You Write Life or Family Stories For?
If you are writing about your life or your family, whom do you envision as your audience? Are you writing for family and friends or for a larger audience? Are they old, young, or in between? Men or...
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5 Emotional Challenges to Writing About Your Life or Your Family
Just a Beautiful Winter Day 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...
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More Challenges to Writing About Your Life or Your Family
Reading nook in my living room 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...
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Writers: Got Too Many/Too Few Ideas?
The range of obstacles writers face with their writing projects never fails to surprise me. Here are two that some of my writing students have faced and a few ways that could help you get beyond that...
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Discovering Secrets When You Write Family History
From my kitchen window I’ve taught dozens of life story writing and family history writing courses and workshops, and in every one, someone has announced that in doing the research, even superficial...
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Non-Writing Writers
Quince bouquet I’ve been trying to figure out where the notion of the writer’s life as glamorous got its start. I know as a kid, I thought being a writer was something special, probably because then as...
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Writing “Trove,” a Memoir
My friend Sandra Miller spent years writing and revising her forthcoming memoir, Trove. Below she explains what prompted her to write this story, and how the memoir developed. – Lynette Sandra (above)...
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