GO ON, TRY my interactive calendar of emotional high holy days, regular-version high holy days and more. It’s probably my number one memoir writing tip, since writing on deadline, or to a deadline, is one of the single best ways to learn how to write memoir.
How to Use the Memoir Project Calendar
Hover your cursor over a cinnamon-colored date to see what pops up. Use it to start personal essays, radio pieces and op-eds to submit on deadline. How? Look three months out for radio ideas; six to twelve for magazine pieces. Pluck something from the calendar and start now to submit the very best work you can produce.
Here is how to stop using writing prompts and writing exercises, those time-wasting devices leave you merely practicing writing. You want to write with intent, and you want to succeed. So start today and do so.
Write with intent: Pick it, write it, submit it. Read and react. You’re a writer. That’s what writers do. So write on.
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2December, 2 2024The Season of ListsMaking a list? ‘Tis the season for it. I love lists, my favorite being what not to do when writing memoir. Check it out. | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6December, 6 2024White House Christmas Tree TopplesAccording to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it was on this day in 1970 that the White House Christmas tree fell over. Well, this happened to me when I was a kid, right in our living room in Little Neck, New York. That incident is on my to-do list for a personal essay. That is, just as soon as I figure out what it is about. | 7 | 8 |
9December, 9 2024Clarence Birdseye BornIt was on this day in 1886 that Clarence Birdseye was born. You know Birdseye. Among other things, he was the first to market frozen peas. I frequently write about food, and have an entire category devoted to food memoir on my blog. Feast your eyes on that for some inspiration. | 10December, 10 2024Emily Dickinson’s BirthdayThe Belle of Amherst was born on this day in 1830. One of the greatest poets the world has ever known, her work speaks to us all. | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14December, 14 2024Halcyon DaysAccording to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, we are in what is known as the Halcyon Days, denoted in Greek mythology as 7 days of calm during winter. The idea comes from a legendary bird named alcyon, with an “a;” the ‘h’ was added in regard to the supposed association with the sea, as in the word ‘hals’ in Greek. The bird was believed to have the power to calm the seas. Originating in a myth recorded by Ovid, this idea pops up twice in works by William Shakespeare. Today the legendary bird is identified with the kingfisher, able to nest on the sea and believed to calm it for the seven days before and seven days after the winter solstice, though our current use of the phrase halcyon days tends to recall not the weather, but our own seemingly endless sunny days of youth. | 15December, 15 2024The Full Cold MoonDecember’s Full Moon is known either as the FULL BEAVER MOON or the FULL COLD MOON. This year, accordig to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it’s a beaver year. We take our full moon names from the Native American tradition. Full moons shine on us all. How do you make an event we all experience your very own tale? Don’t let it get too big. Here’s a post that might help you with that. |
16December, 16 2024The Birth of Margaret MeadOn this day in 1901 was the birth of Margaret Mead, the most renowned anthropologist of all time. Margaret made anthropology something we were all interested in by teaching generations of Americans about the value of looking carefully and openly at other cultures to better understand the complexities of being human. Scientist, explorer, writer, and teacher, Mead, who worked in the Department of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History from 1926 until her death in 1978. Publishing 44 books and more than 1,000 articles, she was one of the most quotable people of the 20th century, saying things like “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” And, of course, “Every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man.” You gotta love her. | 17 | 18 | 19December, 19 2024Beware the Pogonip!Kind of funny headline on this day, isn’t it? But that’s what is says around now in The Old Farmer’s Almanac, and for good reason. Pogonip is an English adaptation of the Shoshone word meaning “cloud,” specifically a dense winter fog containing frozen particles that forms in deep mountain valleys in Western United States. In its harshest definition it means “white death;” so thick you can’t even see your hand; go out in it and you’ll be lost in seconds; if it lingers you’ll die of starvation or exposure; breathing pogonip is believed to damage your lungs, as recorded in the writing of Jack London who described Pogonip which happened to a main character of his, killing him. Rare, though worth fearing, beware the Pogonip, indeed. | 20 | 21December, 21 2024The Winter SolsticeToday is the winter solstice, on which the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun, making this the onset of winter up north. And while you can’t really see the axis and its tilt from where you are, what you will see is that this is the shortest day of the year, or the longest night, depending on which way you choose to view it. How to personalize something that happens to us all? Look for universal themes. The Winter SolsticeToday is the winter solstice. This day is marked by the fact that the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun, and while that reality is only so for an instant, we think of this as the onset of winter. Winter will last until the vernal equinox, March 20, 2012 that day when day and night are equal in length. And while you can’t really see the axis and its tilt from where you are, what you will see is that this is the shortest day of the year, or the longest night, depending on which way you choose to view it. The name “winter” comes from a Germanic term meaning “time of water” and actually refers to seasonal precipitation. Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years, and many of us continue to celebrate this twice-a year event. How? I celebrate the beginning of winter by getting out in it and having a look around. A great time to see things with the leaves off the trees, you never know what you might discover. | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29December, 29 2024Owls Mating NowYou read that right. And if you’ve heard some hooting, that’s why. The Great Horned Owl and the Great Gray Owl are starting a brood. Owls don’t migrate, allowing them to breed now and into the early months of the year, while most other bird species don’t mate until spring. Owls have distinctly different calls. The hoot owl hoots; the short-eared owl has a sneezy bark; the barn owl, a shrill snore, all in the name of love. Humor is serious business. Maybe this will inspire you. |
30December, 30 2024Birds Do it, Bees Do it.Great Horned Owls and the Great Gray Owls are starting a brood. Owls don’t migrate, which allows them to breed in the early months of the year, while most other bird species don’t mate until spring. It’s mating time when you hear a hooting, but what I love is that the hoots, owl-to-owl are quite different. The short-eared owl, has what the guide refers to as an emphatic sneezy bark; the barn owl has a shrill rasp or snore, long eareds give us two longs hoots, great horned are known for their 5 or 6 resonant hoots, spotted owls give us three, barred in groups of four, grey is a deep single whooo hoo hoo or a single shoooo, while the snowy is mostly silent, and, get this, the flammulated owl of the west and southwest is what my bird guide calls ventriloquial, as in a ventriloquist. | 31 | |||||
