NEWS YOU CAN USE. Maybe you saw these stories. Maybe you missed them, but these are among the pieces I’ve read recently that might elicit some form of short memoir – an op-ed, or personal essay – from you. Once a week I’ll bring you news pieces I find provocative.
Here are some that get me going:
- A drop dead date for a ban on sugary drinks in NYC
- Another shooting, another opportunity to stop the madness of guns
- Yes, I think this is the best marriage proposal video ever
- Farewell to an icon
- This ought to bring a smile to those Walmart greeters
Surely you have something to say using one of these as your news peg.
Looking for inspiration or guidance on how to write a personal essay? Look at my categories for NPR essays, parenting essays, and several other topics. All of the pieces there have been published, or have aired on the radio. If those don’t work, see the interactive calendar for more inspiration. And write on.
See a typo, a grammar flub, my (ever-present) overuse of commas? Point it out, and I’ll throw you in the pool for a monthly free book giveaway. Which book? One of mine – your choice – all of which were professionally copy edited, thank goodness.
Summer Jarvis says
I love memoir, and have in the last couple of months finally started writing. I have had a lot of questions about what I should and shouldn’t be doing, and why on earth anyone would want to read my stories (other than the fact that I enjoy reading the stories of others). You are giving me so much meat in The Memoir Project- hopefully enough to keep me chewing for a very long time. I just wanted to say thank you for writing this excellent book!
Debi West says
I am a Ph.D candidate at the University of GA and am very interested on your thoughts as using memoir as a qualitative research tool. I have been reading up on Ruth Behar, Misha Cahnmann-Taylor, Janisse Ray, Karen Hankins, Lucy Grealy, etc… to see how they craft their work and tie in the scholARTistry. Any thoughts or creative comments on this would be wonderful and welcome!
So Sincerely – Debi West