Memoir & Life Writing - Articles | The International Association for Journal Writing

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.

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Since the early days of this pandemic that holds us in its thrall, not only have I withdrawn into my solitary apartment and maintained the mandated six-feet-apart social distancing from my friends and neighbors and community of writers, I have withdrawn from public voice.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

Fast Fiction in Action: My Experience of Writing the First Draft of a Novel with Denise Jaden

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 >>

Lynda Monk2018-06-05T12:38:21-07:00April 19th, 2014|Memoir & Life Writing|

Writing Your Family Memoir: How to Begin by Barbara Graham

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 >>

Lynda Monk2018-06-05T12:47:34-07:00September 16th, 2012|Memoir & Life Writing|

Start with Journal Fragments: How to Write Creative Non-fiction by Ruth Folit

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 >>

Lynda Monk2018-06-05T12:51:01-07:00August 20th, 2012|Memoir & Life Writing|