A soup-to-nuts guide for lifestory writing projects, large and small.
Everything you need to know to create a written legacy of your life. This book covers everything from planning the project through writing, editing, layout and publishing options. It includes an overview of grammar and punctuation, and general guideline for working with your computer. The book includes an overview of grammar and punctuation, and general guideline for working with your computer.
Professional Reviews
Pick Up Your Pen and Write, Patricia Pando
This is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-going book. Its encouraging admonishments should fall on the willing ears of beginning life-writers and experienced ones as well. "Start writing," the author urges the reluctant writer at any skill level. With this book, the writer will never go it alone. Sharon Lippincott is a master project person, a worker bee, not a flitting butterfly. Sticking-with-it is a problem all writers experience at one time or another. The solution? "When you have a purpose...you'll discover awesome staying power." Having this purpose is critical, no matter if it is to share the story, your story, with family and friends, to use writing as a means of self-exploration, or...?
Since "Sharon's Stories" comprise the first appendix, I feel comfortable using the author's first name. Indeed, after completing the book, I felt we are great and close friends. Sharon defines what she deems "lifestory writing" on the very first page, indeed the first line of the book. It is "the process of transforming your own essence into works on paper for other people to know--daring to expose not only your actions and experiences, but your thoughts, your choices, your perceptions, and your feelings." It may sound daunting, but as Sharon explains, it becomes not only doable but fun and challenging. As a part of the main text, she recounts her own experiences in discovering this creative process. She peppers the text with exercises. Stop and do them! As examples, she uses her own life stories from the appendix. Again, stop! Put in a bookmark and take the time to read the stories as you proceed through the text.
Don't worry about what goes down on the page as you "start writing." "The underlying theme of this book is that anything you write is okay," says Sharon. Fine, so far. But there's more--we can't stop there but must make a choice--let it stand and go on to another story or make this story better. Each choice is fine, but make the decision. Those who make the second choice move on to editing and tightening--fine-tuning their stories. This is a book for storytellers of all levels of skill and degrees of experience. The outright beginner will benefit by starting at page 1 and working through to the level where she is both comfortable and satisfied. The more seasoned writer may do the same or pick and choose. I found the chapter on "Stories from the Shadows" particularly helpful as I did the sections on conflicting family memories and writing other people's stories.
The four appendices will be useful to all. As I've stated, Sharon's personal stories are a delight and can either stand alone or serve as outstanding examples. The "stuck" writer may head for the second appendix, which is a series of memory triggers. There will be something here to get your pen moving. I've worked with word processors for well over twenty years, yet until I browsed "Layout and Other Geeky Stuff" in Appendix 3, I've never known how to insert a caption with a picture. This may be geeky stuff, but it is also neat stuff. Sharon does a great job of explaining. Finally, Appendix 4 offers two bibliographies. The first is of books cited in the text. The second comprises as complete and current a list of books on life-writing and memoir as I have ever encountered. A perfect place to go to select your next book to read in the endless challenge to tell your own story in your own way.
What I'd love to do is hop in the car and drive myself off to spend a few days at one of Sharon's workshops. But until that opportunity comes along, I'll be content with purchasing a new notebook and letting Sharon encourage me via her written word.
A superbly written, organized, and presented instructional manual, by Midwest Book Review
"The Heart And Craft Of Lifestory Writing: How To Transform Memories Into Meaningful Stories" by Sharon M. Lippincott is an expertly written, 'reader friendly', specialized instruction guide that is especially recommended reading for anyone aspiring to write their memoirs and autobiographies. It is also an excellent 'how to' reference for authors who are writing biographies based upon the reminiscences and anecdotal stories of their subjects and others such as family members, friends and associates. All the proper writing tools are covered, as well as such vitally important issues as clearly identifying the overall purpose of the life-story, a personal plan of action adapted to the writer's workstyle preference and personality, stimulating the recall of memories, editing, and preparing the final manuscript for publication. A superbly written, organized, and presented instructional manual, "The Heart And Craft Of Lifestory Writing" especially commended to the attention of anyone who would like to record their own life story for the benefit of their posterity, as well as the general reading public.
This is your journal, for your writing. An interactive journal with historical tidbits designed to nurture creativity and self-motivation, features one side for drawings, sketches, or pasting personal pictures, and the other side lined for notes or j
This book helps you get to the root of imposter syndrome and provides easy to use strategies to uproot it once and for all. Only be getting to the deeper underlying issues can you build sustainable, reliable self-confidence personally and professiona
