The Memoir Revolution

Category: Journaling

January 28, 2011

Turning Journals and Notebooks Into a Memoir

Author Interview, Journaling, Rick Skwiot

Author Interview, essay, expatriate, Journaling, memoir, Mexico, notebooks, Rick Skwiot, structure

Rick Skwiot: My journals were crucial in my development as a writer. Not only did I record events of my life, but I also, as you suggest, wrote fictional scenes there, experimented with writing styles, penned criticism on the books I was reading, recorded my dreams and more. It was a mishmash of fact and…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
September 22, 2010

Healing With Words, Hers and Yours

Book Review, Cancer, Journaling

Book Review, breast cancer, cancer, Journaling, memoir

Once you have written in your journal, you may desire to publish your story or you may not. Many aspiring memoir writers ask “why should I write my story?” While there are many reasons to consider, one factor to take into account is the value your story might have for other people. Consider the support…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
May 25, 2010

Interview with Robert Waxler, English Professor and memoir author, Part 1

Author Interview, Family, Journaling

author, father, grieving, interview, Literature, memoir, professor, son

I started writing in a notebook right away, not because I was thinking about publishing a book, but because I knew that writing itself would be helpful for me, and I wanted a record of the experience and my thoughts about the experience. I wrote as the events unfolded, and I had no clear idea,…

Written by

Jerry Waxler
May 7, 2010

What is the difference between journaling and memoir writing?

Introspection, Journaling

compare, define memoir, free-writing, Journaling, published writing, Shyness

After years of practice transferring the contents of my mind on to paper, I became a faster, more agile writer. But despite these benefits, the journals themselves were neither informative nor entertaining, and I finally grew tired of writing only for myself.

Written by

Jerry Waxler
December 22, 2009

A diary for social change. A young girl’s terrible experience of war.

Journaling, Social Activism

Coming of age, diary, Erin Gruwell, freedom writers, Journaling, Sarajevo, war, Zlata Filopovic

Somehow Zlata Filopovic’s diary transcended these limits. Perhaps the readability of her entries arose naturally from the war itself. Dramatic tension erupted when, frightened by explosions, her family scrambled to the basement, not knowing how long they would be there or what would be left of their world when they emerged.

Written by

Jerry Waxler
July 20, 2007

Today is the first day of the rest of your memoir

Journaling, Making Memories

If you want to write your memoir some day, try this experiment. Think about today as an important day. What parts of your life right now, today, this month, this year, will be worth reading? This exercise can expand your relationship to memoir writing. For one thing, it will give you an incentive to keep…

Written by

Jerry Waxler