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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It all starts with the first draft. A first draft gives you something to work with so you can get to where you want to go. It’s a necessary step, and hardly the last one.
Read more →“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,
Read more →“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
Read more →“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
Read more →“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
Read more →“Survival Rules” — from Chapter 6 in my upcoming book, “100 Years in the Life of an American Girl: True Stories 1910 – 2010” (publishing summer 2013) “Survival Rules” Johnny, Arkansas Johnny lived in town with her family on four acres. They grew or raised everything they ate: collard
Read more →“Wartime Comes to the West Coast” — from Chapter 4 of my upcoming book, “100 Years in the Life of an American Girl: True Stories 1910 – 2010.” The book will be a rare view inside the lives of over 50 young girls from around the country and throughout a century. While
Read more →This is life in the words of young girls from around the country and throughout a century: “100 Years in the Life of an American Girl: True Stories 1910 – 2010.” While the book is in production I’ve decided to share a taste of these fabulous stories by giving a peek into
Read more →It came as a surprise to me years ago to learn that NOT saying something could be considered lying, at least according to my stepmother, whose opinions on things like that mattered when I was in high school. “But I never said I [fill in the blank]!” I’d protest, when
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