Being a Ghostwriter

Being a Ghostwriter

A ghostwriter gets to walk in a lot of different people’s shoes. It’s like being an actor. I’ve been a professional singer, a scientist, a philosopher and theologian—and the list goes on. As a ghostwriter I have to sound like my client and then help them sound even better. Good

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Make Your “Fertile 50” List

Make Your "Fertile 50" List

It’s springtime in Texas, when the bluebonnets are in bloom and women from around the country come together for a conference in Austin to learn more about lifewriting. It’s the “Stories from the Heart” conference of the national organization Story Circle Network, “for women with stories to tell,” April 15

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Show Character

Memoir is about people and experiences. It’s about relationships, connection. And characters — the people in our life stories — are at the heart of it all. I see some of my students and clients writing memoir that can suffer from describing incidents one after another, neglecting the important fact

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Almost Ready for Release!

Almost Ready for Release!

“Girlhood in America: Personal Stories 1910 – 2010,” a book about girlhood through a century, is almost ready for release! I’ve been climbing that steep self-publisher’s learning curve and I’m finally cruising. When you sign a contract with a publishing house, you’re usually looking at two years before your pub

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Dreaming It Real

Today I heard author Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul and many others) speak. This biggest-ever bestselling author — Canfield has had 47 separate titles on the New York Times bestseller’s list since 1976 — talked about growing up a coal-miner’s son in West Virginia and charting a path

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SNEAK PEEK #10: The 2000s

“Reality” – From Chapter 10 “100 Years in the Life of an American Girl: True Stories 1910 – 2010” (publishing summer 2013) “Reality” – Chapter 10 — The 2000s, Dylanne White At 10 Dylanne’s three greatest wishes were to be allowed to wear make-up, get a new pair of skinny jeans,

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SNEAK PEEK #9: The 1990s

“Boom, Dynamite!” — From Chapter 9, “100 Years in the Life of an American Girl: True Stories 1910 – 2010″ (publishing summer 2013) “Boom, Dynamite!”  Brianna — Grandville, Michigan Brianna lived in a large house in a woodsy suburb with her older sister, her stay-at-home mom, and her dad, a

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SNEAK PEEK #8: The 1980s

“The Gen X Poster Child” — from Chapter 8, “100 Years in the Life of an American Girl: True Stories 1910 – 2010” (publishing summer 2013) “The Gen X Poster Child”  Jenny Isenman, Maryland Born in 1973, Jenny grew up an only child in an affluent suburb with a bedroom

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SNEAK PEEK #7: The 1970s

“Texas Goes Technicolor”  from Chapter 7, “100 Years in the Life of an American Girl: True Stories 1910 – 2010” (publishing summer 2013) Texas Goes Technicolor Kim — Dallas, Texas Kim was born in 1963 into a family she describes as “arch conservatives and budding hippies.” Her parents were older

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