Story Matters
On writing, memoir and self-discovery
Recent Posts
Developing Yourself as a Character
When writing with the “I” pronoun, it is not enough to simply describe the events from your point of view – you must consciously develop yourself into a character just like a novelist develops a protagonist. Readers want to know who is speaking the same way they want to know […]
How Writing a Memoir Changes Your Story
I was recently interviewed for a podcast sponsored by the Hoffman Institute. If you’ve never heard of Hoffman, well, let me say that if you’re ready to make some important changes in your life–or, if you’re stuck and have no idea where to turn–you may want to check […]
The Crumpled Note Story
When I was eleven years old, still flat-chested and shaggy-haired, I wrote my father a note explaining in painstaking detail the hurt I felt over some favoritism he’d shown my younger sister. The specific incident is lost to memory, but I remember writing and rewriting that note several times until […]
Your 30-Minute Myth
I have no scientific data to back this up, but I would say—based on experience and observation—that it takes an average of four years to write a memoir, and by that I mean the kind of well-crafted story others would want to read.
In the process, memoirists not only […]
Writing on Purpose
One of the great privileges of coaching authors is that I get to work with people motivated by a deep sense of purpose. But often, when I start working with a new client, they can’t easily articulate why it is they must write a book. Often, they’ll attribute their desire to […]
What Our Keyboards Teach Us
The last two weeks I’ve been avoiding my piano, and two nights ago, after a particularly frustrating night of practice, I realized why.
Whenever I’d sit down to play—or, more accurately, clonk my way through the beginner’s book—I’d find myself confronting patterns of behavior that have plagued me my entire life.
I […]
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