Category: Dawn Novotny
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How Excellent Must Your Memoir Be?
When I decided to write my memoir, I entered a new chapter of my life. The beginning was easy. I just needed to gather the information and search for anecdotes and timelines. However, from the very beginning, I knew it would be my responsibility to create the illusion that readers were actually participating in the…
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Will the Examined Life Become a Memoir Subgenre?
If the only books you read are ones you find in the bookstore, you might conclude that memoir writers limit their attention to small segments of life. However, many aspiring memoir writers who attend my writing workshops have a much broader agenda. They are interested in discovering the meaning of their entire lives and are…
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In Memoirs, Changing Thoughts Reveal the Wisdom of a Lifetime
Dawn Novotny’s memoir “Ragdoll Redeemed: Growing up in the Shadow of Marilyn Monroe” satisfies the requirement for any good story. The end relieves the tension set in motion at the beginning, and summarized so nicely in the book’s title. As a child, Novotny was a “ragdoll,” a passive child who had been used and abused.…
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If this memoir author is famous, maybe you are too
Consider all the potential readers you are or will be connected with through various personal and internet groups. In addition, to internet acquaintances there are also people who want to know more about your situation. If you grew up in the Midwest, or are involved in Twelve Step programs, or love to quilt, people who…
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A Memoir That Relieves the Lifelong Burden of Shame
After I became a therapist, I quickly realized that reenactment is quite normal. We are often pulled into life situations in which we attempt to replay circumstances of our childhood. The phenomenon often drives us to select partners uncannily reminiscent of our family history.
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