“While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.” - Helen Keller The purpose of art is to illuminate the possibility for transformation. The goal of memoir is to make the …
How to Write a Memoir
Tell Your Truth
"A book must start somewhere. One brave letter must volunteer to go first, laying itself on the line in an act of faith, from which a word takes heart and follows, drawing a sentence into …
Writing Memoir
"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better." - Anne Lamott It’s funny how guilt emerges when you …
Permission to Write Your Truth
What is the Truth of your story? OK, you’ve outlined your story and you’re getting ready to write your first draft. But something doesn’t feel right. You tell yourself that you’re not ready, that you …
Making the Impossible Possible
Turning the impossible into something possible is the magic of story. We often have an idea of the direction our story is going. But sometimes we discover that it's not happening the way we had …
The Difference Between Journaling and Storytelling
The difference between journaling and storytelling is context. Journaling is simply documenting what happened. Storytelling involves illustrating the meaning of what happened. Our goal as storytellers …
The 90-Day Memoir – Intimacy Hangover
In the first day of The 90-Day Memoir workshop the writers often have some major insights and revelations. But it is the second day that things start to get interesting. Here’s an excerpt from my Day …
Memoir: Personal & Universal
The challenge in writing a memoir is that self-examination is not typically meant to be shared. The goal in writing a dynamic memoir lies in offering a transformative experience for our protagonist …
Most popular posts
The Difference Between Journaling and Storytelling
The difference between journaling and storytelling is context. Journaling is simply documenting what happened. Storytelling involves illustrating the meaning of what happened. Our goal as storytellers is to tell a story that builds in meaning as it progresses. Have you ever been to a party and been cornered by someone who tells you some excruciatingly …
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Making the Impossible Possible
Turning the impossible into something possible is the magic of story. We often have an idea of the direction our story is going. But sometimes we discover that it’s not happening the way we had anticipated. To some degree, we are our protagonist’s journey. This is part of what makes this process so thrilling and …
Read More
Memoir: Personal & Universal
The challenge in writing a memoir is that self-examination is not typically meant to be shared. The goal in writing a dynamic memoir lies in offering a transformative experience for our protagonist (our self) by making the personal universal. We all have the story that we tell, either to our self or others, and although …
Read MoreThe 90-Day Memoir
The 90-Day Memoir® is a Live-on-Zoom workshop with Alan Watt that will take you from initial idea to the completion of your memoir's first draft in 90 days.
Recent Posts
Memoir: Mastering the Impossible
“While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.” – Helen Keller The purpose of art is to illuminate the possibility for transformation. The goal of memoir is to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. We’re talking about miracles here. Making the impossible possible. Coal transforms into diamonds. …
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Tell Your Truth
“A book must start somewhere. One brave letter must volunteer to go first, laying itself on the line in an act of faith, from which a word takes heart and follows, drawing a sentence into its wake. From there, a paragraph amasses, and soon a page, and the book is on its way, finding a voice, …
Read More
Writing Memoir
“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” – Anne Lamott It’s funny how guilt emerges when you tell the truth. Why does telling the truth feel like a betrayal? Because it is. You are betraying a lie passed …
Read More
Permission to Write Your Truth
What is the Truth of your story? OK, you’ve outlined your story and you’re getting ready to write your first draft. But something doesn’t feel right. You tell yourself that you’re not ready, that you haven’t done enough research, that the story isn’t thoroughly outlined, or that you are somehow ill-equipped to complete this endeavor …
Read More Making the Impossible Possible
Turning the impossible into something possible is the magic of story. We often have an idea of the direction our story is going. But sometimes we discover that it’s not happening the way we had anticipated. To some degree, we are our protagonist’s journey. This is part of what makes this process so thrilling and …
Read More The Difference Between Journaling and Storytelling
The difference between journaling and storytelling is context. Journaling is simply documenting what happened. Storytelling involves illustrating the meaning of what happened. Our goal as storytellers is to tell a story that builds in meaning as it progresses. Have you ever been to a party and been cornered by someone who tells you some excruciatingly …
Read More
The 90-Day Memoir – Intimacy Hangover
In the first day of The 90-Day Memoir workshop the writers often have some major insights and revelations. But it is the second day that things start to get interesting. Here’s an excerpt from my Day 2 letter to the writers. “Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem to be more afraid …
Read More Memoir: Personal & Universal
The challenge in writing a memoir is that self-examination is not typically meant to be shared. The goal in writing a dynamic memoir lies in offering a transformative experience for our protagonist (our self) by making the personal universal. We all have the story that we tell, either to our self or others, and although …
Read More