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Writing Memoir : When to "Break the spell"

When writing memoir we start out intending to write about a time, a place, an incident, a person. As we write, our memories start to...

Don't Read Faulkner On The Subway...and other reading advice, Or, How to be a "creative Reader"

Most of us like variety in our fiction reading. I can read Cold Comfort Farm one week, then read Proust, then read Lessing. I used to...

never show AND tell

Back in grade school I dreaded show and tell. I never had anything interesting to show or tell except my pet turtle, Herman. And they...

fiction writing: STARt AT THE END

When I started writing fiction I was lost. Where/how to start? So many ideas! Snippets of dialogue spinning around in my head. ...

Memoir Writing No-Nos

1. "I remember(ed)" – We know you are remembering. That’s what a memoir is. 2. "I don’t remember..." If you don’t, we sure don’t. Tell...

It's Your Memoir & You Can Cry IF You want to

Inevitably in memoir workshops people worry about what their family and friends will think or say about their work. It's not only that we...

Let your Characters Create the Plot, So you Don't have to

Okay, that is admittedly a snide title. Of course you create the plot! But here's what this really means: finding a plot/story that...

Does It Matter If Your Protagonist is "Relatable?"

In my book groups I have often heard readers complain that they could not “relate” to the protagonist. The first time I heard it I was...

M e m o i r W r i t i n g - A FEW TIPS

1. Memoir is not autobiography. You do not “start” at the beginning. Memoir is a “slice of life.” 2. Write about any time or...

When Is A "Critique" really Criticism?

My tales of woe, or, what I have been told: 1. From Gordon Lish, the once (in)famous editor of "The Quarterly." "YOU COULD BE A WRITER IF...

Worst Advice For Fiction Writers

"The process is the prize when it comes to creative writing. Try to enjoy it." The list below is for all of us who wanted to write but...

CREATIVE WRITER & Creative writing teacher