Memoir
What Else? – How Research Makes Meaning
Since all the essays in my new collection, Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless, incorporate facts I learned from asking experts, reading scholarly works, or rooting around in…
Read MoreTruth in Possibility: Writing Speculative Nonfiction
Speculative nonfiction is an emerging genre of literature that empowers writers to discover the truth outside of reality. This exciting genre incorporate imagination, wondering, and non-shared realities into a work…
Read MoreLiterary Motifs: What is a Motif in Literature?
When a work of literature employs an image or idea in repetition, that image or idea might be a motif. Literary motifs describe noteworthy repetitions whose presence in the work…
Read MoreYou Finished Your First Draft—Now What? A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Novel’s Next Chapter
Congratulations! You’ve crossed the finish line of your first draft—an accomplishment many dream of, but few achieve. I hope you are beaming with pride, but after the adrenaline fades, you…
Read MoreWhat is Free Writing? + Prompts to Elevate Your Writing Process
If you’re trying to write but can’t get the words flowing, free writing can jumpstart the writing process. Free writing is a no-pressure method of simply getting words on the…
Read MoreWellness Journaling: How to Journal for Wellness
Keeping a wellness journal allows us to monitor our health in a way that’s both freeing and healing. Traditionally, journaling is a way to keep a written record of our…
Read MoreWriting About Real People
Sneak Peek: This essay is excerpted from some of the materials I’ll be sharing in my class, “The Body and Soul of Your Memoir: Shape, Focus, and Write Your Memoir”…
Read MoreHow to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily
If you’re exploring how to start a journal, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Journaling has transformed my life, and it can do the same for you. In this article,…
Read MoreCapturing the Art of Storytelling: Techniques & Tips
It is hard to describe the art of storytelling, but you know good storytelling it when you read it. You read a passage of prose and it raises your arm…
Read MoreHow to Write a Memoir: Examples and a Step-by-Step Guide
If you’ve thought about putting your life to the page, you may have wondered how to write a memoir. We start the road to writing a memoir when we realize…
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