Memoir writing process Archives - Page 19 of 25

Twitter Watch: What You’re Missing

June 24, 2018October 25, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

Twitter Watch: What You’re Missing

You probably don’t tweet. That doesn’t mean you can’t join the twittersphere at twitter.com and follow other people’s tweets. Eventually you’ll pipe up when you have something to tweet about. Meanwhile, you can find out a lot in a short period of time, since each tweet is limited to 140 characters. WriteMyMemoirs does tweet, and we also follow others. Looking over the latest tweets from those we follow, we thought we’d share.

From GothamWriters, we learn that Anne Tyler once said, “For me, writing something down was the only road out.” TIMECulture recommends Backward Ran Sentences: The Best from Wolcott Gibbs. TheBookMaven supplies a link to an article promoting the universal practice of reading on the potty. BookReviews12 links to a review of Successful Executive’s Handbook. RandomHouse mentions that—who knew?—today is World Pasta Day. To retweet that post: “Holy Ravioli!”

Use Twitter as just another tool to guide you to sources and keep you motivated to write your memoirs. Do a search on twitter.com for “books,” “memoir,” “autobiography,” “life story,” “author” and anything else you think may pull up tweets you can follow for information pertaining to your memoir. Your own tweets can trace your journey of writing your memoir and link to online sources that help you. And don’t forget to follow WriteMyMemoirs on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/#!/writemymemoirs

You probably don’t tweet. That doesn’t mean you can’t join the twittersphere at twitter.com and follow other people’s tweets. Eventually you’ll pipe up when you have something to tweet about. Meanwhile, you can find out a lot in a short period of time, since each tweet is limited to 140 characters. WriteMyMemoirs does tweet—typically to alert people to the latest published or rumored memoir—and we also follow others. Looking over the latest tweets from those we follow, we thought we’d share.

From GothamWriters, we learn that Anne Tyler once said, “For me, writing something down was the only road out.” TIMECulture recommends Backward Ran Sentences: The Best from Wolcott Gibbs. TheBookMaven supplies a link to an article promoting the universal practice of reading on the potty. BookReviews12 links to a review of Successful Executive’s Handbook. RandomHouse mentions that—who knew?—today is World Pasta Day. To retweet that post: “Holy Ravioli!”

Use Twitter as just another tool to guide you to sources and keep you motivated to write your memoirs. Do a search on twitter.com for “books,” “memoir,” “autobiography,” “life story,” “author” and anything else you think may pull up tweets you can follow for information pertaining to your memoir. Your own tweets can trace your journey of writing your memoir and link to online sources that help you. And don’t forget to follow WriteMyMemoirs on Twitter

http://twitter.com/#!/writemymemoirs

Have You Tried to “Contact Us”?

June 24, 2018October 12, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

Have You Tried to “Contact Us”?

We hope you’ve been enjoying the new features on WriteMyMemoirs. Please make sure to fill out the “interview” questions that provide an outline of the dates and events in your life story. Then as you write, you’ll be able to access hints to tickle your memory about what was going on in the world and in your life during the time period you’re addressing. We’re very proud of these capabilities!

We are still in the process of coordinating our pages and removing outdated material, so please bear with us! During this redesign, we also had a technological glitch that delayed our response to messages coming in through the “Contact Us” forms. We have it worked out now, and if you wrote to us in that manner you should have a reply by now. If not, we invite you to email us directly to:

su*****@************rs.com

Your communication is very important to us; we value every single one of our members and thank you for your patience. Please “like” us on Facebook, and feel free to open up a discussion on our Facebook page if you need help with writing concepts or motivation to keep plugging away at your memoir.

We hope you’ve been enjoying the new features on WriteMyMemoirs. Please make sure to fill out the “interview” questions that provide an outline of the dates and events in your life story. Then as you write, you’ll be able to access hints to tickle your memory about what was going on in the world and in your life during the time period you’re addressing. We’re very proud of these capabilities!

su*****@************rs.com

Beware the “Tell-All” Fallout

June 24, 2018October 4, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

Beware the “Tell-All” Fallout

If you’re planning on writing a memoir that dishes dirty family secrets, you might want to think it through. Be prepared for your family to be angry at you, because seeing their actions through your critical eyes does not tend to create harmony.

