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Confessions
Ready to Write Memoir?
by, Jill Swenson
May 2, 2017

It can be intimidating to think about writing your life story. Relax. Memoir isn’t your entire life story. It’s a slice of life, not birth to death. Don’t confuse memoir with autobiography. Today the only autobiographies which find publishers are those written by presidential candidates, retired statesmen, and superstars. And typically written by authors who don’t trust biographers to paint their portrait in a flattering… [Read More]

Filed Under: Apologia, Autobiography, Confessions, Dr. James Pennebaker, Joshua Smyth Ph.D., Lisa Dale Norton, narrative arc, Orations, Shimmering Images, writing to heal
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Writing Memoir: Getting Started
by, Jill Swenson
October 13, 2012

Where to begin? Getting clarity on the genre of memoir is a good start. Then writing one memory. It can be intimidating to think of writing your life story beginning at your birth. So, don’t write autobiography. The classical forms of autobiography are called apologia, oration, and confession. Apologia are written as self-justifications for one’s actions. Orations are written to document one’s literary talents in… [Read More]

Filed Under: Apologia, Autobiography, Biography, Confessions, Ego, genre, Id, memoir, narrative arc, Orations, Superego
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