How to Write a Memoir

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A lone boat silhouetted against a dramatic, stormy sky over a vast sea, capturing nature's power dramatizes character vs. nature conflict

Character vs. Nature Conflict

Character vs. Nature strips a story down to its most primal conflict. There’s no evil villain with a dark motive....

A woman with her head sunk into a pile of books is a visual simile for the author reading this article to learn overcoming procrastination

Overcoming Procrastination: How to Get Out of Your Own Way

There’s a quiet moment every writer knows. You sit. Open the page. The cursor blinks . . . waiting. Then...

A hand rearranging scenes visually depicts how to outline a screenplay

How to Outline a Screenplay

Some screenwriters resist outlining. They prefer to follow the story wherever it leads, trusting their instincts over structure, discovery over...

The five-act structure visualized literally as five planes in formation — themes of tension, war, fighting, danger, organization

Five-Act Structure

The Five-Act Structure is a key aspect of dramatic storytelling. The tradition stretches as far back as the ancient Greeks,...

Getting through the messy middle pictured here, as a woman on the opposite end of a chessboard trying to figure out what to do next

Getting Through the Messy Middle

We’ve all been stuck in the messy middle of a story.  Inspiration strikes like raw lightning, bringing a new idea...

Common themes in literature appear often in hieroglyphic storytelling

Common Themes

While every story is unique, the history of literature is populated with reinterpretations of common themes.  Through the lens of...

Prehistoric cave archeological cave carving of six men in a boat used to symbolize the deep meaning of a 6-word memoir
Blog
Alan Watt

6-Word Memoir

Writing a 6-word memoir might feel impossible at first, too restricting, maybe even unfair. You might think, How do you tell a

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Tell Your Truth
Blog
Alan Watt

Tell Your Truth

  “A book must start somewhere. One brave letter must volunteer to go first, laying itself on the line in an act of faith,

Read More »
writing memoir
Blog
Alan Watt

Writing Memoir

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have

Read More »

Recent posts

Prehistoric cave archeological cave carving of six men in a boat used to symbolize the deep meaning of a 6-word memoir

6-Word Memoir

Writing a 6-word memoir might feel impossible at first, too restricting, maybe even unfair. You might think, How do you...

How to Write a Memoir

How to Write a Memoir: From First Draft to Lasting Impact

A memoir is a narrative written from the author’s perspective, focusing on a specific moment or theme of their life....

memoir

What is a Memoir? From Personal Experience to Universal Truth

The desire to write is, at its core, the desire to evolve. To dig deeper into something you’ve experienced in...

Memoir: Mastering the Impossible

Memoir: Mastering the Impossible

“While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.” – Helen Keller The purpose of art...

Tell Your Truth

Tell Your Truth

  “A book must start somewhere. One brave letter must volunteer to go first, laying itself on the line in...

writing memoir

Writing Memoir

“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they...

Permission to Write theTruth

Permission to Write Your Truth

What is the Truth of your story? OK, you’ve outlined your story and you’re getting ready to write your first...

Making the Impossible Possible

Making the Impossible Possible

Turning the impossible into something possible is the magic of story. We often have an idea of the direction our...

Difference between Journaling and Storytelling

The Difference Between Journaling and Storytelling

The difference between journaling and storytelling is context. Journaling is simply documenting what happened. Storytelling involves illustrating the meaning of...

Intimacy Hangover

The 90-Day Memoir – Intimacy Hangover

In the first day of The 90-Day Memoir workshop the writers often have some major insights and revelations. But it...

Memoir: Personal & Universal

Memoir: Personal & Universal

The challenge in writing a memoir is that self-examination is not typically meant to be shared. The goal in writing...