Writer and musician
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 …
Kia ora, I write this a week on from ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) Day here in Aotearoa New Zealand. I spent that morning on the brink of tears. First there were the ‘Tākaka Mounted Rifles’, a group of people on horseback, in military uniform. They also brought a riderless horse, in honour of …
That's me - Charlotte Squire - on a mission to get more Kiwi elders writing their life stories, memoirs and family histories. Kia ora! I'm really excited to tell those of you who live in the top of the South Island that I'm running two in-person year long courses, one in Nelson (starting end of …
Continue reading "Write Your Memoir in One Year courses – Nelson and Golden Bay, New Zealand"
Kia Ora! Warm welcome to those who have just joined this blog! Perhaps you came via Tākaka or Motueka library talks I recently enjoyed giving, or you found me here online via Aunty Google. It’s good to beam into your world, from mine, here in Golden Bay on a blue skied morning. This week I’m …
Continue reading "Mike the ’10 pound pom’s bonfire story – from his memoir"
Charlotte Squire Kia ora, How’s life today? In my world, the peaches have mostly fallen off our trees, the cabbages have been harvested and I’m wearing merino wool in the mornings. This week I want to remind you: if you like to write, you’re a writer. And I have this new idea - would you …
It’s interesting the way each of us experience significant life events differently We put them through our filters, defined by our personalities, upbringings, attitudes and attach different meanings to them. The way I respond to my (fictional) Aunt Joan dying might be totally different to the way my brother responds. To me she was a …
Autumn arrived here in Tākaka over the last few days. There are cool mornings to accompany the fresh apples, peaches, zucchinis and even (heaven) grapes growing at our house. Today I want to tell you about five cool images, some possibly unexpected, that you can include in your memoir, life story or history. This is …
Continue reading "5 unexpected things you can include in your memoir"
Kia ora 👋🏼 Back in my journalism days I often found that the first paragraph of a news article was the hardest to write, because I knew it was the most important. In those first few sentences I needed to clarify the key angle of my story, in a way that inspired people to keep …
Continue reading "How to lure them to read a chapter of your memoir"
Kia ora dear writer, I spoke to a younger student of my memoir course this week who reminded me that we can live a lot of life before we even reach 20. This person doesn’t want to write a family history, but wants to share significant experiences and moments, from birth onwards. And of course …
Continue reading "What happened before you were 20 memoir writer?"
Today I would like to honour a lady named Jill. I met her when I was giving a free online memoir talk at an Auckland library. She shared honestly with the group that she had lost her beloved husband Phil to Alzheimers. She wanted to write a book about it. She felt he had been …
Continue reading "1st book emerges from my online memoir – Jill’s story"
Everytime I meet someone who is busy writing their memoir, life story or family history I feel so happy. Regardless of whether they’re on my memoir writing course or not, it feels like good historic house-work is being done. When I learn that people are recording those details, I know members of their families will …
Continue reading "Questions they’ll wish they asked you – for your memoir"
Kia ora, Do me a favour today and look back over your work on your memoir or story so far, and take a moment to appreciate the work you’ve put into it. If you’ve managed to get more organised - well done 👏🏼 If you’ve managed to do some research - good work 👍🏼 If …
Continue reading "Celebrate how far you’ve come dear writer! 👏🏼"
Every single book I’ve worked on, or supported someone to write, has been different. No one writes their life story or family history in the same way, because each of our lives are so different. And I like it this way. Some people start at the end of their life stories and work back. Some …
Continue reading "If there was just one thing you were careful of as you write your memoir"
Well hello to you dear writer, A warm January welcome to those of you who are new to my weekly email. This is Charlotte, writer/writing teacher/musician/mum/wife, reaching out to you from beautiful Golden Bay, New Zealand. The first thing I want to say to you this year is: keep going. No matter where you’re at …
Mōrena (good morning) from Aotearoa, New Zealand 👋🏼 When I was a news reporter I would often have to sum up complex stories in two paragraphs. It was hard. But there was one basic thing that would really help me. I didn’t learn at four years of university, or from being mentored by some experienced …
Continue reading "The vital writing lesson I learned when I was seven that you should know too"
Charlotte Squire 