Love to Write

'Tis the season for ghost stories, so I thought I'd give you a list of ghost story suggestions, but with a memoir twist. Have you read any of these? If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. This Halloween week, maybe you should pick up the Oprah.com editor's pick Ghost Songs: A Memoir by Regina…

After a drought of more than two years of not teaching ongoing, in-person classes, I am so happy to welcome these six women to the first class held in a room designed and decorated for group writing events. Left to right: Beverly Bailey, Amanda Benson, Becky McGregor, Barbara Rawls, Cheryl Floyd, and Diane Gosheff Most are wonderfully…

I hope you are feeling inspired to either begin exploring and writing your family stories, or continue with renewed vigor, the stories you've already begun. As you know, I love memoir and have already shared with you one book suggestion, I Love Gootie. I thought I'd share another memoirist with you, Kelly Corrigan, whose three memoir…

October is National Family History Month, a proclamation the U.S. Senate established in 2001 to commemorate the importance of sharing and capturing family stories. "Millions of Americans are researching the history of their families," said Utah Republican Orrin Hatch when he introduced the bill. "Experts say that in the United States, genealogy is now the second most…

Gardens of Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore What a magical vacation Bob and I enjoyed in Northern Italy the last two weeks of September, one filled with beauty, laughter, and great inspiration for many stories yet to come. Colorful homes in Burano Venice's Grand Canal The birth of The Sun Also Rises Shops of Bellagio on Lake Como We experienced many…

Amy Archer “[It] was more important for me to be honest than vengeful,” writes Anne Archer in her article entitled, “Writing the Truth in Memoir: Don’t Skimp on Objectivity.” Remaining objective, especially when we write about people who may have hurt us, is a difficult task, one which requires work and understanding. Archer points out several reasons…

One of my favorite writing exercises is to take a picture and describe it using words. This exercise helps me develop new ways to write about details and settings to help my reader understand the time and place of my story. Some popular sources of pictures to write about include the following: Facebook album…

Buona mattina dall'Italia! Bob and I are still in Northern Italy having an amazing time. I’ve been collecting such great stories from people who live all over the world, and I’ve enjoyed yummy seafood risotto just about every night. That alone would be enough for a great trip, but we’ve also seen some of the most…

In 1974, American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster, Studs Terkel's highly-acclaimed book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do arrived on store shelves, providing readers with a timeless snapshot of American's feelings about working life.   Terkel (then in his 60's, by the way) went around the country interviewing people about…

This week’s writing prompt comes from page seven of my book Bringing Your Ancestors to Life. In my book, I talk about various ways to recall the people you want to write about, focusing on appearance, actions, and other key memories you can draw upon to create on paper the image of the person you…