Many mornings I walk around my Florida yard--to see if new transplants are adapting to their new locations, checking on the potted plants that they are sufficiently moist, watering some newly planted bamboo, and visiting my avocado, mulberry, grapefruit and mango trees to make sure that they are happy. It's not a daily routine, but ... Read More >>
This month has been very significant for me. On September 11th, my father passed away. I had the privilege of being with him when he took his last breath, something I will be forever grateful for. Nothing prepares us to say our final good-byes to a beloved parent. My father was in a care home ... Read More >>
Think of how you have you handled some of life's tricky situations: your boss criticizing you in front of others, your spouse making unreasonable demands of you, or your best friend inadvertently not showing up to your birthday party. Wouldn't your life be oh-so-much smoother if in the midst of these events you were able ... Read More >>
As a kid, when I was bored, I remember standing up, bending at the waist and looking back through my own legs to see the world in a new way. Up was down and down was up. People travel for that same reason--to see the world --and themselves--with fresh eyes. For many of us, the ... Read More >>
Do you ever feel reluctant to write in your journal? Do you get stuck writing a series of entries going over the same ground and not making headway? All journal writers--novice, intermittent, and dedicated--hit a wall sometimes. The solution: take a journal class. It's a refreshing, uplifting, motivating experience, if done well. Here are ... Read More >>
Did you know that scientists over the last several decades have demonstrated that writing helps your physical health? Different studies have shown that writing can have the following effects on your health: Decrease the heart rate Strengthen the immune system Lower blood pressure Manage stress Enhance breathing Here are three important principles for how to ... Read More >>
When I first read Denise Jaden's book Fast Fiction: A Guide to Outlining and Writing a First-Draft Novel in Thirty Days (her ideas can be used for writing memoir and creative non-fiction too!) and then interviewed her for an IAJW telechat (you can find this recording in the Audio Library, Member Only Area), I was fascinated ... Read More >>
It started with a journal, a small 6" x 9" notebook that I held in my terrified hands as I sat on the cement steps of what was called "a garden apartment" in central New Jersey. It was summer and eternally too hot, my parents were in the middle of a horrendous divorce, my best ... Read More >>
Writing your family memoir is like dusting for fingerprints. You leave behind almost invisible fingerprints when you touch anything--refrigerator door handles, light switches, drinking glasses. Detectives know how to carefully coat these unseen marks with a fine powder and then use a camel hair brush to gently remove the excess powder so the fingerprints appear. ... Read More >>
Creative non-fiction, which includes personal essays and memoir, is a relatively new writing genre that is sweeping the writing world. In creative non-fiction, readers learn via a story narrative, rather than through the expository writing style that you might find in a textbook. Personal essays and memoir are tethered to the facts of your life. ... Read More >>