Tag: history
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More Tips about Constructing the Timeline of a Memoir
Every memoir writer has to steer through these decisions, to determine not only how much to include, but also how to do it gracefully. By working out their challenges with time, character development and suspense, they successfully set the reader’s expectation and then fulfilled those expectations. These memoirs and the hundreds of others I have…
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Memoirs Extend History a Little and Wisdom a Lot
These are the dramas that bring out the magnificent side of history — not the horrifying actions of murderers, but the pervasive attempt of ordinary people to stay balanced and strong in the midst of horror.
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How eBooks Revolutionize Your Memoir Options
Many aspiring memoir writers face similar problems. We know our story has dramatic impact that would intrigue some subset of people. But when we learn how to pitch it to a publisher or agent, we find that we must demonstrate its salability. It’s difficult to guarantee the five or ten thousand readers that traditional publishers…
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What Is the Nonfiction Bonus in your Memoir?
In fiction writing classes, we learn that to create a powerful bond with readers, every bit of information must directly serve the power of the story. While that prevailing rule dominates genre fiction, I have found that successful memoirs often violate it. Memoir readers are curious about the world, and so, we also want information…
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Seeing History Through The Eyes of One Man
Ji Chaozuh’s memoir offers a crash course in the history of modern China, provided through the eyes of a man who was in the thick of it. Ji was an English translator for the two main characters of Communist China, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. Ji Chaozhu was present during some of the most powerful…
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Awakening bad memories helps shape your new life
The intern at the hospital who was accustomed to treating survivors of barroom brawls had no idea how violated I felt. Not wanting to order tests, he brushed off my headache. “Of course it hurts,” he said. “You were kicked in the head.”
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