http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog Hundreds of Essays and Interviews to Help You Read and Write Memoirs Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:39:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 2006-2007 jerrywaxler@yahoo.com (Jerry Waxler) jerrywaxler@yahoo.com (Jerry Waxler) Self-help 1440 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/LearnMemoirCoverFront-small.jpg http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog 144 144 Reading and writing memoirs. Record the Stories of Your Life, tips, how-to, memoir book reviews, by Jerry Waxler memoir, writers, self-help, book-reviews, essays Jerry Waxler Jerry Waxler jerrywaxler@yahoo.com no no http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/gwartney-memoir/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/gwartney-memoir/#comments Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:50:48 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=1146 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/gwartney-memoir/feed/ 0 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/self-concept-launch-group/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/self-concept-launch-group/#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 12:40:40 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=982 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/self-concept-launch-group/feed/ 0 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/philadelphia-courage/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/philadelphia-courage/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:17:52 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=641 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/philadelphia-courage/feed/ 1 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-workshop-story/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-workshop-story/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:02:02 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=595 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/memoir-workshop-story/feed/ 3 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/hardship-stories-strength/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/hardship-stories-strength/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:48:20 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=509 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/hardship-stories-strength/feed/ 0 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/fact-in-fiction/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/fact-in-fiction/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:06:31 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/?p=442 http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/fact-in-fiction/feed/ 4 0:08:38 Fiction seems entirely different from memoirs. And yet, when I carefully compare the two forms, I discover they are intimately connected, each breathing life into the other. A good memoir is more than just a raw dump of facts. It generates dramatic [...] Fiction seems entirely different from memoirs. And yet, when I carefully compare the two forms, I discover they are intimately connected, each breathing life into the other. A good memoir is more than just a raw dump of facts. It generates dramatic tension by using fiction techniques like suspense and character development. And the support is mutual. Fiction contains much real-world truth. Jerry Waxler no no http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/be-here-now-by-writing-a-memoir/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/be-here-now-by-writing-a-memoir/#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:39:26 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/be-here-now-by-writing-a-memoir/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/be-here-now-by-writing-a-memoir/feed/ 6 0:05:45 When I first heard the phrase "Be Here Now" in the early seventies, it was from the title of a book by Ram Dass. According to the book, the best way to live a full life is to savor your direct experience, whether smelling a flower, watching a sunset[...] When I first heard the phrase "Be Here Now" in the early seventies, it was from the title of a book by Ram Dass. According to the book, the best way to live a full life is to savor your direct experience, whether smelling a flower, watching a sunset, or even when experiencing the sadness of a loss. By paying close attention, you can penetrate the mysteries of the cosmos. As a hippie, I was already ignoring lessons from the past and plans for the future, so I didn't think Ram Dass offered me any value. Philosophy, Spirituality/Transcendence Jerry Waxler no no http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/fame-laughter-and-self-discovery/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/fame-laughter-and-self-discovery/#comments Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:45:44 +0000 jerrywaxler http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/fame-laughter-and-self-discovery/ http://memorywritersnetwork.com/blog/fame-laughter-and-self-discovery/feed/ 6 0:00:01 by Jerry Waxler (This blog is also available as an audio file. See the Podcast player control at the end of this post.) After the success of Toby Young’s first memoir, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” he received a call f[...] by Jerry Waxler (This blog is also available as an audio file. See the Podcast player control at the end of this post.) After the success of Toby Young’s first memoir, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” he received a call from a Hollywood producer who was impressed by Young’s knack for transforming a jerk into a lovable character. In a sense, Young was being called to Hollywood. Now all he had to do was write a screenplay, and his attempt to do so forms the basis for his second memoir “The Sound of No Hands Clapping.” Just as the title is a send up of a Zen Koan, Young’s second memoir is a sort of send up of itself. Did I really want to read a memoir about a writer trying to profit from his previous memoir? The tongue in cheek tone reminded me of the way Jerry Seinfeld’s television show was supposed to be “about nothing.” But unlike Seinfeld’s characters, who never grow or learn, Toby Young grows in all sorts of ways. “The Sound of No Hands Clapping” turns out to be more than light entertainment. It provides insights into life and some excellent lessons for memoir writers. For starters, consider the familiar problem expressed by many aspiring memoirists. “How do you tattle on someone without incurring a law suit?” Young provides one solution. Instead of naming the producer who hired him to write the script, supposedly “one of the most powerful men in Hollywood” Young calls him simply “Mr. Hollywood” and states that the facts are altered to hide this person’s identity. You might try a similar technique to avoid the wrath of someone you want to write about. When Young fears his wife’s pregnancy might derail his writing career, he discusses with her the wisdom of having a baby at this time in their lives. These are universal questions ordinary people ask every day. It’s a riot listening to him trying to convince her not to have the baby, and her flipping his logic upside down with the ease of an advanced judo master. By listening in on their discussion, I had a laugh, gained wonderful insights into both the male and female perspectives, and frankly feel wiser about the decision points of this issue than when I started. While Young tried to kick start his own career, his buddy Sean Langan was trodding a parallel path. Langan, now a successful documentary film director, also had recently married and had babies. As the two men approach their domestic responsibilities, I am entertained by a buddy tale while at the same time I’m learning how a young man thinks when deciding to settle down. Young provides more observations about the life of a writer through detailed conversations with another friend, a screenwriter and television producer Rob Long. These conversations with his mentor provide insider glimpses into “The Business,” in an entertaining portrayal, loaded with information for would be screenwriters. It’s typical of Young’s personal connection with his readers that the knowledge falls not from the sky but from a friend. Through the book, the author discusses his observations of three main themes — making it in the movie industry, how to harness celebrity culture to succeed as a writer, and the shift in mentality of growing from a footloose young man to a married father. He develops these topics with the care of an expert essayist, without ever interfering with the power of the story. In fact, I became so intrigued by his observations, I began looking forward to these excursions. The lesson for me is that a good writer can offer lovely compelling observations about life without interfering with the story. To learn how to write a screenplay, Young attended a workshop with story guru Robert McKee, author of a classic tome on writing, called simply “Story.” McKee says that by the end of a successful story the protagonist has psychologically [...] Jerry Waxler no no