Tag Archive - Memoir

5 Tips to Help You Write a Memoir about Hard Things

Today’s guest post is by Patricia Grayhall.

The box lay unopened in various closets for forty years. Then, while downsizing, I took out the journals and letters and began reading. The memories and feelings flooded back.

As I relived my personal journey in the late 1960s and ’70s—an illegal abortion, coming out as a lesbian, a woman training to become a doctor, and none approved by society—I realized that my experience has relevance beyond the personal, especially now.

But writing a memoir is as challenging as it is rewarding. Here are five lessons I learned along the way that I hope will help you when you have to write about hard things:

  1. It takes courage …

when you write about life events that have affected you deeply and may be associated with shame. A writer must face fear of humiliation and exposure. This fear was my greatest obstacle in writing about hard things and choosing to share it with the world.

However, this process of revealing our true humanity and struggle rather than the polished version of ourselves we often present on social media allows us to really connect with others. Continue Reading…

10 Tips to Writing True-Life Stories

Today’s guest post is by Brit Haines.

Writing true-life stories is cathartic. The process is healing, and authors often say they come out of the experience feeling like they went through an intense therapy session. But digging deep to produce these nonfiction stories hurts too, especially if you focus on a traumatic experience.

The pain can be enough to make you want to stop, to wonder if publishing the story would even engage your readers. Never let it hold you back. If you can think of it as motivation to move forward, your account could touch the lives of readers just like you.

Follow these ten basic tips to speak your truth. Here’s how to write true-life stories that resonate with your audience.

1. Dig Deep

Find a story worth telling. Readers see your emotion on the page. It’s safe to say that a tear-jerking moment in a book came from real-life author tears. Continue Reading…

How to Transform Memories into Memoir

Today’s guest post is by Kathleen Pooler. 

“It is the complicated, abiding pleasure, to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, of finding the universal thread that connects us to the rest of humanity, and, by doing so, turns our small, personal sorrows and individual tragedies into art,” says Dani Shapiro from The New Yorker. 

Finding a compelling story amid the rubble of memories and events is one of the biggest challenge of a memoirist. But the work goes beyond just identifying and writing.

Excavating the emotional terrain is part of the work of sifting through memories so you can develop a compelling “slice of life” story with a takeaway. In memoir, these “slices of life” moments or defining moments make up a collection of scenes in your memoir.

In a COVID-19 era, many memoirists are finding it increasingly challenging to stay focused. Perhaps starting with that one memory that triggers emotions might be a good place to start. Continue Reading…

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