Memoir & Life Writing Archives

Many journal writers are also interested in writing memoir. We can use our journals to help inform memoir projects. Life writing can be private in our journals and it can also be shared with others through memoir, personal essay and other creative forms.

Leave a Legacy Through Journaling

About this Journaling Series by Eric Maisel Inspired by Contributors to The Great Book of Journaling This series of guest blog posts on various topics related to journaling, was created for a series called “Journaling for Men” that appears on the Good Men Project blog. It is designed to help everyone, and especially men who may ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2023-09-07T11:52:59-07:00October 31st, 2022|Benefits of Journaling, Creative Journaling, Memoir & Life Writing|

The Stradivarius in the Spruce: Writing Heals

By Joan Leof This article first appeared in Spirituality Health. Let writing be your liberator. There may just be a violin trapped within you, just waiting to emerge. “I observe them, I touch them, sometimes I even hug them. Look carefully and they’ll tell you their life story, their trauma, their joys, everything ...” ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2023-09-07T11:53:07-07:00September 21st, 2022|Creative Journaling, Journaling for Health & Wellness, Memoir & Life Writing|

Valentine’s Journal Entry – A Love Story: Me & My Mom

One of the greatest love stories of my life, is the love I share with my dear mom, Marion Monk. This is a photo of us together during one of her last visits here before she was unable to travel anymore due to her decline with Alzheimer's disease. One of the things I have always ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2022-02-16T09:59:24-08:00February 14th, 2022|Journal Examples, Memoir & Life Writing|

How Journaling Can Help You Write Your Memoir with Lynda Monk

Interview with the National Association of Memoir Writers Host: Linda Joy Meyers, Director, NAMW.org Guest: Lynda Monk, Director, IAJW.org About Lynda's Adoptee Memoir in Progress I have been working on my adoptee memoir on and off for over 20 years. I started working on it after I found and reunited with my biological mother. I ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2021-06-17T06:21:35-07:00June 16th, 2021|Memoir & Life Writing|

Inspiration from a Famous Journal in History

By Peter Allan Since boyhood, reading the story of the famous Mutiny on HMS Bounty in April of 1789 has held me enthralled. The exoticism of course and the descriptions of paradisal Tahitian islands, the Tahitian people and the women in particular, the islanders’ customs, all have had an abiding interest for me. The shear power ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2020-10-27T18:38:59-07:00October 25th, 2020|Memoir & Life Writing|

How To Overcome Writer’s Block with Journal Writing

By Guest Author: K.T. Mehra One of the things I love most is writing, but no matter how much you love it, there are moments when you can’t write a sentence to save your life! Yes, we’ve all been there, and if you are experiencing writer’s block, I’m sure you have heard countless tricks to ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2021-09-03T10:53:00-07:00October 15th, 2020|Memoir & Life Writing|

Writer as Witness to the World by Judy Reeves

Since the early days of this pandemic that holds us in its thrall, not only have I withdrawn into my solitary apartment and maintained the mandated six-feet-apart social distancing from my friends and neighbors and community of writers, I have withdrawn from public voice. With few exceptions I have not posted on social media and ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2021-09-03T10:55:45-07:00April 25th, 2020|Memoir & Life Writing|

Are you running out of time to write? Guest blog by Lynda Goldman

“I have no time to write my book.” I hear people moaning about this all the time. It reminds me of a study by the wedding industry. They found that the average woman invests 100 hours a month planning her wedding, for several months. (And yes, it was mainly women who spent this time planning ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2021-09-02T15:04:16-07:00November 30th, 2019|Memoir & Life Writing|

Journaling and the Writing Life

I was recently interviewed by author and writing teacher, Sheila Bender, on her show called In Coversation: Discussions on Writing and The Writing Life. We spoke together about the IAJW, as well as how journaling can help you heal and transform your life. I also shared some excerpts from my writing, including from my adoptee ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2021-09-03T10:57:45-07:00November 15th, 2019|Memoir & Life Writing|

7 Helpful Tips for How to Write a Memoir from Your Journals

Are you a journal writer who also dreams of writing a memoir? I am currently in the midst of mining my journals for raw material to help me with writing Surrender: An Adoptee's Memoir. Here are 7 helpful tips to write a memoir from your journals: Know the difference between autobiography and memoir – autobiography ... Read More >>

Lynda Monk2018-06-04T12:58:49-07:00April 16th, 2018|Memoir & Life Writing|

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