Lights, Camera, Memoir! Imagine flipping through your favorite streaming service, scanning those brief descriptions that tease each TV series episode. With just a few words, they hook you—telling you who’s involved, what challenges they face, and what’s at stake if they fail. Those quick summaries are called loglines, and they do a lot of heavy…
Ever thought about telling your life story but got stuck before you even started? Maybe you sat down, stared at a blank page, and thought, Where do I even begin? Or maybe you convinced yourself that you’re “not a writer” and gave up before the first sentence. Good news—you don’t have to be a writer….
The Daunting First Note Ever sat down at a piano for the first time and felt completely overwhelmed? Your fingers hover over the keys, but instead of music, all you hear is the deafening silence of “I have no idea what I’m doing.” Memoir storytelling can feel the same way. You sit down, ready to…
Picture this: You’re flipping through an old scrapbook, and suddenly, you’re back in that moment—the way the light hit the porch, the smell of fresh-cut grass, the laughter frozen in a faded photograph. That scrapbook isn’t just a collection of pictures; it’s a story. And whether you realize it or not, you might already be…
Think about the last time you shared a memory with a friend or family member. Maybe you were sitting at the dinner table, telling a tale from childhood or remembering an embarrassing moment. Those memories—the bits of your life you shared—are anecdotes. But how do you turn those anecdotes into stories? And what’s the difference,…
Don’t you hate it when you can’t remember something? You walk into a room and suddenly have no idea why you’re there. You meet someone new, and their name disappears from your mind before the handshake is over. Or worse—you sit down to write your memoir, ready to relive those defining moments, and your brain…
The lucky ones among us have a confidant: someone we trust to share our secrets and innermost feelings. That’s what the healing power of memoir writing feels like—a heart-to-heart with yourself, sorting through the moments that matter most. It’s not about being a polished writer or having a perfect memory; it’s about capturing your life…
Have you ever heard a word that caused you to pause and reflect? For most of us, inspiration comes in small, unexpected packages. Memories can be triggered by a scent, a song, a photo, and, yes, even word prompts. My friend Beth Almond Ford, memoirist and teacher, recently commented on Facebook: “Many (all?!) of us…
It started with a photograph. My grandmother and her little brother are sitting in tall grass. She wore a bow in her hair that was as wide as her shoulders, and he wore a billowy white shirt. Both were squinting. The picture was old—faded sepia-toned, edges curled—and I couldn’t stop staring at it. Who took…
A few times a month, I get an email from FamilySearch.org saying, “We have found a new memory about…” and then the name of one of my ancestors. This type of info is pure gold for family historians. I enjoy getting these emails because I’m the defacto family historian and enjoy learning about my heritage…