Moms haven’t had a good year in memoirland. There was Ashley Judd’s exposé of her famous country mama Naomi, which had both Naomi and Ashley’s half-sister Wynonna hopping mad. Next we heard about Katy Perry’s mother, who was not the subject of a memoir but, rather, the one who wrote her own memoir. In it, she lamented that Katy’s fashion taste and music were too risqué for her taste, an opinion that created what Katy’s father referred to as “tension” in the family.

The latest tell-all, set to hit stores on October 18, is Whateverland: Learning to Live Here, by Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis Stewart. Reportedly, the book gives ample evidence supporting Alexis’s conclusion that her mom “was not interested in being kid-friendly.” But Alexis has hedged her bets by dedicating her memoir to none other than Martha dearest and proactively using the dedication to more or less ask forgiveness. The dedication reportedly says: “Thanks in advance to my mother for not getting angry about anything written in this book.” If your memoir trashes a family member, you might want to try that approach. Let us know if it works.

If you’re planning on writing a memoir that dishes dirty family secrets, you might want to think it through. Be prepared for your family to be angry at you, because seeing their actions through your critical eyes does not tend to foster harmony.

Moms haven’t had a good year in memoirland. There was Ashley Judd’s exposé of her famous country mama Naomi, which had both Naomi and Ashley’s half-sister Wynonna hopping mad. Next we heard about Katy Perry’s mother, who was not the subject of a memoir but, rather, the one who wrote her own memoir. In it, she lamented that Katy’s fashion taste and music were exceedingly risqué, an opinion that created what Katy’s father referred to as “tension” in the family.

The latest tell-all, set to hit stores on October 18, is Whateverland: Learning to Live Here, by Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis Stewart. Reportedly, the book gives ample evidence supporting Alexis’s conclusion that her mom “was not interested in being kid-friendly.” But Alexis has hedged her bets by dedicating her memoir to none other than Martha dearest and proactively using the dedication to more or less ask forgiveness. The dedication reportedly says: “Thanks in advance to my mother for not getting angry about anything written in this book.” If your memoir trashes a family member, you might want to try that approach. Let us know if it works.

New Features on Write My Memoirs

June 24, 2018September 20, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

New Features on Write My Memoirs

If you’re a Facebook friend of Write My Memoirs and during this past week you clicked the link to the previous blog post, you received an error message. We apologize! We’re experiencing a few growing pains, and some of the links on the blog posts themselves are temporarily coming up empty, too. But the reason for that is very exciting! Those links lead to pages that have been replaced, as we’ve now launched our new and improved writemymemoirs.com!

You’ll notice that the top left button, Sign Up and Join Today, now links to an interview page. Optionally, you can answer questions, and your confidential responses become part of your private account to create a timeline indicating the important events and dates of your life. As you’re writing, if you get a little stuck, you can consult the timeline and also ask your account for “hints” to remind you of anything that took place that year.

We’ve also automated our historical section. Instead of flipping through lots of web pages that list historical events by year, you can just click on the little tabs at the bottom of your writing window to read short synopses about developments in inventions, world events, fashion, pop culture and sports. These headlines within our collective lifetime may trigger memories in your personal life that you’ll want to include in your autobiography. Please let us know your thoughts about these changes! And friend us on Facebook—we can talk there, too!

If you’re a Facebook friend of Write My Memoirs and during this past week you clicked the link to the previous blog post, you received an error message. We apologize! We’re experiencing a few growing pains, and some of the links on the blog posts themselves are temporarily coming up empty, too. But the reason for that is very exciting! Those links lead to pages that have been replaced, as we’ve now launched our new and improved writemymemoirs.com!

For newcomers, Sign Up and Join Today now links to an interview page. For current members, this link appears on your Table of Contents. Optionally, you can answer questions, and your confidential responses become part of your private account, creating a timeline indicating the important events and dates of your life. As you’re writing, if you get a little stuck, you can consult the timeline and also ask your account for “hints” to remind you of anything that took place that year.

We’ve also automated our historical section. Instead of flipping through lots of web pages that list historical events by year, you can just click on the little tabs at the bottom of your writing window to read short synopses about developments in inventions, world events, fashion, pop culture and sports. These headlines within our collective lifetime may trigger memories in your personal life that you’ll want to include in your autobiography. Please let us know your thoughts about these changes! And friend us on Facebook—we can talk there, too!

