Good Works – Guest Post by Margy Rydzynski
TweetMargy Rydzynski and I are neighborhood friends and colleagues. We’ve worked together in the past, and coming up in the fall, we’ll be piggybacking on a couple of blogging courses. (They’ll be...
View ArticleJournaling With Sue
TweetI had the pleasure of meeting Susan Rowland through an online friend and editing client of mine, Andrea Lewis, author of the memoir, Dramaville. I was honored when Sue invited me to appear on her...
View ArticleWho Cares If You Write?
TweetI’ve got a quotation over my desk by the novelist Louis Auchincloss. In large font, it reminds me daily, hourly that, “A man can spend his whole existence never learning the simple lesson that he...
View ArticleIntroducing The Stylish Ole Woman
TweetWelcome to a new feature on this blog! I’m the Stylish Ole Woman. You might be one too, and you probably know others—women who, into their fifties, sixties, and seventies plus, cherish fashion as...
View ArticleWARNING: Lying to Your Journal Could Be Fatal
TweetTwo decades after Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley were published, she wrote the novel, Edith’s Diary. I can’t imagine how she got the manuscript published,...
View ArticleMemoir Revolution, by Jerry Waxler
TweetJerry Waxler and I have something in common. We’re both memoir evangelists, writers and writing instructors passionately promoting the power of memoir—for writers and readers alike. In his recent...
View ArticleA Writer Needs Money, a Room, and . . . ?
TweetVirginia Woolf said, “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she’s to write fiction.” I’d say one needs an income and peace and quiet to write anything creative. But do we scribblers...
View ArticleWriters: BUY . . . THIS . . . BOOK
Tweet [Note: I know Diana Raab only through our online connection, and have no relationship with the book’s publisher.] Even though my creative writing and journaling students hint that I browbeat...
View ArticleThe Shocking Truth About The Stylish Ole Woman
TweetShe’s moved. Just like that, she took off. Please follow her to stylisholewoman.com where her first post is Advice from the Stylish Ole Woman and Her Friends. I’ll meet you there. To see future...
View Article5 Ways Libraries Can Support Local Writers
TweetLast month I had the honor of participating on a panel at the New England Library Association conference in Portland, Maine. In response to the numerous requests libraries receive from boomers and...
View ArticleThe Perceptive Poetry of Charles R. Schwab
TweetEven though he’s a writing student of mine, I can’t take complete credit for Charlie Schwab’s success. When I met him, Charlie was 89 years old, the active and knowledgeable Business Manager of...
View ArticleTop 3 Reasons Baby Boomers and Seniors Put Off Writing About Their Lives
TweetAre you among those who chide themselves for not doing anything about those anecdotes your friends keep telling you that you should write down? Or maybe it’s those personal memories you feel you...
View ArticleChoose a Life or Family Story Writing Option
TweetIf you’re thinking of writing about your life, or your family’s life, here’s some information to help you decide which of the possible forms would work best for you. Autobiography An autobiography...
View ArticleThis is One of the 100 Best Websites for Writers – 2014
TweetThis website right here made the list, folks. Tools and Tactics for Writers is #71 on the list, and it’s in phenomenal company with all the big names in writing web sites. So, if you’ve been...
View ArticleMemoir: Go Small to Go Big Later, by Christine Houser
TweetIf you’ve never visited the web site, Flashmemoirs.com, the post below will give you a hint of what you’ve been missing. As a memoir writing instructor, I make sure I take frequent looks at the...
View ArticleThe Zen of Life Story Writing
TweetWhen I give talks on writing life stories, invariably members of the audience say their kids or grandkids are pestering them about their early lives, and they want to let their extended families,...
View ArticleRewriting: When it’s Time to Start Over
TweetI’ve heard Mary Wasmuth’s diary entries and essays in the journaling class I lead at the Weston (Massacusetts) Public Library. They’ve moved me, and made me laugh. And I’m pretty sure they’ve made...
View ArticleHow to Use Artifacts to Fuel Your Memoir or Family History
Tweet Paper Prompts When we prepare to write a memoir or record incidents from our family’s history, we might easily think of common paper items that many of us tend to hold onto. These can form the...
View ArticleContribute Your Little Infuriations
TweetA couple of years ago, I wrote a post called Life’s Little Infuriations. I’m working on another one now. How about submitting your nagging annoyances in a comment here so I can include them in the...
View ArticleKeeping Your Journal Private Might Be Easier Than You Think
TweetA friend left the following comment on my post, A New Kind of Journal: I am interested in hearing where people who write their “whole truth” in journals actually PUT these journals? Do they lock...
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