I sat down recently with Gopal Singh, host of the Career Convos & Coffee Podcast to talk about leaving my marketing career to become a writer. We talked about all of the career pivots I’ve made over the years, beginning with what prompted me to leave my marketing job way back in 1998 to start […]
Leaving Marketing to Become a Writer Read More »
We often encounter deer on our morning walks and today was no different. What was different was their response. She stomped her foot as she stared at me from the hill above the road. Her eyes met mine and never waivered. I noticed a flicker of white out of the corner of my eye as
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This piece is the result of a memoir-writing exercise to shine a light behind a difficult character. I sat down to write about my memories of mom and ended up writing 3,000 words that were more about me than her! I pulled out the part that resonated the most, cleaned it up, and I’ve shared
Memories of Mom: How a 25-year-old letter changed everything Read More »
I was inspired to write this piece after visiting Hospice patients with my certified therapy dog Faith. I don’t know if it qualifies as memoir, but it’s writing about my life and that’s why it’s here. She bounded in the front door with the exuberance of an excited toddler. It’s this particular trait that always
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After completing a writing lesson on the topic of Show and Tell, I realized it’s probably the one skill I most need to master in my quest to become a memoirist. My journalism education taught me to report the facts. As a nonfiction writer, I focused on writing clear and concise descriptive prose. Painting a
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Now that dad’s gone and mom is 84 years old and slowly losing her memory, I find myself trying to put together the puzzle pieces of my life. Of their lives. Of how our lives intersected. And, how it all made me into the person I am today. This quest is generating more questions than
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The email landed in my inbox on Saturday afternoon. That’s when they always arrive. Every week, a new chapter released, with video and text lessons, interviews, suggested reading, and of course writing exercises. The subject line read, Writing is Prohibited. I breathed a sigh of relief. After beginning the memoir writing course with an excited
Writing is Prohibited Read More »
My journey as a writer began in college. I studied journalism, advertising, and marketing at San Diego State University. It was an interesting combination of liberal arts and commerce. Writing to communicate and writing to persuade and sell. I wrote everything from marketing copy to magazine articles. I even served as senior editor of the
From Journalism student to Aspiring Memoirist Read More »
This is my very first writing exercise from a memoir writing course. The assignment was to write a profile of a person in 200 words. The chair sits empty now, as does the house. The blue recliner positioned just in front of the television. But watching TV wasn’t its primary purpose. Reading was. A retired
As he handed me off to my future husband, the words escaped quietly from his mouth, “Lucky Dog.” The crowded church was full of wedding guests but those words meant for just two people: my fiancé and me. The softly spoken phrase fell from his lips through a wide smile, his eyes focused directly on