by Memoir Mentor on January 25, 2011
The thought of sitting down at my computer and writing my entire life story from birth-to-now makes me want to take a nap. It’s not that I don’t think writing a personal history is important: You know I do. It’s my current raison d’être, after all. Nevertheless, I would NEVER counsel anyone to approach personal [...]
Tagged as:
Family History,
Henry David Thoreau,
life story,
life-story-writing,
memoir,
personal-history,
Phyllis Theroux,
The Journal Keeper,
writing tips
by Memoir Mentor on November 18, 2010
I love having students from different cultures attend my classses. They tell such interesting stories about places and experiences I’ve only read about in general terms in school textbooks. My students’ stories are far more powerful and engaging, however, because they capture the individual experience in personal terms. The narrative that follows is one such example. Lillian Lejeune, a Belgian who [...]
Tagged as:
Belgiummand,
Family History,
Farciennes,
life-story-writing,
Lillian Lejeune,
memoir,
personal-history,
writing tips
by Memoir Mentor on October 10, 2010
If you read this blog occasionally, you know I encourage my students and readers to submit their stories to writing competitions. Some contests want narrative essay pieces, which can be a form of personal history. My students often wonder what a narrative essay is and how it differs from a story. It’s a good question, [...]
Tagged as:
Dawn Peck,
life story,
life-story-writing,
memoir,
Narrative Essay,
Personal Essay,
personal-history,
writing tips
