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thestorywoman's Blog
March 17, 2010
- I know you’re budding out, pert and peppy in all your glory, Spring. I feel you beckon me with your flirtatious ways, flowing sap and saucy spirit, so that I can’t resist your charms, but that only means trouble is looming on the horizon.Our love affair is fraught with predictable problems, and I should know better than to trust you after all these years. With you, Spring, I get bees that ...
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March 16, 2010
- I see walking a labyrinth as a metaphor for the passionate journey into memoir writing. Labyrinths have been around for centuries and have been used by folks in many parts of the world as a path on their spiritual quest or for exploring aspects of their lives in a thoughtful manner. Labyrinths are beautiful, intricate structures that appear to have sacred qualities ascribed to them by some ...
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March 12, 2010
- A few weeks ago, at the San Francisco Writers Conference, I had the good fortune to met Peter Beren, a publishing consultant for over 30 years and the author of this informative guest post. He graciously gives us the basics of the book business as he sees it – information, which all writers should be aware.Every author published or not, needs to know the basics of the book business. One of ...
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March 9, 2010
- Writing through emotional pain is today’s focus. Physical pain (Remember the slap in the face mentioned in the last post?) can be rife with emotional pain. Incidentally, one woman sent me a message, after post #3, saying that she called the slaps she received from her mother “love taps.” That’s an interesting way of looking at that topic, and I reasoned from her further remarks that she ...
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March 4, 2010
- Ann Seymour’s I’ve Always Loved You is a book everyone interested in writing historical memoir should read. It is a remarkable example in emphasizing how to sustain a narrative voice when history is a big part of the memoir. Fascinating and heartbreaking are the first two words that come to mind after reading Ann Seymour’s beautiful tribute to her family, especially her father, as well as ...
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March 2, 2010
- The last time you joined me on the memoir labyrinth, we touched on time as a great leveler. Today we’ll tap into time as a powerful healer.When was the last time you thought about the day your mother slapped your face? I remember when my very non-violent mother slapped mine, although I haven’t thought about that incident for years. It only came to mind as I was writing this article. I now ...
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February 25, 2010
- The story you will write, from the maze of your memories into memoir, will come from the truth as you see it. Time and memory transform what and how we remember.Time is a great leveler. Time levels because it allows us to gain control over our emotions and we mature. Our feelings simmer down after time dilutes the memory of an emotion laden incident. An event we once thought was earth-shattering ...
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February 24, 2010
- Writing a memoir is like making one's way through a maze. First of all, it’s hard to back away from life’s events and experiences to see them clearly. The honest attempt to put our ego and emotions aside is something we, TellTale Souls, constantly work on when writing our bio-vignettes that capture the character and spirit of our mothers or other significant people in our lives.This is ...
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February 23, 2010
- Well, I’m still coming up for air after the wild Valentine's weekend at the San Francisco Writers’ Conference. I spent a great deal of time “manning” the Women’s National Book Association’s table, where I made connections with many, many interesting literary types from all over the country.The conference was atop Nob Hill at the historic Mark Hopkins Hotel. Just a block away, draped ...
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January 27, 2010
- I had the rare and exciting opportunity last Sunday to hear powerful writing tips from Jason Roberts, author of A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler. He wasn’t there to sell books, although we coaxed him into staying around afterwards so we could purchase A Sense of the World from Book Passage and get his autograph. We have Tanya Egan Gibson, talented writer, ...
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January 13, 2010
- For over two decades, while encouraging and teaching hundreds of people to write "Mother-Memoir" and writing my how-to book, Give the Gift of Story, TellTale Souls' Essential Guide to Tap Memory & Write Memoir in Five Acts, a snippet from a poem by Suzanne Lipsett never ceases to echo through my soul from its nesting place in my heart. The following are five stanzas from a 33 ...
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January 4, 2010
- Last August right here on Red Room I responded to an interesting article about meta-fiction by Tanya Egan Gibson asking her if would switch gears and write a guest blog for me regarding meta-memoir. Good friend and brilliant writer that she is, she did it, and here it is. (Yes, it took awhile. But give her a break; she's the mom of two little ones and had recently published her debut novel, so ...
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November 19, 2009
- This little turkey is taking a good look at all the reasons I have for GivingThanks. I won’t subject you to my thankfulness list, but I’m asking you to gather your thoughts about your loved ones and thank them for all they’ve given you throughout the years. Maybe you’ll thank them openly around the bountiful Thanksgiving table; better yet, put your thanks in writing. WRITING MEMOIRS ...
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November 10, 2009
- Words – that’s what we’re all about here, are we not? But not just any words – words that have the power to move.No matter how passionate you are about your work, do you ever question if what you’re doing really matters in the larger scheme of things in life? Sometimes I ask myself – how much a difference does my memoir work make as I encourage sons and daughters to recognize the ...
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October 31, 2009
- The Story Witch stirs the cauldron. A friend called asking me if I were giving my “Tap Memoir & Write Memoir” workshop at Book Passage on November 1st because it was All Saints Day. Well, no. That timing had never occurred to me, but it’s an interesting tie, and it provoked a good chuckle between us.Many people are dwelling on Halloween this weekend: witches on broomsticks silhouetted ...
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