Memorable Memoir Titles

June 24, 2018September 13, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

Memorable Memoir Titles

Let’s look at some titles that aren’t just of the “My Life” variety but truly reflect the personality of the author/subject. To capture humor, many people go for a pun. We’ve already covered a lot of those in a previous Write My Memoirs blog.

I know that you can come up with something catchy for your memoir, because some of the most famous titles are those of memoirs. Cheaper By the Dozen recounted Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.’s years growing up in a big family. The full title of Frank McCourt’s best-seller is Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir, even though people refer to it by only its first two words. The quintessential Holocaust story, Elie Wiesel’s Night, is autobiographical, as are Maya Angelou’s iconic I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the newer Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The shortened titles of Barack Obama’s two autobiographical tomes, Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope, already have become everyday phrases.

Your title does not have to be long. Even a one-word title can say a mouthful, previewing for the reader the key components of the contents. The currently popular Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and comedienne Tina Fey’s Bossypants are good examples. If you want to make sure people know that your work is autobiographical, you can tack on the explanation after a colon, as in Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Give it some thought! Your life deserves better than “My Life.”

I know that you can come up with something catchy for your memoir, because some of the most famous titles are those of memoirs. Cheaper By the Dozen recounted Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.’s years growing up in a big family. The full title of Frank McCourt’s best-seller is Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir, even though people refer to it by only its first two words. The quintessential Holocaust story, Elie Wiesel’s Night, is autobiographical, as are Maya Angelou’s iconic I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the newer Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. The shortened titles of Barack Obama’s two autobiographical tomes, Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope, already have become everyday phrases.

Your title does not have to be long. Even a one-word title can say a mouthful, previewing for the reader the key components of the contents. The currently popular Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and comedienne Tina Fey’s Bossypants are good examples. If you want to make sure people know that your work is autobiographical, you can tack on the explanation after a colon, as in Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Give it some thought! Your life deserves better than “My Life.”

A Look at Some Not Very Creative Memoir Titles

June 24, 2018September 6, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

A Look at Some Not Very Creative Memoir Titles

How much thought are you putting into the title of your memoir? Did you mull over some ideas and wait until you were satisfied with your title before you wrote the first word of a chapter? Or did you begin writing and sort of table the decision until some wonderful title dawned on you? There’s a third option. Maybe you did what a lot of people have done—called the darn thing “My Life??? or “My Autobiography??? and didn’t give it another thought.

I am surprised at how many notable people have chosen that third option. Consider that Bill Clinton authored My Life, as did actor Burt Reynolds and dancer Isadora Duncan. Golda Meir added her own name, so it became My Life By Golda Meir by Golda Meir. Charlie Chaplin wrote My Autobiography, Jane Fonda settled on My Life So Far and a pair of former presidents mirrored each other with the equally unoriginal The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge and The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt.

Really? Is this the best we can do, folks? Apparently having a great creative mind doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll apply it to crafting a memoir title, since we have Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, among others. Musicians? Johnny Cash published Cash: An Autobiography; Eric Clapton echoed with Clapton: An Autobiography. Check back next week for some titles that make you laugh instead of groan.

How much thought are you putting into the title of your memoir? Did you mull over some ideas and wait until you were satisfied with your title before you wrote the first word of a chapter? Or did you begin writing and sort of table the decision until some wonderful title dawned on you? There’s a third option. Maybe you did what a lot of people have done—called the darn thing “My Life” or “My Autobiography” and didn’t give it another thought.

I am surprised at how many notable people have chosen that third option. Consider that Bill Clinton authored My Life, as did actor Burt Reynolds and dancer Isadora Duncan. Golda Meir added her own name, so it became My Life By Golda Meir by Golda Meir. Charlie Chaplin wrote My Autobiography, Jane Fonda settled on My Life So Far and a pair of former presidents mirrored each other with the equally unoriginal The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge and The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt.

Really? Is this the best we can do, folks? Apparently having a great creative mind doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll apply it to crafting a memoir title, since we have Frank Lloyd Wright: An Autobiography, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, among others. Musicians? Johnny Cash published Cash: An Autobiography; Eric Clapton echoed with Clapton: An Autobiography. Check back next week for some memoir titles that make you laugh instead of groan.

