Write your memoir, life story or history
With Kiwi writer Charlotte Squire
Kia ora fellow writer, How are things coming along this week? I love it when people ask me questions and last week a farmer called me asked me ‘will you need to write it all proper and formal? There’s a lot of humour in my family and we do swear sometimes.’ Great question. Here’s what …
Continue reading "How ‘myself’ can I be in my memoir or life story?"
Kia ora *|FNAME|* It’s nice to pop into your world today, and exciting to welcome you newbies to my (mostly) weekly memoir chat. I’d love to know how you found me (considering how little marketing I’ve been doing lately)! If you want to explore a few years of memoir tips, pop into my blog. The …
Kia ora, This month, in honour of Valentine's Day, I’m focusing on love stories. Because, I can. I am, at heart, a romantic. I love the ‘how did you meet’ stories. My dad met my mum at the Whakatu Hotel in Nelson. She wore a full suede outfit. Think long suede boots, a suede skirt …
Kia Ora, well hello there lovely, Someone recently asked me why people write their memoirs and life stories and I had to pause, because in my memoir focused brain, there are so many reasons! One big one is the value of passing on the stories of your life, so that children and grandchildren are able …
Kia ora, I was talking with a memoir client today who sighed and said, “the photos seem to take longer than writing the book!” I thought this might be a good reason to prepare you! Not all of you will be using photos in your stories, but if you are, here are five things you …
Kia ora lovely, How’s that memoir of yours coming along today? Yesterday I met with my Golden Bay memoir group, and someone was saying they were unsure whether to dive deeply into one aspect of their story, or write more generally. They saw they could very quickly end up with waaaay too much info for …
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, 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, How’s that memoir of yours coming along this week? I get so inspired by the people I’m guiding to write their stories. Yesterday I took a monthly community memoir class and one person shared a funny, surprising, moving story that was built around her love of the humble banana box. Through a series …
Continue reading "Crafting the extraordinary around the ordinary"
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 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, well hello there 👋 I write to you from stormy Tākaka. How’s that book of yours coming along this week? I’ll tell you what’s on my mind as I write and edit this week: loose ends. They’re everywhere in life, and memoirs and histories are no exception. When you reach the later stages …
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 …
Write your memoir, life story or history 