Summertime, and the allure of the outdoors beckoning our attention and keeping us from writing. Ordinarily, it's difficult to stay motivated, but even more so, when the distraction of summertime fun is more inviting. So, how can I fit writing time into my day?” I begin it with this question and end it in assessing if, indeed, I did [...]
When I was young, I seized the rare times when my dad jested with me. During playful moments, he’d utter “Put up your dukes,” taking a boxer’s sideways stance when confronting me. I didn’t consider this original, reasoning he stole the line from an old John Wayne movie. I didn’t need any movie to show me how to put up [...]
As a memoir writer for over fifteen years, the word “memoir,” has become ingrained in my thoughts and actions. The word or any form of it draws my attention like a magnet, urging me to record the captured reflections and takeaways. The journey to my completed memoir, Under the Birch Tree, to be published next year, is a result of [...]
I had an autobiography. I wanted a memoir. After years of chronicling my life experiences from girlhood to teens to adulthood, I had an autobiography. However, “One’s autobiography does not a memoir make!” I proclaimed in my essay, “I Called You a Memoir” published in the Magic of Memoir. I shared what I most remembered from my girlhood–white anklet socked [...]
The first time I entered a writing contest I won. A win says it all, a handshake in welcome, validation for a job well done and self-confidence to tackle another challenge. Writers who enter a writing contest submit their best work with the optimistic chance they could win, securing a welcome, confirmation and boost in confidence. I admire a writer’s [...]
I doubted the day would come. I had been working on my memoir for over 10 years, admittedly at a more stop than go pace, chronicling the timeline of my youth, coming of age to adult years. I had recorded memories, nestled them in my mind as if contributing to my DNA, creating a map to become the person I [...]
Last fall I won a writing contest for The Magic of Memoir edited by Linda Joy Myer and Brooke Warner of She Writes Press. This was a first time I entered a writing contest and a first win for anything that had to do with my writing. A win at anything says it all, a handshake in welcome, validation that [...]
I can understand Genzlinger’s irritability with the memoir genre becoming over-inflated. Memoirs seem to be riding the wave of too much sharing and providing an over-supply of personal information. In Part I from a previous post, I shared Genzlinger’s guidelines to would-be memoirists from his essay, “The Problem with Memoirs,” published in The New York Times. He felt that three [...]
I usually don’t answer calls for writing submissions. That’s not to say I don’t read the calls but knowing that my writing is up against the caliber of professional writers is enough for me to retreat and surrender. My inner critic moves me along to the next call for submission when she reminds me my ho-hum writing may not being [...]
...an inspiration for the writing journey As one of 38 writers selected to share my essay, "I Called you a Memoir," for this collection, you will find stories of wisdom, tips for managing the inner-critic, strategies, motivation and lessons learned. Now available on Amazon.