Magical Memoir Moments
Memoir First Lines–A Contest for Readers of this Blog
Recently I had an inquiry from a writer who asked if I had a list of excellent first lines from memoirs. That sounded like something I should have. First words contain the vital “hook” that overcomes the reader’s resistance and skepticism. Think about how you challenge a book to speak to you when you gaze…
Another Short Memoir Query Letter Critique Video–And a Lovely Shout Out from Marla Miller
Marla Miller has been helping writers “market the muse” for a long time. Now she is sharing her knowledge of the publishing industry via YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Here’s a recent video featuring a memoir called Nadia. Imagine my surprise when I heard her mention 100memoirs.com in the introduction! Marla manages to offer some pointed…
Memoir Query Advice from Marla Miller: Subject Matter–Incest and Moms
A number of readers asked to see Marla Miller critique more query letters. So here she is again from her Youtube channel. You can also read her critique of another memoir at The Writer magazine online. If you have never browsed The Writer mag, you may want to do that also. It offers great advice…
Connecting Voice to Touch: What I Learned About Writing from Max DePree
“Find your own voice,” say the writing experts. Easy to say. Hard to do. In another post on voice, I described how helpful it was for me to try to visualize my voice as a farm. Today I am pondering the role of another of the senses–touch. How does one sense inform, enlarge, or restrict,…
Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project: A Review
On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you? Honestly. Right now. Most people rate themselves as happy–as 7’s. In a 2006 survey 84 percent of Americans ranked themselves as ‘very happy’ or ‘pretty happy.’” If your number is anything lower than 10, you can benefit from reading The Happiness Project. And even if it…
Shall I Follow Jane's Friedman's Great Example? Or Just Let Jane Do It?
Jane Friedman has 22,679 Twitter followers, some of whom could more appropriately be called devotees. It’s worth getting a Twitter account just to follow her. You’ll soon see why she has built a rabid tribe. She’s smart, ahead of the rapidly evolving book industry curve, witty–and generous. One of the things I like most about…
How NOT to Write a Memoir: Susan Shapiro's Satirical Advice
Author and teacher Susan Shapiro outlines ten tips for how NOT to get your memoir published. The Writer Magazine is the source for this post.
First Lines: What are Your Favorites?
Beginnings matter. Writers and English professors love to exchange their favorite first lines: “Call me Ishmael,” or “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” A well-crafted first line in an essay or book not only intrigues or “hooks” the reader, it also points to the theme. I had a colleague who…