It was my own struggle with the pain from my childhood—followed by my ultimate decision to write my story—that made me understand the life-changing power of personal narrative. I’d tried to write Hippie Boy for more than a decade. But…
Whether you’re just dipping a toe into the waters of your story (fiction or memoir) or you’re stuck rowing around in circles, there are seven basic steps for integrating character development, plot, and structure that will enable you to navigate…
“To write one’s life is to live it twice.” So says my first memoir teacher, Patricia Hampl. Certainly, writing about your life has all kinds of benefits, from better understanding the past to capturing the essence of your memories in…
What is a lexicon? A wordbook. The vocabulary proper to some department of knowledge or sphere of activity. The vocabulary or word-stock of a region, particular speaker, etc. A list of words or names. Why have a lexicon? “The writers…
Writing character—whether a fabricated one in fiction, a remembered one in memoir, or an imagined historical figure in a poem—can be daunting. Often, we focus too much on how the character looks. We write them as if we were…
This fall, we’re introducing a new advanced program for writers: a place of experimentation and accountability that we’re calling the Book Lab. Designed to help writers reach the final draft of their book, Book Lab is for anyone with a…