In honor of Independence Day, I asked writers in my memoir classes to come up with 500-word essays about a time in their lives when they felt particularly independent. ”What circumstances left you feeling that way?” Writers came back with stories about riding a bike without training wheels, camping with friends during high school, their […]

In honor of Father’s Day, I asked writers in my memoir classes to put together 500-word essays about the traits they share with their fathers. After reminding them that a trait is a particular talent, characteristic, quality, or tendency someone has, I gave some examples. “Do you and your father share a similar outlook on […]

Just got news that the Library of Congress Talking Book Service has created a Braille version of Writing Out Loud — it’s available free of charge to Americans who are blind or visually impaired. The Library of Congress administers the National Library Service (NLS), a talking-book and Braille program available for free to those of […]

The schedule for Northwestern University’s Summer Writers Conference just came out, and guess what? I’m on it! Here’s the workshop I’ll be leading there on Saturday morning, August 11: Smelling is Believing: Writing Using Your Other Senses with Beth Finke Visual descriptions come easy to most writers, but when it comes to bringing readers into […]

The questions Robin Sitten and I got from our audience at the Perkins School for the Blind Thursday sure were thought-provoking. Here’s a sampling: Did you write your memoir Long Time, No See as therapy, or did you write it to share your journey with others? The people who sign up for your memoir classes, […]