Writer and musician
Kia ora! Sometimes readers send me stories that make me smile, and today I have one from Cathy Monnington. When she finishes writing it, her life story promises to be very entertaining. Before I share her words, I think it’s a great idea to share some insight into what you did for Christmas, in your …
Kia ora, It’s good to tune into your world today. How’s that story of yours coming along? I’m editing a life story/family history for someone who is writing it for future generations, including for those who she might never meet. This makes me very happy. They will get to know her well through her stories …
Kia ora from rainy Golden Bay 🌧️ This week I’m focused on book design and I wanted to remind you: it’s never too early to thinking about your book cover. I have four suggestions for you: Start gathering examples of book covers you love now, because at some point your story will need a cover. …
Continue reading "Start thinking about your book cover now 📙"
Today I want to encourage you to celebrate how far you’ve come in writing your memoir, family history or life story. This includes those of you who haven’t started writing yet, who are still researching and organising your information (a big job in itself!). I was reminded of this after talking to a beloved participant …
Kia ora lovely, how are you? I had the pleasure of hanging out with a student of my online course Write Your Memoir earlier this week and she had come to a complete stop in her writing process. Although she was quite capable of writing her story - she was clearly an experienced writer, and …
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 …
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"
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"
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 👋🏼 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"
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 