Authority/Author: words with the same roots
Four Steps to Assuming Your Writing Authority To those who struggle with whether they should write or continue to write a memoir, let me be clear: no one can give you the writing authority to record your story, to tell the truth about your life. You are the only person who can do that (Of […]
The Work of Writing a Memoir Can Be Hard, But You Can Succeed!
No one said it would be easy to show up and do the work of writing a book! “This is hard,” you think as you look at your production. “perhaps I’m not cut out for this.” (more…)
A Firm Writing Resolution: You Will Not Regret Formulating One for 2026
Resolutions can be tricky—just an exercise in fooling yourself! But they can also be a dynamic trigger. In this post, I will share a writing resolution that paid off big for me. If you have not decided on New Year’s resolutions for your writing, it is a good time to choose priorities for the […]
Our Christmas Réveillon—A Franco Custom
At Christmas, it was a Franco custom to have an all-night party—a réveillon—after the midnight mass. The following excerpt is from my French Boy / A 1950s Franco-American Childhood. ___ For our first Christmas in our new home, my parents hosted a Christmas réveillon for both sides of the family. We children grew excited witnessing […]
16 Memoir-Writing Resources You Can Use Today
Having the right resources available when we need them can transform any task from a problem to an enticing challenge. I don’t know about you, but when I am trying something new—let’s say propagating a plant—that I’m not knowledgeable about, I head for either the internet or my bookshelves. The internet provides quick information and […]
You don’t have to remember your lifestory alone.
Since our lives are usually lived in community and our lifestories have evolved with other people in tow, take advantage of this symbiosis to write the best memoir you are capable of by accessing a collective memory of your life’s events. Today, you will organize a lifestory party. (more…)
You Can “Package” Your Books into Bundles.
It’s fair to assume that most and perhaps all the readers of this blog post are writers. We may not like marketing but we recognize its importance. In this post, I want to write to you about the importance of bundling in your marketing efforts. You—and I—ought to be always asking ourselves about how to […]
How an Idea Becomes a Book
This is how an idea becomes a book. ___ Every month (at 1 PM/ET, 12 CT, 11 MT, 10 PT), you can participate in a live memoir-writing workshop on ZOOM. Usually, it occurs on the third Thursday of the month, but in November, I will be traveling to give a book talk on the third […]
Book recommendation: “Here to Stay”
[This review of my latest book was posted on Substack on October 20, 2025, by Jean Edouard Pouliot. Thank you profusely, Jean, for your support in publishing Book recommendation: “Here to Stay”.] [Jean’s text] I wanted to mention a wonderful new book by my friend, Denis Ledoux, who has been writing for years about the […]