MEMOIR WRITERS THINK we’ve got it made. That is, until we sit down to write, and all those stories seem to scatter away from our fingertips. Why does this happen? Who knows? But how about we fix it?
Whenever I find myself hesitating about what to write, I merely go hunting, and since this blog is dedicated to teaching how to write memoir, I thought I’d share my stash with you. So that’s what this is: Your memoir writing shove onto the stage, a weekly round-up of what you need to get writing. Use what you need. Leave the rest behind. Share it with your friends.
Here’s what happened this week in the world of writing memoir. Immerse yourself. Then get to work.
Marion’s choice: The week’s best pieces of short memoir
- John Le Carre on working with Richard Burton in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
- Dan Crane on becoming an adult
Book contract announcements
- Hillary Clinton is writing a memoir
- So is David Axelrod
- Masterpiece executive producer has one on the way, as well
Creative inspiration
- An opera festival director sings out on creativity
Books people have told me about this week
News you can use to write memoir
- The man behind the first test tube baby
- Middle manager meltdown happens in another kingdom, as well
- College debt and parents
- My baby wrote me a letter, though she might have to wait to mail it
Calls for submissions
- For cancer survivors
- Isis magazine, for undergraduate feminists
Got something of your own to add from the week’s quarry? Please do.
Judith says
Hi Marion,
Interesting article entitled “Voices Inside Their Heads” in the NYT Sunday Book Review. Shortened link is http://tinyurl.com/comhcea
It suggests that a writer is an amalgam of voices that all speak different truths and ultimately, through all those voices, we discover who we truly are.
Well worth the read.
Kate Richards says
Dear Marion,
I stumbled across your wonderful website this week, all the way from Melbourne, Australia! I’m thrilled to see you have a link here to a review of my book, “Madness, a memoir” published by Penguin. The writing process was an amazing and life changing experience for me and I think we can all learn so much from each other’s stories, no matter where we live in the world.
With best wishes,
Kate