Register today to participate in my free Make Your Writing Shine Webinar on July 10th at 7:30 p.m. EST or July 11th at 12:30 p.m. Your stories are important and deserve to be clear and grammatically correct. They deserve to sing.
Don't let your grammar and punctuation fears slow you down or stop you from sharing your wonderful stories. Your…
Will you take my Free Seven-Day Writing Challenge and promise to write every day for one week? Can you do that?
Write those stories about your father. Write those stories about your childhood. Write those stories you've been meaning to write and just never seem to get around to writing.
If you don't know what to write about, even better. I send you a writing prompt designed to trigger memories every day for seven days, beginning this Monday, June 18th.The Friday night dusk had already settled as the six o’clock hour came and went. We should have left our house for the beach hours ago. A five-hour drive late at night does not for a happy toddler make. Finally, the back door opened, and my husband rushed in.
“I’m sorry, honey. I got tied up at work. Are you guys ready? I just need to change.” My fourteen-month-old daughter wrapped herself around his leg, giddy.
It was after nine when we left, Sophie already in her pajamas. As we drove, I felt impatient and just wanted to be at the beach already. We had originally planned to make a stop en route to pay a brief visit to my mom and dad. But now, it was already so late.
“I’m sorry, honey. I got tied up at work. Are you guys ready? I just need to change.” My fourteen-month-old daughter wrapped herself around his leg, giddy.
It was after nine when we left, Sophie already in her pajamas. As we drove, I felt impatient and just wanted to be at the beach already. We had originally planned to make a stop en route to pay a brief visit to my mom and dad. But now, it was already so late.
I am proud to introduce you to my father, Clifton Charpentier, through his obituary and some treasured photographs. Thank you for helping me honor his life in this way, and thank you for your patience with me while I am here in Louisiana for just a bit longer.
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Clifton “Cliff” Charpentier, 91, died peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning, June 10, 2018, at The Consolata Home in New Iberia. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease for a number of years.
Treasured American novelist, Philip Roth, passed away a few weeks ago at the age of eighty-five. His fictional work is known for having strong autobiographical influences as well as social commentary and political satire, but he also wrote several memoirs, including Patrimony: A True Story, which tells the story of Roth’s eighty-five-year-old father, Herman Roth, and his battle with a brain tumor.This prompt comes to you from Writing Your Life team member, Jess Burbank.
I am in the chaotic, uncertain, thrilling, and exhausting process of moving. A few months ago, my husband’s company was acquired and we were asked if we would be willing to move to Seattle from the current home we are renting in the San Francisco Bay area. Since that decision to move, my husband has started work at the new company and we have a new home, the first home we have ever purchased for our family of four.
The home-buying process is difficult, but it is also fun, and had us thinking hard about what we’ve liked and disliked about the previous places we’ve called home. No place has been perfect, but each one has had some great or memorable quality.
I am in the chaotic, uncertain, thrilling, and exhausting process of moving. A few months ago, my husband’s company was acquired and we were asked if we would be willing to move to Seattle from the current home we are renting in the San Francisco Bay area. Since that decision to move, my husband has started work at the new company and we have a new home, the first home we have ever purchased for our family of four.
The home-buying process is difficult, but it is also fun, and had us thinking hard about what we’ve liked and disliked about the previous places we’ve called home. No place has been perfect, but each one has had some great or memorable quality.
A twenty-year-old young woman first stepped foot onto American soil, unable to speak a word of English. She felt nervous, frightened, and excited all at once.
An arranged marriage had brought her out of her beloved Cyprus, an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, to Connecticut to meet her soon-to-be husband and his family.As I wrote in the newsletter introduction, the last week of every month I will feature one or two of the bites from my book, Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time.
What's in a name? A lot, according to bites eight and nine.
No matter where you are in the writing process, I want you to name your book. Give it any name. You can always change it later.
It is important to name your book now, even if you haven't written a single word. Why? I have a few reasons.
What's in a name? A lot, according to bites eight and nine.
No matter where you are in the writing process, I want you to name your book. Give it any name. You can always change it later.
It is important to name your book now, even if you haven't written a single word. Why? I have a few reasons.
As William Zinsser writes in his book, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, "Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”
Let me make writing a little bit easier, as we get down to basics. You have the desire deep inside of you to write your stories. If you didn't, you wouldn't be reading this newsletter. It's hard, though, isn't it? Are you ready for a Challenge? Do you need a jumpstart to get you writing through a hot and busy summer?
Then, join me, and others from across the country and abroad, for this June’s Free Seven-Day Writing Challenge.
This is how the Free Writing Challenge works:
This is how the Free Writing Challenge works: