"Reading is the creative center of a writer's life." — Stephen King
How do you write a successful novel about a traumatic childhood? Let’s raise the bar: how do you write a best-selling book about a person who remembers being raped by her father? Norwegian author Vigdis Hjorth achieves this. … Read More
How does an author strike a balance between writing about political science and writing a personal narrative? There are so many ways it could go wrong: Too much angst and emotion can become gonzo journalism. Too … Read More
A reader will learn more about the facts of Greg Sarris’s life by reading his Wikipedia page than by reading his memoir. This book tells us little, for example, about his … Read More
How much should a memoirist reveal? This is the most challenging question for the writers I work with. Too much information heightens vulnerability. Too little results in generic and unconvincing prose. This author shares her confusion, … Read More
Marian Schembari’s memoir about learning she was autistic at age 34 is called a “hybrid memoir” because it combines a personal story with biomedical research. But is it stirring? Do people love this book? Yes and … Read More
What makes a memoir great? Honesty, insight, humor, compassion? What about metaphors? Comparing a feeling to something you can see requires a lot of creativity. Look at how Angelo compares “shame” to “paper” in … Read More
When asked to recommend a classic Irish memoir, a bookseller in Dublin went straight to this book. As it turns out, she wasn’t alone in saying that reading this book is one of “life’s greatest pleasures.” This idiosyncratic blend of … Read More
How do you write a memoir about a family that has more than its share of abandonment and fractured relationships? Joanne Nelson’s book is a collection of fragments. Her short pieces show us a complex … Read More
This book is based on the novelist Ann Patchett’s address at a graduation ceremony. She is the perfect speaker for students who panic at the thought of leaving campus and friends and having to walk the plank into the … Read More
What makes a travelogue interesting? For starters, a promising premise – such as “a frog in the fjord” – helps. But for a book to become a bestseller, and to be recommended by a premier travel … Read More
When the great poet Nikki Giovanni died earlier this week, many tributes described how this literary legend never took her foot off the gas: she wrote more than 30 books, with one more coming out next year. I … Read More
When Kyoko Mori writes about her love for her cats and birds, she doesn’t hold back. Her devotion is unquestionably…well…obsessive. It’s tempting to see her in that light only. However, in an interview, Mori says this, “I … Read More
A Review of “Find Your Story, Write Your Memoir” in 100 Words by Catherine StoverMemoirists have to strike a difficult balance while attempting to meet two goals. Their first goal is to tell us about something that happened in their past by taking us back to the way life … Read More
Satsuki Ina’s memoir includes excerpts from her parents’ letters from the years they were imprisoned during WW II in a so-called “relocation center” for American citizens who had Japanese ancestors. Her parents never talked about it. While Ina knew that she was born in a prison, she didn’t know how … Read More
Have you ever gotten stuck when working on a creative project? What do you do when your work grinds to a halt? Here’s an idea: spend 10 or 15 minutes every morning doing a type of meditation where you write down whatever is going through your mind. Don’t judge. Don’t … Read More