MARGARET WAS EEYORE when we were young, seeing the impossible in everything. My older sister, she has grown up to be Kanga, her youthful negativity evolving into a carefulness for all things, as well … [Read more...] about Memoir How-To: Learning Characterization from A Primary Source
Writing Memoir. What’s on Your “No” List?
HERE’S A LIST of phrases. I love lists, particularly memoir lists, and this one came to me at about 4 AM, right after I had shopped in my head for the Christmas list, baked in my head for the … [Read more...] about Writing Memoir. What’s on Your “No” List?
What Makes Good Memoir?
MEMOIR IS EVERYWHERE. Are you considering writing some? Maybe I can help. My theory (pilfered from the great Flannery O'Connor) is that anyone who survived childhood has enough material for several … [Read more...] about What Makes Good Memoir?
Memoir Lesson: Think in Propinquities
THINK IN PROPINQUITIES. It’s a phrase that makes me sound more prim librarian than not, I know, but I love that word “propinquity,” and its reminder that you think of your angle shots when the topic … [Read more...] about Memoir Lesson: Think in Propinquities
Writers’ Block Redux: Stick a Needle in It
SOMETHING HAPPENS IN November that tips off a wave across the Northern hemisphere, turning otherwise attentive women away from the bandaging of knees, backing them off from stuffing picnic baskets, … [Read more...] about Writers’ Block Redux: Stick a Needle in It
Food Memoir: Finding Story Amid Recipes
RECIPES ARE POWERFUL storytellers. Never was this point driven home to me like when I first encountered the Hart Family Round Robin Newsletter, a tradition of my mother-in-law’s and her seven … [Read more...] about Food Memoir: Finding Story Amid Recipes
