Clichés in your memoir—you need them like you need a hole in the head.
You can avoid cliches and stereotypes. If you do not avoid cliches and stereotypes, you will undermine the unique and personal feel of your memoir. Cliches and stereotypes place people in often erroneous and certainly indefensible categories.
Be a Better Memoir Writer with Deliberate Practice
Memoir writers can achieve much alone. But, it is also true that working with a memoir professional can cut down the time it takes to produce a book of memoirs and can significantly jack up the quality.
So You Wonder How Memoir Editing Works
When I begin memoir editing with clients, I tell them that a proper editing requires three “read-throughs.” It is impossible to give a manuscript all the attention it deserves in one reading. Reading a manuscript without doing any specific editing and forming only a general impression has always seemed a good idea in theory, but […]
Going Deeper in a Memoir: Look at “Life’s Failed Contracts”
Understanding “Life’s Failed Contracts” is necessary for going deeper in a memoir. This post is about going deeper in a memoir, deeper even than you thought you could go when you started. This may be hard, but take a look at the contracts with life we make and the terrible disappointment that inevitably comes from […]
Vivid Characters Are Essential in a Memoir
The people in your story are your characters. It is your job to bring vivid literary characters to the attention of your readers. You must use descriptive writing to present believable characters. Without other people, our lives and memoirs risk becoming dull. Although ideas are pivotal for many individuals, relationships are even more commanding. We […]
Show Don’t Tell Your Characters, or Don’t Describe Your Characters–Show Them!
The old adage “Show your story rather than tell it!” is as true as ever. It is one technique that will always improve your writing…
Writing Hooks to Open a Paragraph or Chapter
How do you start a chapter with writing hooks that capture the reader’s interest? Try these 3 methods create curiosity in your reader!
Self-Editing Tips for Memoir Writers
Follow these self-editing tips to save time (and mistakes!) on your memoir manuscript before you send it to a professional editor.
Dramatic story development, rather than dramatic events, adds up to an interesting memoir
To view this post as a YouTube video, click here.—People will sometimes suppose that only big drama can make an interesting memoir. Of course, there are many readers who require constant titillation if they are to remain reading. Perhaps they are not the readers you should be seeking for your memoir. Nonetheless, nearly all readers […]