National Association of Memoir Writers, NAMW

During the spring every year, I am privileged to be part of two literary events. In March in San Francisco there is an event sponsored by the Soul Making Literary Contest and Pen Women West. Winners of the fiction, poetry, memoir, and creative nonfiction read their winning entries and are congratulated on their creativity and skills. A marvelous woman named Eileen Malone organizes the contest, advertises it, and then throws a wonderful reading/party/celebration of art and creativity at the Koret … [Read more...]

Recently I was interviewed about the reasons a national organization for memoir writers is important. This got me talking and thinking about how much I love memoirs and how important I think they are in the world. I didn’t have prepared questions, I just launched in talking about what I’m most passionate about. 1. A memoir is a grass roots way to connect with other people. Everyone feels isolated in his or her own skin from time to time, and we all wonder if others feel like we do. A memoir … [Read more...]

Writing a memoir invites you to tell your story in your own voice, and it can stir up ghosts from the past. However, we learn to be in charge of how much we write and how far we go into the more challenging stories of our lives. Our writing is shaped by our intent and focus. At the same time, we are inviting the right brain to help us to create without worrying about final products or final drafts. Writing is a process that sweeps us along some of the time, and makes us stop to think at others. Think … [Read more...]

Freewrite regularly. Don’t take your pen off the paper—write quickly and freely. Write your truth for 20 minutes every day. Tune out the critic. Or work with it: write down what it says and answer it back. Create a dialogue where your creative voice has the last word. Discover the source of the critic—parental voices, teachers, or society. Write stories about the origin of that negative, critical voice. Go back and forth between the dark and the light stories in your life. Use … [Read more...]