Until a few weeks ago, I had completely dismissed the idea of self-publishing my work. I'd heard of a few success stories, sure, but I felt very attached to the idea of having my memoir published by a traditional publishing house. I knew the odds were good that I'd barely make any money that way. But hey, writers shouldn't expect to make money from their work, right? We write because we love it, and that's all that matters. That's what I kept telling myself even after I found out that most ... [Continue Reading]
A Memoir Misconception: “You’re Too Young to Write a Memoir”
August 13, 2011 By 9 Comments
"Aren't you too young to write a memoir?" I'm asked this question almost every time I tell someone that I'm writing a memoir. I get this question not only from strangers, but from well-meaning friends and family members as well. I know that I'm going to have to explain this a lot as the years go by, and I doubt the question will stop even after my memoir is published. But I'm going to put my answer out there now in the hopes that I can clear this up. Here's the short answer: No. I'm not ... [Continue Reading]
How to Run a Successful Writers’ Workshop
June 23, 2011 By 3 Comments
I wanted to write a follow up to my guest post, "How to Start a Successful Writers' Workshop" featured on WritingForward.com. Once you get your new writers' workshop off the ground, there are many factors that will go into making it successful, productive, and enjoyable for you and your members. You want to create a fun, safe space for writers to share their work that will also accommodate critique and constructive feedback. I joined my very first writers' workshop four years ago and started ... [Continue Reading]
What Exactly is Memoir, Anyway?
June 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When I tell someone that I'm writing a memoir, they often ask me what exactly a memoir is. What defines "memoir" as a genre, and how is it different than a biography or autobiography? First, here's a basic breakdown of the three genres: Biography: The story of a person's life written by someone who is not that person. They are almost always about famous people, politicians, and other public figures. For example: Lillian Hellman: A Life of Foxes and Scoundrels by Deborah Martinson. The book is ... [Continue Reading]
On Writing Memoir: Why You Shouldn’t Use a Pseudonym
May 18, 2011 By 7 Comments
Sari Botton of The Rumpus just released her newest installment of "Conversations With Writers Braver Than Me." In this series, Botton interviews some of the memoirists she admires to explore the reasons why they chose to write memoir, and how they were able to find the courage and strength to do so. The most recent article is an interview with author Elisa Albert. In the article, Botton expresses her concerns with writing about people who are still alive; namely, her parents. Reading the article ... [Continue Reading]
Writers and Confidence
May 9, 2011 By 4 Comments
"Writers" and "confidence." Those two words rarely seem to go hand-in-hand. Writers, along with most other types of artists, often suffer from a severe lack of confidence in their talent and ability. I know I certainly have days when I feel like nothing I write is good enough and worry that I don't have enough published to consider myself a "real writer." Even though I've been writing for most of my life, and have known I wanted to be a writer since I was a kid, I still sometimes worry that I ... [Continue Reading]
The L.A. Times Festival of Books and the Future of Literature
May 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Last Saturday, I attended the L.A. Times Festival of Books. It was my second year going, and my first volunteering. Two friends and I manned an info booth for the first shift of the morning. We were given mustard yellow volunteer shirts, a map, and nothing else. It took a while to get the hang of things, and we gave a lot of bad directions at first, but within an hour, the three of us had become Festival experts. We were giving out directions and drawing lines on maps like we were pros. We got a ... [Continue Reading]
Hollywood, Literature, and Waffles
March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I was worried that I would quickly run out of interesting things to write about in this blog. I'm sure I'd have more to say if I really sat down and thought about it, so that's what I'll try to do. Lately, I've had trouble doing much of anything, especially anything productive or writing-related. It's time for that to change. I had a wonderful evening in Hollywood with some writer friends. We went to see a literary reading at the Hotel Cafe. "Tongue and Groove" is the name of the monthly event ... [Continue Reading]
My New Years Resolution: Make Cupcakes
January 25, 2011 By 2 Comments
My only official New Years Resolution this year was to start making cupcakes. I've always been envious of those people who can bake, those people who show up to events with beautifully decorated cupcakes or cookies. I've secretly longed to be one of those people, to craft such beautiful desserts. So, in honor of the one year anniversary of my writing group, I decided to bring in homemade cupcakes for everyone. Not once in my life have I made cupcakes from scratch, so this was an entirely ... [Continue Reading]
Jumping on the Bandwagon Way Too Late, or Why I’m Finally Reading Harry Potter
January 20, 2011 By 2 Comments
Today, I finally caved and made an account on Twitter. I had resisted the idea for a long time because it seemed unnecessary, like an overly simplified version of Facebook, a website that already consumes an inordinate amount of my time every day. Plus, while I had already gotten sucked into Facebook early on (back when it was only for college students and not open to the entire world and their pets), I still had a chance to save myself from this new trendy, overcrowded social media network. ... [Continue Reading]
