Writer and musician
Some days, or maybe some weeks, you're not going to enjoy writing your memoir. I'm writing this because I bumped into a student of my course Write Your Memoir in the Tākaka library car park yesterday, and she told me she'd lost her enthusiasm for writing her story. While a few weeks ago she’d been …
Kia ora lovely one, Every now and then I like to remind you to keep writing. It seems easy enough in theory, yet so many people don’t ever finish their precious stories. Why not? Fear that your book isn’t good enough is a top reason for people to stop. Also, overwhelm and confusion about how …
Kia Ora dear one, How is your story coming along this week? As you write, it’s important to occasionally step back from your story to ask yourself if it would make sense to people who don’t know you. This can be hard to do! So I use the 100 years trick. In 100 years, there’s …
Continue reading "Imagine them reading your story in 100 years"
Kia Ora! How’s it going, memoir writer? I’m working on book number 24 at the moment, and I was thinking: do you know what I’d do if I was at the very beginning and thinking of writing my own memoir, life story or family history? I’d simply be gathering stuff. I’d be finding my old …
Kia Ora! A memoir writer once told me she was writing her story because she wanted her children to learn who she was, before they arrived. She wanted them to know that she had travelled the world and lived a big life pre-children. She also wanted them to know about the way she was raised, …
Kia ora! How are you? We had our monthly memoir writers ‘connection session’ last Saturday and one writer said she was making progress, though writing it ‘out of order’, because that worked for her. And she reminded me of the power of doing it that way. She’s going to finish that story of hers, because …
Kia ora from humid, mid-summer Tākaka, I’ve just come in from watching my 17 year old trying to teach my 10 year old how to front flip on the tramp. Ahh sweet motherhood. Let’s flip to writing your memoir now - do you ever wonder how to keep people engaged with your story? I have …
Kia ora, Wishing you a fabulous start to 2025! Here we are at the first chapter of the year again 😉 So now’s a good time to ask you: Can you spare 30 minutes a few days a week to write your memoir? Think about it, the average person can write nearly 400 words in …
Kia ora! Sometimes readers send me stories that make me smile, and today I have one from Cathy Monnington. When she finishes writing it, her life story promises to be very entertaining. Before I share her words, I think it’s a great idea to share some insight into what you did for Christmas, in your …
Kia ora, It’s good to tune into your world today. How’s that story of yours coming along? I’m editing a life story/family history for someone who is writing it for future generations, including for those who she might never meet. This makes me very happy. They will get to know her well through her stories …
Kia ora from rainy Golden Bay 🌧️ This week I’m focused on book design and I wanted to remind you: it’s never too early to thinking about your book cover. I have four suggestions for you: Start gathering examples of book covers you love now, because at some point your story will need a cover. …
Continue reading "Start thinking about your book cover now 📙"
Kia ora from Golden Bay, How’s that story of yours coming along today? Even if it’s simply bubbling away inside you, having not yet been written. That’s still something. That still matters. And I hope one day you’ll share it with the world. A few weeks ago I asked you for 100 words from your …
Today I want to encourage you to celebrate how far you’ve come in writing your memoir, family history or life story. This includes those of you who haven’t started writing yet, who are still researching and organising your information (a big job in itself!). I was reminded of this after talking to a beloved participant …
One of the reasons I love memoir writing is that these stories reveal the unknown rich history within each person. The older we get, the more stories we carry within us. To have gone to the trouble of organising them into a book is not only a very considerate thing to do for our families …
Kia ora lovely, how are you? I had the pleasure of hanging out with a student of my online course Write Your Memoir earlier this week and she had come to a complete stop in her writing process. Although she was quite capable of writing her story - she was clearly an experienced writer, and …
Kia ora, hello, how's your story coming along this week? So - your writing routine. Let’s talk about that. Do you have one? Comment here and let me know? I’m curious. After a few years of teaching folk to write their stories, I’ve moved into the ‘yes, you do need a writing routine’ camp. Before …
Charlotte Squire 