Writer and musician
Kia ora, I write to you bleary eyed after a night of tending to a coughing eight year old. Because I felt tired when I woke up this morning, and I have a long list of tasks I want to cross off my list (I’m such a list person), I could have felt overwhelmed initially. …
Continue reading "How to deal with information overload when writing your memoir or family history"
Kia Ora 👋 This week I want to talk about helping readers understand what you experienced, by encouraging you to share what you sensed, in your story. What did you see, hear, feel, smell and taste? When you can bring in even one of your senses, do, because it brings so much more depth of …
Keep writing. For me, writing is nourishment. When I make the time to write, I’m amazed at what comes out of me! It’s almost like I’m reading it as I write it, I never know quite what’s going to come out. I’m working on my second novel right now, it’s going to take me a …
Kia ora memoir writer! How’s your story coming along today? Today I want to answer a question I often get asked - ‘where can I print my book?’ The answer is: it depends. If you’re keeping things simple and you’re not fussy about how it looks, pop along to your local print shop and ask …
Kia Ora from Aotearoa New Zealand! That’s me hanging out in the hills of the Rāmeka Valley, Golden Bay, which is incidentally the area I’m setting the fictional novel I’m writing. The Rāmeka is filled with history and is set up for adventure, risk and intrigue. These days it’s a popular mountain biking destination and …
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Kia ora! This is Charlotte, reaching out from Golden Bay after a weekend of talking memoirs at libraries on the West Coast of the South Island. Welcome to my (mostly) weekly coaching session Coasters! Today I have an offering for both those who don’t feel comfortable writing and those who want to record ideas as …
Continue reading "An easy tool you can use to start recording your story now"
I popped into a cafe recently for my favourite salmon and cream cheese tart and the lady at the counter said she’d just been thinking of me. “I’ve been wanting to ask you to help me with my great aunty’s story for ages,” she said as she served me. “But I can’t now, because we’ve …
Continue reading "When should you start writing your story?"
Me pondering repetition 🤔 Kia Ora! How are you and how is your story coming along? I’m writing beside a coughing, sneezing seven year old, ahh the joys of motherhood! Today I want to ask you if you’re repeating yourself in your story? This is very easy to do, and it can be subtle and …
Want to keep people engaged in reading your memoir? Behold! The power of the sexy first paragraph!
Me, just hanging at the beach, telling people how to start writing memoirs. As you do. Kia ora! Charlotte here, tuning in from Tākaka, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Do you want to write your memoir but have absolutely no idea where to start? Firstly, you are so not alone. Many people tell me they have years …
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Kia ora! Once you dive into writing your memoir it’ll be almost as if you’ve gone back in time, to the days you’re thinking of. The more you focus on those times, the more details you’ll remember from those days - people, experiences and feelings will resurface. That’s why I recommend you start a system …
Continue reading "Why you should keep a notebook close-by when you’re writing your memoir"
https://youtu.be/jhKpI8Cb-48 Before you start writing your memoir it’s important to know why you’re writing it and who for Just as you need solid foundations to build a house, you need to put in some decent planning before you write your memoir, life story or family history. Two things to clarify before you begin are: 1. …
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For some, this is a revelation, a ticket to freedom! For others this suggestion is about as wild and on the edge as running naked down a busy city street. Many of us have been told NEVER to write on the back of our precious photos, but I've come across folk who eventually thrown their …
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Writing your memoirs or life story is one of those really important things many people mean to do, but never get around to. Or, in my father’s case, he couldn’t see the point in sharing the details of his very ‘normal’ life. My father was a child of WW2 who went onto become a soldier …
Continue reading "Stuck at home? How to finally write your life story"
Charlotte Squire 