I thought I’d never go to Texas, but Austin, here I come! And it isn’t for the music scene. I’m going to Stories from the Heart VI, the 6th National Women’s Memoir Conference, April 13-15, at the Wyndham Hotel in Austin. Not only that, I’m a conference presenter.
My workshop, Writing the Truth: Issues, Ethics & Poetic License, Saturday April 14, will look at truth’s many angles and uncover ways of handling it. I’ll talk about the differences between truth and fact, exact truth and emotional truth, and that fascinating, slippery subject, perspective. Revealing family secrets and questions of privacy and audience — who you’re writing for, yourself or others — are among the topics I’ll cover, along with “poetic license” — what can be fairly changed or re-created? It’ll be interesting to hear from other writers about how they manage scenes when they don’t remember all the details and write dialog when they have no idea what was really said.
I fly in from San Francisco Thursday, April 12, to be in time to offer three of the free 15-minute mini-coaching sessions Friday morning, April 13. Mine are about writing great query letters and book proposals.
Mini Coaching Session
- Getting Published/Quick Tips: How to Write a Great Query Letter
- Getting Published/Quick Tips: How to Write a Great Book Proposal
- Query Letter Critique
The mini coaching sessions are a great opportunity for personalized attention, and they’re first-come, first-served. Sign up between March 15 and April 5.
I’m looking forward to the conference. I’m a member of Story Circle Network and I’m impressed with all they do, from online classes, where I’ve taught and worked with women from every corner of the country, to reviews of books by women authors, to print and online publications for short memoir, a blogsite, and much more. Story Circles have formed throughout the country, where women come together to share their writings and celebrate the diversity of their experience. I look forward to meeting women writing memoir and talking with the other writers who teach for Story Circle online.
It’s a packed weekend — when my course is done at 10:30 Saturday, I get to go to a great memoir writer’s conference! Maybe I’ll see you there. Be sure to say hello.
