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Click to get a FREE DOWNLOAD of my March 16 members-only TELESEMINAR with Linda Joy Myers and several participating members of NAMW, available at no charge for Memoir Midwife readers. Here’s what we cover: Basics and shortcuts for researching … Continue reading
A fascinating set of opinion pieces about the worthiness of revealing one’s most embarrassing experiences in print; one from the editor of Gawker and the other a memoirist and memoir teacher Susan Shapiro who’s written about addiction, heartbreak, psychotherapy, her … Continue reading
Here’s a nice post I found on Twitter from a writer of “YA Romance”. What to tell nonwriters about the writers in their lives — friends, partners, family etc. It’s also got some good stuff to tell ourselves…. Non-writers, we … Continue reading
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the … Continue reading
Oct 13, 2012 Debra rated it I thoroughly enjoyed this book and got a lot out of it. As an amateur genealogist and historian and eager memoirist/family history writer and blogger, I found the chapters helped me to distinguish the … Continue reading
…especially when the book you wrote is no longer top of mind, such as my Guide to Memoir Writing, released last year (Dec 2011). Doubly so when it’s a positive review that you’d somehow missed (Google trackers are not a sure thing I find.) So imagine my delight to find these three 5 star Amazon reviews on the book’s site after not checking it for several months.
[Since I went back to full time work as a Blog and Social Media Editor at PLOS, the Public Library of Science (blogs.plos.org) I haven't had time for much of anything other than eating, sleeping and working -- though I have to say that editing, recruiting bloggers and managing a blog community is tremendously fun and challenging work.]
I thank the Amazon reviewers for taking the time and care to write down their thoughts and experiences working with the book. I’m also thrilled that I was able to help them write better memoirs!
When I recently began thinking about writing my own life story, I thought certainly it would be a relatively straight forward project. Why not? I had all the credentials and experience to accomplish my mission. I had a solid liberal arts and journalism school education from a good public university and more than 25 years of experience working in the journalism profession during which I have published hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles covering a wide range of subjects.
But as I discovered from Victoria Costello’s guide, writing a memoir is a different – and much more complex – process than writing news stories and magazine features. In a news or feature article, you tend to answer the questions: What is this and what about it? When writing a memoir, the writer goes a step further and answers a third question: So what? To answer this third question, and make your writing come alive, Costello explains that a memoirist has to incorporate a host of literary techniques into the narrative, such as voice, plot, character development, dialogue, scenes, and much more.
Costello does an admirable job of explaining these terms and how to incorporate them into your memoir. Her book has helped me make the transition from the short news story to book-length narrative through this very easy-to-follow guide that makes you think about both the big picture and the details. The book not only covers the writing process, but also delves into legal issues and how to get your memoir published. I recommend this book for anyone who is thinking about, or is in the process of, telling his or her own life story through a memoir or similar writing vehicle, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or veteran journalist.
This book was extremely helpful in guiding me to the completion of my first memoir genre book. The author’s seasoned, realistic approach to writing a memoir is second to none. Highly recommend it!
Costello’s guide to writing a memoir is an extremely well crafted, specific, nuts-and-bolts description of the elements required not only for a memoir but for most kinds of novels as well. It provides practical advice on how to approach such a project, and how to get through it, and how to have it reviewed in manuscript form by one’s peers. And, beyond that, how to get it into print. Most such guides tend to be vague about important steps in the process. This one is comprehensively detailed. Even if you don’t plan to write a memoir, you’ll find it fascinating if you like to write.
I wanted to share with you all a review of my memoir received on Goodreads by another memoirist and seeker of personal healing, Rhonda Rae. It touches me deeply that my book helps her dig deeper into her own family mysteries and serves as a resource for her writing and healing process. Here is her review…
Rhonda Rae Baker rated it 
Now that I’ve had time to ponder what she is really talking about, I feel ready to tackle my own history in greater ways. I’m still researching my birth family and no one is open to speak with me. So many secrets and so many illnesses…totally dysfunctional and carried on within my own family atmosphere.
Very sad that adoptee’s don’t have access to their medical and mental health histories…consequences can be lethal, is an understatement.
I’ve more research and will continue to use this amazing resource to help me find my way. Bottom line, addressing personal depressions and cycles is my first step. One day at a time…I’m very sad that my children have presented with psychological environmental and genetic tendencies. It’s as if they had no hope…but they do have hope now…mom is learning and will continue to reach out to help them.
There is a way…there are answers…there is help!
Posted in books about memoir writing
Practical Tips on Writing a Book from 23 Brilliant Authors By Steve Silberman Posted: June 2, 2011 on Independent Book Publisher * Steve Silberman reading at the Booksmith in SF. Photo by Heather Champ. *Steve Silberman also has a blog … Continue reading
I did this tweetchat with my publisher Alpha Books back in January and after giving it a reread, I think there’s some really useful stuff here for focusing your memoir writing. Makes me think there’s some value in having to … Continue reading
These rules are excellent and should be adopted by any editor or reviewer and especially by writers working together in a critique group. I have personally been in one where they were not followed and as a result the feedback … Continue reading
…Sammy asked me to meet the two of them at a restaurant because he had something important to tell me. Of course, I worried the whole 24 hours beforehand, expecting the worst. Certainly, I feared, Sammy had failed his second to last semester of college, or Lori was pregnant and they didn’t know what to do about it…
via Happy Mother’s Day! The Rewards of ‘Recovery Parenting’ | MentalHealthMomBlog.
