Is it time to write your memoir, life story or history?
I'm Kiwi writer, publisher and newspaper owner Charlotte Squire and I'd love to help
Kia ora from my cosy kitchen, Iโve got curry and rice on the stove and the fake fire ablaze. Howโs that story of yours coming along? Iโm just about to finish a book for a client and weโre working on the cover. Weโve gone back and forth about it quite a few times, and I …
Well hello there dear memoir writer ๐ 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 โnormalโ could be someone elseโs ‘fascinating.โ"
Kia ora, Warm welcome to you if youโre new here, and good to see you if youโve been on this journey with me for a while. Iโve said it before, and Iโll say it again, itโs ok for the first draft of your story to be messy and imperfect. In fact, itโs kind of hard …
Kia ora, hello from a beautiful mild winterโs day here in Tฤkaka, New Zealand ๐๐ผ 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. Iโm starting an exciting …
Hello lovely ๐ This is Charlotte tuning in from Tฤkaka, Nee Zealand. How are you on this fine day? Howโs 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 - itโs about photo captions. Most people I …
Continue reading "Four things to include in your photo captions"
Hello lovely human ๐๐ผ 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 motherโs book had been a โGodsendโ, mentioning …
Continue reading "Deirdre’s wood chopping & two generations of memoirs"
Whitford Wharf - photo from Natalie Birch's personal collection Mลrena/Good morning from chilly Tฤkaka, 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 Birchโs 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? Iโm in the final stages of pulling a book together for a family, about their beloved father. Weโre ticking off the very last details and Iโm 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 โTฤkaka Mounted Riflesโ, 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 Tฤkaka or Motueka library talks I recently enjoyed giving, or you found me here online via Aunty Google. Itโs good to beam into your world, from mine, here in Golden Bay on a blue skied morning. This week Iโm …
Continue reading "Mike the ’10 pound pom’s bonfire story – from his memoir"
xr:d:DAF-ISJZNZM:28,j:4123470358952184840,t:24041501 Kia ora dear writer! Just a quick note before I head โover the [Tฤkaka] hillโ to take my sons on a school holidays 'city trip'. Do you struggle to make consistent progress on your story? If you do, believe me, youโre not alone! If youโve been thinking of joining my course Write Your Memoir, …
Continue reading "Struggle to write consistently? Join my memoir course!"
Kia ora dear writer, How are you? How is your story coming along this week? This week I have another snippet of a memoir from people in our memoir community. This oneโs from a student on my course Write Your Memoir. Her name is Rach Hunt and I feel a tug in my heart, a …
Continue reading "Read Rach’s poignant story + imperfection"
Kia ora! Last week I asked you if you had any parts of your memoirs that youโd like to share, and you really did! Weโll start with a snippet of Cathy Monningtonโs book The Days that Used to Be (working title), about her feisty grandmother: 'Suddenly Granny leapt from her chair, grabbed the fire poker …
Charlotte Squire Kia ora, Howโs life today? In my world, the peaches have mostly fallen off our trees, the cabbages have been harvested and Iโm wearing merino wool in the mornings. This week I want to remind you: if you like to write, youโre a writer. And I have this new idea - would you …
Itโs 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 …
