Today, I am urging you to sit back and enjoy this virtual memoir tour in which I read an excerpt read from my memoir French Boy/A 1950s Franco-American Childhood. Here’s some necessary background: I did not learn English until I went to grade school. My brother had preceded me in school where he had learned to speak English. While this excerpt can be thought of as a cute story, I included it in my memoir because it supports the necessity of bilingual education. This sound pedagogy is too often under attack! My own life was greatly impacted by the thoughtful bilingual education I received. Eno ..read more

DL: this post—Three Pillars of Starting a Memoir Right—introduced a YouTube video which turned out to be the most popular of all my videos. Today, I would like to share both this post and the video. If you haven’t done so already, please share the post and the video and subscribe to my YouTube channel. _____ Writing a memoir requires a lot of time and energy—but you can do it. You can succeed in writing a memoir. Many people just like you have succeeded in doing so already. Today I am offering you my three pillars of memoir writing. I want to share a system with you for getting started on wri ..read more

Don’t worry. This memoir-writing task does not call for drawing skills as you eschew creating memoir stick characters. The term “stick character” refers to a drawing of a person by someone with no talent who draws lines for arms and legs. Stick Characters don’t entice the reader much and they don’t do justice to your people. You will do better without stick characters burdening your memoir. Develop your characters fully. Your characters are, after all, the people in your life. They are/were complex in life and ought to be complex in writing. Write them into your text clearly and forceful ..read more

In almost everything you do in life or in writing, pacing ranks right up there in importance. The tortoise knew how to pace himself and won the race. The hare, on the other hand, needed to view this post before setting out on the race which he eventually lost despite the gift of speed nature had given him! Pacing your memoir is generally an acquired habit. Pacing requires some planning and getting used to. The tortoise understood this and took off at a slow but steady pace. Long-distance runners pace themselves for an eventual victory at the finish line. They don’t opt to be head-of-the-line ..read more

Today is Monday, and it’s a great day to write a bit on your memoir! Keep the reader interested by using plotting whenever you can, but you don’t need to go gaga about plot—just include enough. Remember: you are not writing a thriller. Exactly what makes an action interesting is evidently subjective. What might interest an older, retired woman dedicated to promoting social action is likely to be utterly boring to the teenage boy who spends all his free time—and some time when he should be studying and doing his homework—playing basketball. Yet, both would insist that a story ne ..read more

Understanding “theme” and its role in your memoir is another core task that will both simplify and clarify your message—i.e., your theme. Your theme is perhaps what has motivated you to start your memoir project. There is likely something you want to say about life—your life. Your theme can also be called your message. The theme can be lofty (strive for virtue) or it can be trite (life is hard). Theme drives your story and colors your narrative.  Everyone writes with some hope of getting a message across. But here’s the risk of trying to get a message to the reader: you ..read more

Your friends and family love your memoir. Apparently, they are sure you are an outstanding writer, but you’re not so sure. Perhaps you wonder if you need a manuscript review. What they are telling you comes across more like support and opinion rather than as an evaluation. It’s understandable you have your doubts about the assessments you have received from family and friends. These are people you will be seeing again. They want you to think well of them. But, you are not looking for support and encouragement. An Objective Evaluation You are looking for an objective evaluation of your book, a ..read more

Your commitment to writing your memoir must be ongoing. It’s easy, as most of us know, to start to write with a burst of energy, but over the months and perhaps years it takes to write a memoir, your energy almost invariably wanes—at least to some extent. Commit to staying the course What to do to get yourself enthused again? Today, I’m offering tactics you can implement to help sustain your motivation and see you to the end. Of course, there’s always willpower, but willpower is known to weaken gradually until it is ineffective. Learning how to get—and stay—motivated is easier. Moti ..read more

Today is Monday, and it’s a great day to write a bit on your memoir! People tell me all the time that they are going “trying to write” their memoir. By and large, people who “try to write” get sidelined by so many good reasons. Really. You know how it is: work, family, fatigue.” In the end, they tried but didn’t have time. I urge you to set a writing time for yourself today rather than to “try to write” when you have time. Don’t wait: get started today to write—or continue to write—your memoir. “Trying” to write doesn’t get a memoir written. There’s an abyss between writing and trying to ..read more

Recently, we sent our  list of free resources. “Free” is great—in fact, we call it “superior”—but “free” can take you only so far. For more memoir-writing resources, explore the following. Your fee-based options to learn memoir writing: Our store: ~ The Memoir Store contains dozens of titles on the art and craft of memoir writing. Stock your ereader and / or bookshelves with quality memoir-writing titles. Your books have given me a foundation in writing. They’ve taught me what to expect and how to go about writing. Our programs & packages offer more memoir-writing reosurc ..read more