We read memoirs for many reasons. These reasons can perhaps be summarized into two: we want to be entertained and we need to be informed.
In this post on the mythic journey of your life, I want to write about the second of those reasons: our need to be informed.
Whether they articulate it or not, many people read memoirs because they want to understand something about the lived experience of life. Life is not easy. It is full of challenges, defeats and conundrums.
“What to do?”
While in the past I had published only hard-copy versions of my books, I have increasingly included a digital version. It just makes sense, and I would advise writers that they need an ebook.
Ebooks are on the ascendancy are more and more a viable publication option. Every year, their share of the book-reading audience grows. Granted you can’t experience the ebook as a satisfying weight in your hand (unless it’s the weight of the e-reader) nor can you feel the page turning, but the ebook has become a good choice at many levels.
A Good Buy for the Reader
Many memoir writers are under the impression that you need to have an extensive vocabulary to write. An extensive vocabulary can only help you—if by “extensive” you mean many precise language, not just big words.
Precise words are specific and not vague and ineffective like nice, awful, big, OK. “She was nice” is vague. “She understood different points of view” is specific and precise language.
“He was awfully big” is vague. You might write instead: “My father measured six foot five and weighed 275 pounds.”
Don’t write: “The job was OK.” Write: “The job was in my field of competence, but its salary was inadequate and its requirements did not challenge me.”
Libby Atwater is a memoir writer and long supporter of The Memoir Network. It is our pleasure to share her excellent work with you.
By Horace Dade Ashton and Marc Ashton with Libby J. Atwater
When Marc Ashton was kidnapped at gunpoint in Haiti, he fought to survive. Accosted by four armed thugs, Marc realized how life changes in moments. He made two promises: he would escape his captors, and he would tell his father’s amazing life story. I am proud to have helped tell the stories of both these men in this memoir of a kidnapping.
5 Reasons to Undertake Ebook Publishing
Are you making a mistake not planning to include ebook publishing in your publication schedule? People interested in independent publication ask me if they should publish their manuscript as an ebook, a hard copy book or both. The honest answer on my part is I don’t know. The decision is individual and unique to you. […]
Shaping your memoir: The mythic journey of your life
You have undertaken to write the mythic journey of your life. We read memoirs for many reasons. These reasons can perhaps be summarized into two: we want to be entertained and we need to be informed. In this post on the mythic journey of your life, I want to write about the second of those […]
How to Write a Successful Memoir: With No Extraordinary Power
Mary Ellen Ellwell was a writing client with whom I especially enjoyed working. She brought to the relationship a sense of the value of collaboration. This made the time together a creative one for both of us as we worked together, first with coaching and then with editing—the two often not separable—to write a successful […]
Why You Need an Ebook
While in the past I had published only hard-copy versions of my books, I have increasingly included a digital version. It just makes sense, and I would advise writers that they need an ebook. Ebooks are on the ascendancy are more and more a viable publication option. Every year, their share of the book-reading audience […]
Why Use Precise Speech?
Many memoir writers are under the impression that you need to have an extensive vocabulary to write. An extensive vocabulary can only help you–if by “extensive” you mean many precise words, not just big ones. (more…)
How Writing to Ease Pain—Even of a Son’s Murder
Even before I found out my son had been murdered, I began writing about what I was experiencing as we waited for word of what had happened. (more…)
How to Write a Successful Memoir: Digging for Treasure
Today’s successful memoir writer is Jean Crichton. Jean attended the very first national workshop that I organized in 2000. From that time, we developed a strong working relationship via coaching and editing. She was one of those writers who was an absolute pleasure to work with. To read other interviews For the most recent interview with […]
The Spirit of Villarosa: A Father’s Extraordinary Adventures / A Son’s Challenge
Libby Atwater is a memoir writer and long supporter of The Memoir Network. It is our pleasure to share her excellent work with you. By Horace Dade Ashton and Marc Ashton with Libby J. Atwater When Marc Ashton was kidnapped at gunpoint in Haiti, he fought to survive. Accosted by four armed thugs, Marc realized […]
How to Write a Successful Memoir: It Can Happen to Any Family
Today’s writer is Cindy Doucette whose book is It Can Happen to Any Family. On August 22, 2012, we printed a testimonial written by a young person who was in the correctional system and who wrote of the influence Cindy Doucette’s book had on her. Our last interview was with author Peggy Kennedy. If you haven’t read it, click here. Denis […]