Writer and musician
Kia ora, hello you. Just a short blog tonight, which is fitting for a question that someone on my memoir course asked our guest speaker Gerard Hindmarsh earlier this week: ‘How do I know if my story is too long and rambly?’ Actually I may have made the word ‘rambly’ up. But moving on, here …
Continue reading "9 tips to avoid writing a long and rambling memoir"
Kia ora, hello there 👋🏼 How are you? And how is your precious story? Last night award winning author Gerard Hindmarsh spoke to members of our Write Your Memoir course and I wanted to pass on something he said that inspired me. He said: ‘get your blood moving’ before you write. He likes to cut …
I was talking to an avid reader of my newsletters earlier today and she told me about her impressively long (90,000 words, after being edited down) story. She said it was quite dense with text. That got me thinking about something I often use to break up text, in memoirs, and anywhere I want to …
Kia Ora, hello there lovely, I’m loving the cosines of winter. We’ve had a few days of rain and it’s been a great time to write, sitting as close as I can get to our impressively real looking fake fire, ha ha! I’m most productive as a writer in the mornings. How about you? If …
Continue reading "When you write, and 100 words of your story"
Kia ora, If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Charlotte, I live in Tākaka, Golden Bay, top of the South Island of New Zealand, with my family, and I’ve been a writer for decades - journalism, blogging, social media, reports, marketing, books - you name it, I’ve written it! And you’re here to learn how to …
Continue reading "Let’s get back to the basics memoir writer"
If you’d love a lot more support and guidance to write your memoir, life story or family history, join my online course Write Your Memoir (learn about it here) before August 1st to get: Access to my online course Write Your Memoir, which will teach you to write your story One on one support with …
Kia Ora, if you’ve just joined me, warm welcome from a Tākaka writer. This week I want to invite you to take stock of how far you’ve come with your memoir. Sometimes celebration is called for. I know some of you are making great headway, you’re persevering, despite some hard days, and you’re writing amazing …
Continue reading "Celebrate how far you’ve come memoir writer"
Did you ever think about writing your history as a fictional story? Meet Gerard Hindmarsh. He calls this ‘faction’ - fiction based upon fact. I first met Gerad 20 years ago after I read his book Angelina - From Stromboli to D'Urville Island: a family's story.’ He wrote this story about his grandparents Angelina and …
Continue reading "Gerard’s book ‘Angelina’ – where fiction meets fact "
Kia ora from my cosy kitchen, I’ve got curry and rice on the stove and the fake fire ablaze. How’s that story of yours coming along? I’m just about to finish a book for a client and we’re working on the cover. We’ve gone back and forth about it quite a few times, and I …
Well hello there dear memoir writer 👋 How are you and how is that story of yours? Yesterday I met with a student on my memoir course, for an online chat to make sure she had everything she needed. She shared a few pages of her story with me and once again I was transported …
Continue reading "Your ‘normal’ could be someone else’s ‘fascinating.’"
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 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 …
Charlotte Squire 