memoir writing – Page 2

January 23, 2015February 7, 2015Writing

Some Things I Know: What does truth mean in memoir?

The truth of your memoir has to revolve around fact, right? Otherwise, you may be writing something super, but it’s probably not memoir. At the same time, one of the greatest challenges to writing memoir is that facts also have a tendency to obscure the truth of your story at times. Sometimes you have to leave them out. Or even change them a bit.

So, definitely stick to facts, but don’t stick to too many facts. You’re welcome! Good luck with that. It’s a confusing bit of advice, I know, but writing memoir is about filtering through all the facts, choosing the ones that contribute to the truth of the story you’re telling and leaving the ones that are irrelevant or distracting in your memory, but out of your memoir.

August 20, 2013August 20, 2013Writing

Here you go, it’s my brain

A book about one’s self is an awkward thing to share. It really has to mean something, to contribute a needed additive to the world, or else it is just an embarrassing vanity project. The only way this threshold can be sufficiently met by the book I wrote is if my brain processed, filtered and interpreted my experiences in the right way. I am nervous about this. I really, really, really hate vanity projects. I don’t want to have created one. Now, with just two days until everyone can read it, I guess I’m about to find out if I did

December 21, 2011Writing

Adventures in Competitive Titles

At several points during my research on writing a book proposal my reaction to a new bit of information has been, “You have GOT to be kidding me.” One of these is the “Marketing” section, in which I must describe how I will actively market my book and what marketing opportunities are already available for […]