Category: Memoir

Are Your Life Experiences Stories Worth Telling?

Every day we tell stories. Sometimes we tell the same stories over and over again–to our friends, people we meet at parties, complete strangers. More often than not, these stories are based upon our life experiences. As writers, we  must discern if our life experiences actually provide the basis for stories worth telling. How do [...]

Wednesday May 9th, 2012 in Inspirational Books, Memoir, Personal Essays, Spiritual Books, Writing for Change, Writing Tips | 2 Comments »

Mining Your Memories to Write Memoir

Writing a memoir involves remembering bits and pieces of your life and putting them down on paper. After all, a memoir covers a portion of your life—a few months, a year, a few years—that happened previously. And sometimes this period of time lies in your distant past. It may seem like remembering the conversations, the [...]

Wednesday November 9th, 2011 in Memoir | No Comments »

8 Tips for Taking the Psychological Trip of Writing a Memoir

Many of this year’s Write Nonfiction in November participants are writing memoirs. I don’t find this surprising, since so many people want to find meaning in the events of their lives and to share that meaning with others. Additionally, writing about our lives can prove healing, and sometimes reading about someone else’s healing journey can [...]

Monday November 7th, 2011 in Memoir | No Comments »

How Do You Know the Truth?

Memoirist and creative nonfiction writers constantly ponder the question, “What is truth?” And they struggle with their truth vs. the truth of those about whom they write as well as the truth as they remember it—or believe it. How can you know the truth? One way is to learn from other memoirists and creative nonfiction [...]

Thursday October 20th, 2011 in Memoir | No Comments »

Focusing Your Memoir…or Any Book

Yesterday I was working with a client on focusing her memoir. To me the beginning middle and end of her story seemed so clear. The symbolism was all there, even in her title, and it carried all the way through. She couldn’t see it. That’s why I ask my clients to take the time to [...]

Wednesday June 22nd, 2011 in Book Proposal Process, Memoir, The Business of Writing | No Comments »

Creating Flow in Your Memoir

I’m almost done doing a developmental edit on a memoir. The feedback the writer had received from readers and agents was that the manuscript didn’t “flow.” I read the manuscript and sent it back to the writer with my suggestions, and she then sent it back to me corrected for a second read through. Wow! [...]

Monday April 4th, 2011 in Memoir, Writing Tips | No Comments »

Plot, Structure, and Theme in Your Memoir

Yesterday’s post covered how to begin writing a book. Today, we discuss one particular type of book: memoir. So many people feel they have a personal story worth telling, and often those stories do, indeed, sell well in book stores. Readers will purchase books they resonate with emotionally. Memoir offers nonfiction writers a particularly challenging [...]

Wednesday November 3rd, 2010 in Memoir, Writing Books, Writing Tips | 1 Comment »

8 Tips for Would-Be Authors

Although most writers know exactly what form their project will take, a few feel unsure. They may ask questions like: Is it a memoir? A how-to book? An e-book? Do I only have enough information for an article? Is my article actually an essay? For these people, the first few blog posts of Write Nonfiction [...]

Tuesday November 2nd, 2010 in Memoir, Writing Books, Writing Tips | 1 Comment »

The Top 6 Questions that Memoir Writers Ask

One of my goals this year involves learning to write memoir. I know memoir is just another form of nonfiction, but it involves writing like a novelist. I use much of my life experience when I write personal essays, when I blog, and even when I write articles. I should be able to write memoir. [...]

Thursday October 28th, 2010 in Memoir | 2 Comments »

What's the difference between memoir and fiction?

If you sometimes wonder what the difference is between memoir and fiction, you aren’t alone. Often writers use their experiences as fodder for novels, and memoir, which is based on life experience, must read like fiction yet not be fictionalized. Occassionally, a writer crosses the line and gets in trouble–as we’ve seen in the not [...]

Monday October 25th, 2010 in Memoir | No Comments »