Memoir

Most of us write the first draft of our memoir chronologically, setting down what happened in order, or thematically, thinking of what happened and expanding from that time, place, or feeling. Both are terrific ways to generate a first draft.  Read more

It might seem that writers live pretty safe lives. Yes, there are some, mostly journalists, who immerse themselves in troubled and war-torn countries, and they can and do get hurt. But most of us who write sit at keyboards or notepads every day and create stuff - poems, plays, stories, essays-mostly from our heads.

I was going through my notebooks the other day when I came across a piece of paper; a torn scrap on which I'd written hurriedly a name and the plot number of a grave. Writing a family story is a question of finding where the bodies are buried and this, in very real terms, had been the first clue.  Read more

Confusing Memoir with Autobiography

Writing a memoir is not the same as writing an autobiography. In an autobiography, you typically start at the beginning of your life and record all the details you can remember, chronologically. In a memoir, you take a slice from your life-a particular theme or lesson or flavor of experience-and write about that, pretty much ignoring the rest.  Read more

I've always been interested in family stories, my father's in particular. He grew up in a Cypriot village at a time of political unrest, during the island's struggle for independence. His education was cut short because his father couldn't afford the bus fare to school. In the 1960s he moved to England with ten pounds in his pocket and spent his first night in a telephone box.  Read more