During this Hanukkah and Christmas season I can't help feeling grateful for all that this past year has provided. I'm especially grateful to my dear writing friends - some I've met in person and some not - who have brought me continued wisdom about the writing process and such joy in knowing them and their writing work. First of all thanks to Kathy Pooler, author of her new memoir: Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse, for tagging me to participate in this blog tour. Kathy's memoir is a must read if you haven't yet. So here goes: My Work in Progress Synopsis and story idea : My novel, Papa's Shoes, is the story of a family immigrating to America in the early 1900s and a daughter's coming of age in the 1920s in downstate Illinois and Chicago. Some other things going on in the book life in a Polish stetl, early 19th century Chicago and Illinois, a woman's role in society at that time, religious prejudice, interfaith marriage, and a feisty … [Read more...]
Drum rolls for my guest Marie Abanga
I'm so pleased to introduce my guest Marie Abanga, author of My Unconventional Loves: My Hurts, My Adulteries, My Redemption, a book written in a voice so raw and open it almost takes my breath away. Here she tells how she created her book almost in complete secrecy because of what she calls her "embarrassing and shameful revelations." Please welcome Marie. I am so glad she persevered and successfully completed her memoir project. My Memoir Writing Journey by Marie Abanga Hi there, my name is Marie Abanga, author of the memoir My Unconventional Loves: My Hurts, My Adulteries, My Redemption. I was so happy when one of my favorite authors, Madeline Sharples, offered to host me on her blog. She asked me to do a post on my memoir writing journey for other beginners like myself. I sort of knew what memoirs were and had read several. But I had not come across one with such embarrassing and shameful revelations like I included in mine. There may be worse ones out there, but the authors … [Read more...]
A warm welcome to Cate Russell-Cole. She’s all about being positive
I love that I've gotten to know Cate Russell-Cole so much better in the last few weeks. She's always been so supportive of my work by retweeting, liking, and commenting on stuff I post around my social media networks. She has even placed my book on the list of the memoir writers and services that she follows on Twitter. It is here: https://twitter.com/cateartios/memoir-writers/members. Cate provides support for writers and has founded with Kathy Pooler, Sharon Lippincott, and Sherrey Meyer (all writers I deeply respect and admire) the Memoir Project, a nonprofit initiative that shares memoir writing skills, news and resources, promotes quality memoir writing web sites, and builds a supportive community for writers at all levels. I encourage you to visit the Write Your Life Story Memoir Project. Even if you don't write in the memoir genre, I'm sure you'll find something to help enhance your writing there. Now I'd like to introduce Cate. She has generously written a guest post … [Read more...]
Back to work
First of all I want to thank all my friends who participated in the Choices Guest Post Festival from the end of August to mid September: Susan Weidener Deborah Kalan Viki Noe Ace Antonio Hall Meryl Hartstein Chanel Brenner Eleanor Vincent Jerry Waxler Sherrey Meyer Linda Joy Myers Karen Levy Kathy Pooler You all certainly raised the bar over here. During the last three and a half weeks the number of views more than doubled because of your contributions. So it's time for me to get back to work. I need to keep the momentum going by posting myself and hosting guests as much as possible. Please let me know if you'd like to share your writing story on Choices in the near future. On Wednesday, my guests will be Cami Ostman and Susan Tive who will share about their anthology, Beyond Belief: what happens when women of extreme … [Read more...]
Sherrey Meyer says we’re never too old to write
I'm so happy to have Sherrey Meyer back at Choices for a return engagement. I hope you'll revisit her last guest post on June 24. Her words about writing to heal and the memoir writing process are always right on. Today she writes about writing into old age, something that I can definitely relate to. That's exactly what I'm doing and I plan to keep writing no matter how old I get. I think that's what keeps me vibrant and happy. Please welcome Sherrey back. Too Old to Write? Proof the Answer is NO! by Sherrey Meyer Lately I've been asked by friends and family what I'm doing with my time in retirement. Since I left my position with a local law firm in 2006, I've spent a lot of time with expensive surgeons who have corrected my eyesight and repaired a lot of bones. I discount those months as paid medical leave (paid by me and my retirement fund) and explain that I'm at last fulfilling a lifelong dream of writing. The responses I have received are jarring, … [Read more...]
Please welcome Sherrey Meyer
I am thrilled to have Sherrey Meyer here as my guest today. She echoes my thoughts about the benefits of writing to heal, and provides Dr. Pennebaker's proof that it is so. Yes, for me writing is a way to put my pain on the page. It is a soothing balm. What do you think? Benefits of Writing Your Story by Sherrey Meyer In 2001, when my mother died, the story of our lives together had traversed many years and battled many storms. Yet at the end, something unusual and unexpected happened. I tucked that memory away knowing it was possibly the core for a memoir. When I retired in 2006, I remembered how often I had said, When I have time, I want to write a book. Little did I know when I began accumulating my memories on the computer and sorting through family photos the benefit writing this story would give. Never had it occurred to me that writing could be a restorative, healing process. With each word typed, I felt changes taking place. The invisible scars created by years of … [Read more...]
