Learn how to write a short memoir
For years I have taught memoir writing classes in Southern California. It is pure joy--because of my students.
- In one session a man read aloud from the memoir he wrote in
class about buying his first home back in the '60s and helping to
pay his mortgage by being a "secret diner" at a new restaurant
called Jack in the Box.
- From one woman came the amazing story of how she--at age
9--single-handedly rescued her parents and sisters in the
Philippines during the World War II.
- And in yet another session the class and I laughed at one woman's hilarious tale of the boys she dated in high school while looking for "The One".
These people have been thrilled to see how much they can write in each session--whether they have experienced lives of adventure and drama or lived a seemingly everyday life.
At the end of the class each of them walks out with a mini-memoir in hand--plus the knowledge and skills to write an even longer memoir if they choose. And each of them has already become the person their descendants will never forget.
"Where do I start writing a memoir?
Should I begin with my earliest memories?"
Those are questions I am asked frequently. The answer about early memories is "No." The reason why is simple: Your earliest memories are probably fragments. To write a real memoir, even a short one, you want more than fragments, you want a narrative that tells your story and answers questions about how you made decisions in your life.
You want to tell your true story revealing what is and was important to you as your life unfolded.
You will receive clear step-by-step instructions and examples to make writing your personal memoir almost effortless.
You will learn:
- The importance of your life decisions and turning points.
- How to capture the "spirit of the times" during the years when you were young.
- Guidelines for writing about your family and friends as they were then.
- Which details are important--and which you should handle with kid gloves.
- How to write about unpleasant episodes, such as divorce, in your memoir.
- How to avoid writing a boring memoir.
- Who you should tell about your memoir and who you definitely should not.
- How long a real memoir should be.
- What to include in a travel memoir.
- What you should add to your memoir in this digital age.
- How a memoir differs from an autobiography.
- The two best ways to start your memoir.
- My proven technique overcomes any doubts or hesitations about how and where to begin.
Do not leave your descendants asking questions about you, wondering who you were or, worse yet, forgetting about you altogether.
Now is the time for you to write a memoir that will tell your grandchildren and their grandchildren about you, your life experiences, and answer questions they, no doubt, will have about how you lived and what life choices you made.
The memoir you write will be like a personal private letter to the future directly from you. A letter to people whose parents are not even born yet--but they will be related to you and curious about you.
You will become the Very Important Ancestor, the one they remember and talk about a hundred--or even two hundred--years from now.
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| Ready to write? Sign up for my class or contact me by
email
today. I can arrange to teach
memoir writing to your group
of 8 or more. Or you can order the 59 page handbook used in the class for $15. Just send me an email and I can bill you through PayPal -- even if you do not have a PayPal account. |