by Memoir Mentor on June 1, 2009
I just returned from a week in Illinois, where I attended a conference in Springfield and had the good fortune to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. It was fabulous. I have been to a number of presidential libraries, but none so beautiful, interesting, and inspiring. You should all put it on your “Places I [...]
Tagged as:
life-story-writing,
memoir,
personal-history,
Scenes,
Show--Don't Tell,
writing tips
by Memoir Mentor on April 6, 2009
I discuss in my classes various ways personal historians can make the people in their stories more than mere names on the page. The people in your stories need to be more than simply “Grandpa Smedley” or “Aunt Eunice.” Your readers should see them as you saw them–not only how they looked, but how they [...]
Tagged as:
Family History,
life-story-writing,
memoir,
personal-history,
Show--Don't Tell,
writing tips
by Memoir Mentor on March 13, 2009
Show–Don’t Tell! It’s a maxim preached in most writing books. Show–Don’t Tell!! Stories, people, places and more become more real and evocative if you SHOW what you’re trying to communicate rather than merely telling about it. How do you show? One of the best ways is to turn your experiences into scenes–re-creating them for your readers [...]
Tagged as:
autobiography,
life-story-writing,
memoir,
personal-history,
Scenes,
Show--Don't Tell
