Writer and musician
Kia ora, Warm welcome to you if you’re new here, and good to see you if you’ve been on this journey with me for a while. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, it’s ok for the first draft of your story to be messy and imperfect. In fact, it’s kind of hard …
Kia ora, hello from a beautiful mild winter’s day here in Tākaka, New Zealand 👋🏼 My mother and I have just walked a five year old, a nine year old and one prancy dog home from school. And speaking of steps, this week I was reminded of the value of them. I’m starting an exciting …
Hello lovely 👋 This is Charlotte tuning in from Tākaka, Nee Zealand. How are you on this fine day? How’s that story of yours? Today I want to share one thing with you that I talk about in module four of my online course Write Your Memoir - it’s about photo captions. Most people I …
Continue reading "Four things to include in your photo captions"
Hello lovely 👋🏼 This is a very short post for those of you in who live in or near Nelson, New Zealand, to say that my course ‘Write Your Memoir in One Year - Nelson’ is due to start this Saturday, in Nelson City. If you’ve been thinking of joining, now’s the time. The important …
Continue reading "Nelson ‘Write Your Memoir in One Year’ course starts this Saturday"
Hello lovely human 👋🏼 This week I had the delightful experience of welcoming a new student to my memoir course, who turned out to be the daughter of one of the first people I ever wrote a memoir for. I remember writing about her childhood. She said her mother’s book had been a “Godsend”, mentioning …
Continue reading "Deirdre’s wood chopping & two generations of memoirs"
Whitford Wharf - photo from Natalie Birch's personal collection Mōrena/Good morning from chilly Tākaka, How is your story coming along this week? Remember to keep taking small, imperfect steps towards your goal. I have a glimpse into memoir writer Natalie Birch’s world to share with you today, including the photo (above) of Whitford Wharf that …
Continue reading "Eel watching from Whitford Wharf & Nelson course starts soon soon"
Kia ora! How are you getting on with your story this week? I’m in the final stages of pulling a book together for a family, about their beloved father. We’re ticking off the very last details and I’m feeling an excited pull towards the finish line, so we can get the book into their hands …
Kia ora, I write this a week on from ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day here in Aotearoa New Zealand. I spent that morning on the brink of tears. First there were the ‘Tākaka Mounted Rifles’, a group of people on horseback, in military uniform. They also brought a riderless horse, in honour of …
Is there a story in you? But perhaps you’re too busy to write it? Or the idea of writing it doesn’t feel right? I’m your girl! I’m Charlotte and as well as teaching people to write books, my team and I have written 20 books for people. It’s been fun, and hard at times. We’ve …
That's me - Charlotte Squire - on a mission to get more Kiwi elders writing their life stories, memoirs and family histories. Kia ora! I'm really excited to tell those of you who live in the top of the South Island that I'm running two in-person year long courses, one in Nelson (starting end of …
Continue reading "Write Your Memoir in One Year courses – Nelson and Golden Bay, New Zealand"
Kia Ora! Warm welcome to those who have just joined this blog! Perhaps you came via Tākaka or Motueka library talks I recently enjoyed giving, or you found me here online via Aunty Google. It’s good to beam into your world, from mine, here in Golden Bay on a blue skied morning. This week I’m …
Continue reading "Mike the ’10 pound pom’s bonfire story – from his memoir"
xr:d:DAF-ISJZNZM:28,j:4123470358952184840,t:24041501 Kia ora dear writer! Just a quick note before I head ‘over the [Tākaka] hill’ to take my sons on a school holidays 'city trip'. Do you struggle to make consistent progress on your story? If you do, believe me, you’re not alone! If you’ve been thinking of joining my course Write Your Memoir, …
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Kia ora dear writer, How are you? How is your story coming along this week? This week I have another snippet of a memoir from people in our memoir community. This one’s from a student on my course Write Your Memoir. Her name is Rach Hunt and I feel a tug in my heart, a …
Continue reading "Read Rach’s poignant story + imperfection"
Kia ora! Last week I asked you if you had any parts of your memoirs that you’d like to share, and you really did! We’ll start with a snippet of Cathy Monnington’s book The Days that Used to Be (working title), about her feisty grandmother: 'Suddenly Granny leapt from her chair, grabbed the fire poker …
Charlotte Squire Kia ora, How’s life today? In my world, the peaches have mostly fallen off our trees, the cabbages have been harvested and I’m wearing merino wool in the mornings. This week I want to remind you: if you like to write, you’re a writer. And I have this new idea - would you …
It’s interesting the way each of us experience significant life events differently We put them through our filters, defined by our personalities, upbringings, attitudes and attach different meanings to them. The way I respond to my (fictional) Aunt Joan dying might be totally different to the way my brother responds. To me she was a …
Charlotte Squire 