Is it time to write your memoir, life story or history?
I'm Kiwi writer, publisher and newspaper owner Charlotte Squire and I'd love to help
Kia ora from mid-summer in Tākaka 👋🏼 I write to you from a busy home, overflowing with teenage boys, a clingy dog, a husband who keeps escaping to his man-shed to paint water colours, and social butterfly of grandmother. Have you wondered how to write a story that people can’t put down? Every now and …
Continue reading "How to write a memoir they can’t put down"
Kia Ora How are you on this fine summer's day? Are you finding time to work on your story? This will be the last email from me this year, and I want to talk to you about your memories of your parents and grandparents. Sometimes people ask me if I think they should include them …
Kia ora, I thought I’d show you a short video about Mike Brown’s new book today. He’s currently in Christchurch excitedly delivering it to his grandkids. How cool is that? Mike had been working on his book for 20 years off and on until he stumbled upon a free memoir course I was giving at …
Kia ora lovely human, I think the time has come 🎄 Yes, let’s dust off those Christmas memories of yours and share them with readers of our memoir writing community. Would you like to email me half a page (about 200 words) about a favourite Christmas memory of yours? Don’t hold back. Be it strange, …
Kia ora 👋🏼 It’s good to drop into your world today. How’s that memoir of yours coming along? Have you started it yet? Or are you at the ‘thinking about it stage’? Some of you are in the depths of writing, and still more of you are polishing up the first drafts of your stories. …
Kia ora dear writer, How are you on this fine Thursday? Did you manage to work on your memoir this week? I hope so. I’m neck deep in editing Mike’s book, researching the history (or should I say ‘her-story’) of a hydro power station, and helping Jodie produce the second edition of her dad’s book …
Kia ora lovely human, How’s your story coming along? Did you do any work on it today? Do me a favour and arrange to do one small thing on it before the end of the day, OR tomorrow. And then keep doing more ‘one small things’ daily, and watch what happens. So let's talk about …
Kia ora lovely, how’s that story of yours coming along this week? Remember, the first draft needs to be messy, because creativity isn’t tidy. It’s gloriously expressive. So let it out, and go easy on yourself ❤️ there will be plenty of time to tidy it up later, during your second, third and fourth drafts! …
Continue reading "Josephine’s hair experiment (+ last few days to join new memoir programme)"
Kia ora, I’ve got a photo in the garage somewhere of me, aged two, sitting in my favourite bowl, wearing my favourite (and only) beaded necklace. I am beaming in the way children do when they’re in the place they most want to be. It’s a hot day but I have my bowl of cool …
Kia ora dear one, I’ve got good news for you. You can’t go wrong with your book, really. Because at a very basic level, people will read it to learn your story and get a sense of you. And who’s the expert on that particular subject? 100% you! This bodes well for those of you …
Kia Ora dear memoir writer 👋 How are you and how is your story coming along? This week I’m enamoured with memoir writer Mike Brown’s first ever book cover and I wanted to show you! You may or may not know that as well as teaching people to write their memoirs (including Mike) my team …
Kia Ora dear memoir writer, How’s your story coming along? I’d love to know. I bumped into a student on my memoir course a few days ago, and she asked me if it mattered that she couldn’t remember exact dates that events happened. Great question. It depends. Some writers seek to be as accurate as …
Kia ora from the rain drenched top of the South Island, New Zealand! My family came through the weather events safely, with only a few leaks here and there, plus I got stuck on the other side of the Tākaka Hill for a night when eight landslides closed it! But I’m aware that many didn’t …
Kia ora!How are you?We’ve had an intense week of rain here in Golden Bay, including one day with no internet or cell phone reception! It was very 1980s.We’ve just nudged over the halfway mark of 2025, and this week I thought I’d remind you what you could achieve by the end of the year, if …
Mōrena from a stormy dawn in Golden Bay, How is your memoir coming along this week? I’ve been neck deep in the story of a young man, editing it for a passionate Motueka memoir writer. This young man and his world have come to life for me, I know his mum, dad and siblings. I …
Continue reading "Will your great, great grandchildren understand?"
Kia Ora from wintery Tākaka. This is perfect writing weather! I’ve been cosying up beside my slumbering dog and a heater all morning, working. As you may know, writing your memoir takes time and focus. How long does it take? Well that depends. I’ve worked on books ranging from 10,000 to over 100,000 words. The …