How Dick Cheney’s Memoirs Are Like Yours

June 24, 2018August 30, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

How Dick Cheney’s Memoirs Are Like Yours

I’ve been reading advance reviews of Dick Cheney’s memoirs, due for release today, and in some ways your memoirs are probably no different from those of the former U.S. vice president. Sure, you’re unlikely to be interviewed on TV to talk about your book, but let’s examine the similarities.

The early reviewers report that Cheney devotes a lot more pages to justifying his actions than to apologizing for them. And who wouldn’t? I doubt that you are writing your memoirs as a way to express a bunch of mea culpas. Typically, memoir authors take this opportunity to explain actions or provide previously unpublicized details and background, but in a way that encourages the reader to agree with the wisdom of those actions or decisions. This may involve criticizing others who disagreed with you at the time, but throwing someone under the bus is a small price to pay for getting your side of the story out there or patting yourself on the back a little.

If you’re writing a compelling book, Cheney’s memoir is like your memoirs in another way, too: it follows a series of episodes. Conflict, challenges, forks in the road that could lead in different directions—all of that keeps the reader interested. You’d be wise to consider that as you write. You don’t have to “make heads explode,??? as Cheney predicts his book will do, but a few sparks couldn’t hurt.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/178083-cheney-pushes-new-memoir

I’ve been reading advance reviews of Dick Cheney’s memoirs, due for release today, and in some ways your memoirs are probably no different from those of the former U.S. vice president. Sure, you’re unlikely to be interviewed on TV to talk about your book, but let’s examine the similarities.

The early reviewers report that Cheney devotes a lot more pages to justifying his actions than to apologizing for them. And who wouldn’t? I doubt that you are writing your memoirs as a way to express a bunch of mea culpas. Typically, memoir authors take this opportunity to explain actions or provide previously unpublicized details and background, but in a way that encourages the reader to agree with the wisdom of those actions or decisions. This may involve criticizing others who disagreed with you at the time, but throwing someone under the bus is a small price to pay for getting your side of the story out there or patting yourself on the back a little.

If you’re writing a compelling book, Cheney’s memoir is like your memoirs in another way, too: it follows a series of episodes. Conflict, challenges, forks in the road that could lead in different directions—all of that keeps the reader interested. You’d be wise to consider that as you write. You don’t have to “make heads explode,??? as Cheney predicts his book will do, but a few sparks couldn’t hurt.

School’s Start Opens Parents’ Time to Write

June 24, 2018August 23, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

School’s Start Opens Parents’ Time to Write

Whether you’re the parent or the kid, the start of a school year signals a major change in your routine. If you’ve been trying to find time to write your memoir, don’t let this opportunity pass! Now is the time to shape your daily schedule for the next nine months. If you let the first few weeks go by as you “catch up??? from the summer, it will be more difficult to set aside writing time.

Are you home during the day? If you know that you work best at a certain time of day, accommodate yourself! Set aside 9-11am or 1-3pm twice a week to work on your memoir. If you have “writer’s block,??? work on tasks that will help you once the writing starts to flow. For example, make a list and notes of your childhood friends or do some internet research on your hometown and what it was like when you were growing up.

If you go to work, a great way to model discipline for the kids is to set nightly and/or weekend study hours. Perhaps from 4-6pm every Sunday or 7:30-8:30pm Monday through Thursday—or both—your home turns into a sort of library, with the entire family either doing homework, reading or writing. You’ll still find time to do laundry and run errands, I promise. Your memoir is important to you and, with a little attention to it, by the time this school year ends you could be finished!

Whether you’re the parent or the kid, the start of a school year signals a major change in your routine. If you’ve been trying to find time to write your memoir, don’t let this opportunity pass! Now is the time to shape your daily schedule for the next nine months. If you let the first few weeks go by as you “catch up??? from the summer, it will be more difficult to set aside writing time.

If you go to work, a great way to model discipline for the kids is to set nightly and/or weekend study hours. Perhaps from 4-6pm every Sunday or 7:30-8:30pm Monday through Thursday—or both—your home turns into a sort of library, with the entire family either doing homework, reading or writing. You’ll still find time to do laundry and run errands, I promise. Your memoir is important to you and, with a little attention to it, by the time this school year ends you could be finished!

