In a new series called Writing Lessons, my first guest teacher is Leanne Shirtliffe, who tackles the topic of characterization. Her book, Don’t Lick The Minivan and Other Things I Never Thought I’d … [Read more...] about Writing Lessons: On Characterization, With Leanne Shirtliffe
The Memoir Project Blog
My First Piece of Memoir — Recently Chosen to Premier a New York Times Feature
THERE ARE ALMOST NO WORDS to describe how exquisitely happy I am to have a magazine piece of mine be chosen as the very first story showcased in a new online New York Times feature. The first piece of … [Read more...] about My First Piece of Memoir — Recently Chosen to Premier a New York Times Feature
Need a Tip on How to Write Memoir? It’s This: Read and Respond
WHILE RECENTLY GIVING A KEYNOTE ADDRESS on the power of memoir, I was introduced to the crowd by a scholar who invited me to repeat something I had forgotten I’d said last time I spoke to his … [Read more...] about Need a Tip on How to Write Memoir? It’s This: Read and Respond
What Makes Bad Memoir? Jimmy Connors Provides a Willing Example
I’VE NEVER LIKED JIMMY CONNORS, considering him among the triumvirate of people who temporarily turned tennis into a game played by bad-tempered men in (very) short pants. And since I spent a lot of … [Read more...] about What Makes Bad Memoir? Jimmy Connors Provides a Willing Example
The Writing Life, or Groping My Way Toward Memoir
A BIG GROUP GROPE. It’s the image that popped into my head after a friend wrote seeking some writing advice. A thoroughly politically incorrect term, of course, as well as dated, the grope provides an … [Read more...] about The Writing Life, or Groping My Way Toward Memoir
How to Write Memoir: The Week in Review
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? … [Read more...] about How to Write Memoir: The Week in Review
