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Posts from the ‘Writing Life’ Category

Nov 20

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How to deal with family politics when writing a memoir

As writers, almost every experience presents itself as good story material. Get pulled over for speeding? Take notes and see how you can use that drama in a story. Cut your finger off and need it reattached? Definitely take photos and notes for future reference. Aunt Mabel said something completely inappropriate at the Thanksgiving dinner table? Quick, mentally record all family reactions and dialogue.

Unfortunately, while some family members are naive about our writerly observations, others can be quite suspicious of all that scribbling we’re doing. I teach workshops and work one-on-one with people who want to write memoirs. One of my students’ big fears is what their families will think about their writing. Will mother be mad? Will grandma disown me? Will I lose access to a family member’s treasure trove of historical documents and artifacts?

It’s true that some of these fears may be legitimate. Others may not. Here are a few thoughts and ideas to consider if you’re concerned with what your relatives will think about your writing.

1. Write for yourself. It’s hard to be creative when you’re worried about what people will think. Tell yourself that you’ll examine the potential for conflict during the revisions. Read more

Nov 19

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Inspire your writing with these quotes by famous authors

Every few months or so, I have to reorganize my writing life. Supposedly, I have one office for my home business and a second smaller office for my writing space.

Over time, what usually happens is that the business office becomes a dumping ground for everything that doesn’t have a home in another part of our house—boxes, mail, shipping materials, marketing materials, products, Halloween decorations, boxes that need to go to storage, etc.—and I end up working and writing in my writing room. Since this is the room with the view, so to speak, I don’t really mind but, after awhile, I’m overflowing with papers, files, and books…thus, the reorganizing. Read more

Nov 18

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Four ways to write about life, part 2

In my last post, I wrote about different approaches for writing memoirs. In part two, you’ll find four more ways to write about a slice of life.

Pet memoirs. Pets have a tremendous impact on our lives and experiences with them make for great storytelling. Dog Years: A Memoir by Mark Doty and Ever By My Side: A Memoir in Eight Pets by veterinarian Nick Trout are two examples of animal stories that endure.

Coming of age. Published in 1967, Stop-Time by Frank Conroy is a classic American autobiography. Rocket Boys by Homer Hickham is the story of Hickham’s goal to work for NASA and how he and his classmates found a way to make their dreams to launch a rocket and win a science competition come true. The book was later made into a movie called October Sky.

Physical challenges. The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin’s Theory by Kenny Fries is beautifully written account of how his specially made shoes help him adapt and move through life. In Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy wrote about her struggle with cancer. Grealy was diagnosed at age 9 with Ewing’s sarcoma, a cancer that attacked her lower jaw. Grealy went through many surgeries, as well as chemotherapy and radiation. Her memoir examines her suffering, the meaning of beauty in society, and her struggle to be accepted for who she was.

Survival stories. In Night, Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel wrote a riveting account of his survival in the Nazi death camps. Norman Olstead writes about surviving a plane crash and his coming of age in Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival.

For four more ways to write about life, read part one of this post.

Nov 12

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Are you intoxicated with every word you write?

If you’re a writer, you no doubt love to play with words. Words are the basic building blocks we work with to make our prose fly. And, one wild word may turn a pedestrian sentence or paragraph into one that dances the tango all over your reader’s imagination.

Screenwriter and producer Joss Whedon recently spoke at the event “Make Equality Reality” about his hate-on for the word “feminist.” He says that part of being a writer is living inside the smallest part of every word…the sounds, the syllables, the meaning…as if you’re intoxicated with the word.

Watch his hilarious take-down of the word “feminist.” Whether you agree with him or not, it’s the word that counts in the end. Always the word.

Nov 6

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How to be a prolific writer like Walter Dean Myers: A three-step process

The mark of a successful writer is finishing the manuscript. Walter Dean Myers, an award-winning children’s and YA writer, should know. He’s written 110 books.

“People fail as writers not because they write badly,” Myers says. “They fail because they don’t finish the book they started.”

Myers, who is the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, spoke Nov. 2 at the Vegas Valley Book Festival.

Like most writers, Myers is often asked about his process. It never varies, he says. First, he wakes up at 4:30 or 5 a.m., every day.

“I come downstairs with the cat, feed the cat, read newspapers, and start my five pages.”

Depending on what stage he’s at in his current project — whether he’s writing a first draft or rewriting — he works for 2 ½ to 3 hours. On a recent trip to London, he said his routine didn’t change. Except for the cat, which had to stay at home.

“By 9 a.m. my wife wakes up and I can aggravate her for the rest of the day,” Myers says.

Myers has created a process that helps him think through his ideas into successful stories that sell. “I do every book the exact same way in three steps,” he says. Read more

Nov 4

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Create a chaos board to capture your writing ideas

When I’m working on a new project, my mind spins. I make connections from all the whirling ideas and even think of totally unrelated ideas that I might turn into a story or poem. I capture these images and ideas on whatever I have at hand. If I don’t have a notebook nearby, I write on an index card, envelope, or a sticky note.

It feels chaotic to have all this creative flotsam floating around. So when I read about something that author Debra Marquart did to corral her bits and pieces of ideas, I knew I had to try it.

When she was working on her memoir during an artist’s residency at the Ragdale Foundation, she created a chaos board. Read more

Oct 29

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How writing anything in your notebook is a promise to your muse

If you ever feel stuck, out of ideas, or simply so busy you can’t fit in the writing time you wish for, know this: Your muse will reward you if you write anything at all in your notebook.

Something about writing even a word or describing an image reassures your subconscious that you’re present and engaged. By this very act of recording a snippet of conversation or a description of a scene, you’ll reinforce your connection to your writing self.

You’ll retain your momentum. You won’t feel such a gap in your writing practice, and your muse will present you later with ideas and images that you can use in your current or future writing.

Exercise: Double-check you’re carrying a notebook with you today. Maybe you’ll only have 20 minutes while you’re waiting for an appointment or 15 minutes while you wait to pick up a child from school. It’s enough time to write down an image, a description that might go in your current manuscript, or something you’ve observed as you go about the day. Write it down and then spend five or ten minutes letting your mind drift. Think about it and let it develop in your mind. I guarantee you’ll feel happier and on track with your writing, even if you don’t have as much time to write as you wish you did.

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