Your Memoir Can Become a Valuable Artifact

June 24, 2018August 16, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

Your Memoir Can Become a Valuable Artifact

You’re probably writing your memoir in order to provide your family with a written account of your life, which is part of their own personal history. Or you may hope to sell the memoir and make money, or to get it into stores and libraries so that it has a wider impact and people who’ve met the same challenges will have a voice. Either way, please also consider donating your memoir to the local historical society where you grew up or may still be living.

With that in mind, include memories of your surroundings and the events that shaped not only your life but the lives of those around you. Perhaps you witnessed a town’s only tornado, its big earthquake or the “snowstorm of the century.??? Maybe you remember the business district when it had just a handful of merchants, or you can picture farmland where a highway now runs. A colorful civic leader or resident may have made an impact on you. When you learned to drive, how much did it cost to fill up the tank at the gas station that still sits on the corner?

Your life represents a moment in time that we’ll never get back. The era’s good and bad are all worth documenting. As you write about your individual experiences, don’t forget that you’re part of a generation, a member of a society and a writer who has a fascinating story to tell not just about yourself, but about life as we knew it.

You’re probably writing your memoir in order to provide your family with a written account of your life, which is part of their own personal history. Or you may hope to sell the memoir and make money, or to get it into stores and libraries so that it has a wider impact and people who’ve met the same challenges will have a voice. Either way, please also consider donating your memoir to the local historical society where you grew up or may still be living.

Is "Digital" the New Book?

June 24, 2018July 26, 2011 by Rosanne Ullman

Is “Digital??? the New Book?

At Write My Memoirs, we help people publish their autobiographies in the format of the traditional book. Our standard book is an 5.5 x 8.5 paperback, typically with a photograph on the cover. In 2011, our authors still want a hard copy of their hard work, and their families appreciate being able to hold and read a real book about that person’s life. Will that be true five or ten years from now?

In today’s piece lamenting the demise of Borders bookstores, Chicago Tribune columnist John Keilman makes his case for why a bookstore chain may be closing but books themselves will live on. He cites all the reasons you’ve heard before about book lovers enjoying the feel, sight and smell of a book. He mentions theories about cognition that have to do with the way a traditional book is laid out. And I have to say that I disagree with all of it.

I think that ordinary people who write their memoirs will still want to publish hard copies. But new generations growing up in a digital world will have their cognitive responses shaped by digital stimuli. They won’t miss the smell of a new book anymore than the rest of us miss the aroma of fresh sheets drying in the breeze on the clothesline. Devices like the Kindle will improve in just the ways book lovers need them to and, while old books and personal memoirs may still be cherished in hard copy format, I believe that the vast majority of books will be read digitally. What do you think?

At Write My Memoirs, we help people publish their autobiographies in the format of the traditional book. Our standard book is a 5.5 x 8.5 paperback, typically with a photograph on the cover. In 2011, our authors still want a hard copy of their hard work, and their families appreciate being able to hold and read a real book about that person’s life. Will that be true five or ten years from now?

In today’s piece lamenting the demise of Borders bookstores, Chicago Tribune columnist John Keilman makes his case for why a bookstore chain may be closing but books themselves will survive. He cites all the reasons you’ve heard before about book lovers enjoying the feel, sight and smell of a book. He mentions theories about cognition that have to do with the way a traditional book is laid out. And I have to say that I disagree with all of it.

I think that ordinary people who write their memoirs will still want to publish hard copies. But new generations growing up in a digital world will have their cognitive responses shaped by digital stimuli. They won’t miss the smell of a new book anymore than the rest of us miss the aroma of fresh sheets drying in the breeze on the clothesline. Devices like the Kindle will improve in just the ways book lovers need them to and, while old books and personal memoirs may still be cherished in hard copy format, I believe that the vast majority of books will be read digitally. What do you think?

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Twitter Watch: What You’re Missing

Have You Tried to “Contact Us”?

Beware the “Tell-All” Fallout

New Features on Write My Memoirs

Memorable Memoir Titles

A Look at Some Not Very Creative Memoir Titles

How Dick Cheney’s Memoirs Are Like Yours

School’s Start Opens Parents’ Time to Write

Your Memoir Can Become a Valuable Artifact

Is "Digital" the New Book?

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