RSSCategory: How To and Tips

Ten Lessons about Writing Memoir that I Learned from Reading Memoirs

Ten Lessons about Writing Memoir that I Learned from Reading Memoirs

Ten Lessons about Writing Memoir that I Learned from Reading Memoirs Dian Seidel Memoirs never appealed to me much…until I accidentally started writing one. When a writing coach told me my short essays could be the basis for a memoir, I figured I’d better educate myself about the genre.  So I read lots of memoirs, […]

June 20, 2023 | By | Reply More
Six Things I’ve Learned After Publishing My First Book 

Six Things I’ve Learned After Publishing My First Book 

Six Things I’ve Learned After Publishing My First Book  by Laura Whitfield   I participated in my first literary festival last weekend as part of a panel about finding fun and taking risks. During the event the moderator asked, “What was fun about writing your book?”   “I can’t say that writing my book was fun,” I […]

June 16, 2023 | By | Reply More
Five Truths on Technology, Creativity & the Power of Human Stories

Five Truths on Technology, Creativity & the Power of Human Stories

By Kris Spisak A lot of headlines scream for our attention these days. Some caterwaul about how writers no longer have a place in the world. Others claim storytelling will be hijacked by modern technology. But here’s the truth rarely in the conversation: Creativity is the essence of humanity itself. It’s how we have survived. […]

June 11, 2023 | By | Reply More
My Writing Journey by KD Sherrinford

My Writing Journey by KD Sherrinford

KD Sherrinford- My writing journey.  A voracious reader from an early age. I became fascinated by the works of Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I read the entire Sherlock Holmes Canon by the time I was 13. I was a shy, introverted child; always found in the library with my head in a […]

June 10, 2023 | By | Reply More
Facing The Blank Canvas: Have the Self Confidence to Tell Your Story

Facing The Blank Canvas: Have the Self Confidence to Tell Your Story

Facing The Blank Canvas: Have the Self Confidence to Tell Your Story In Henry James’ short story “The Madonna of the Future,” an older artist shows his visitor a blank canvas where the painting he has envisioned will one day materialize.  “The elements are all here,” the artist says, pointing to his head.  His excuse […]

June 7, 2023 | By | Reply More
Compassionate Caregiving and Writing By Suzanne Marriott

Compassionate Caregiving and Writing By Suzanne Marriott

Compassionate Caregiving and Writing By Suzanne Marriott Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries, without them humanity cannot survive.  Dalai Lama XIV I remember the moment I realized I was going to be my husband’s caregiver forever. I knew Michael had multiple sclerosis, and I knew this would be a progressive disease. Yet, knowing something […]

June 6, 2023 | By | Reply More
How Self-Kindness Set My Creativity Free 

How Self-Kindness Set My Creativity Free 

How Self-Kindness Set My Creativity Free  by Martha Engber  I never knew the crippling burden of being unkind to myself until two years ago when I was 56.  I’d just completed my forthcoming memoir, Bliss Road, about being the non-autistic daughter of an undiagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder dad. I’d spent the previous eight years wading […]

June 6, 2023 | By | Reply More
My Pathway to Self-Publishing by Marisa Jones

My Pathway to Self-Publishing by Marisa Jones

My Pathway to Self-Publishing by Marisa Jones It’s hard to believe I’m a published author. This week, my debut historical novel, A Dangerous Land, has been released to the world. What a surreal feeling. Something I never thought would come to pass. It certainly wasn’t an easy road to get here.  For two years I […]

June 4, 2023 | By | Reply More
How Place Shapes Story

How Place Shapes Story

How Place Shapes Story Eudora Welty said, “One place comprehended can make us understand other places better.” She was onto something: where we live, the environments we navigate, inform who we are and how we understand the world. When writers create a fictional place, they create a force that likewise shapes their characters, whether it’s […]

June 2, 2023 | By | Reply More
Storytelling in the Round: A Family Lawyer’s Perspective

Storytelling in the Round: A Family Lawyer’s Perspective

Storytelling in the Round: A Family Lawyer’s Perspective I practice family law, which means I’ve spent many hours and days in courtrooms listening, closely, to people tell different versions of the same events. Sometimes someone is objectively lying: no, Dad did not take the kid to the doctor’s, because the medical records show that Mom […]

May 23, 2023 | By | Reply More