After last week’s flight into literary fancy, it’s back to basics with those ‘how-to-do-it’ books on my shelf. Ignoring John Mullan’s how novels work book, I still think James N Frey’s book How to Write a Damned Good Novel is, well, damned good. It was published in 1987 so I’ll just check if you can … Continue reading BACK TO REALITY
I have been invited to design and give a 2-morning workshop on writing memoir. Brilliant. I've been wanted to workshop writing memoir for a while now. Easy, I thought. After all I've written my own memoir. Then I read someone else's memoir and then another and then a book which was really bio-fiction, which took … Continue reading Memoir – What Exactly Is It? (1)
Anyone out there who has read my memoir, The Baby Box, could be forgiven for assuming that I am an only child. One friend certainly did and said that being an only child explained why my mother was so harsh with me. No, my mother was harsh because I upset the middle-class, domestic apple-cart big … Continue reading Whose Memory?
In my last blog I described two of the book groups I’ve talked to and discussed the various questions which were put to me. Although this is putting the cart before the horse, (I am about to write several blogs devoted to writing a memoir) I said I’d deal with the question about a memoir … Continue reading Writing a Memoir – How a memoir is a Construct.
My memoir The Baby Box was officially published yesterday. However, the book has been available since the end of January and I've been enjoying a busy time selling copies. Therefore I've already received emails, cards and telephone calls from readers with their, always encouraging, comments. Two questions about the book have repeatedly been asked: the … Continue reading The Baby Box a Memoir: Was I an only child?
I have a completed manuscript which I am trying to place. It began as the diary of a certain two years of my life which soon became a complete history. I amended a chapter of the manscript to read as a complete piece and submitted it for the Fish Short Memoir Prize. It was shortlisted. … Continue reading Memoir…or not?
My work for the next week is completing a final edit on my memoir A Green Girl to obtain a publishing cost from Matador, the self-publishing specialists. Another person, experienced in editing, is reading it and making suggestions. Occasionally we don’t agree. Interestingly the chapter which is the most difficult to agree on is the … Continue reading FITTING TOGETHER THE PIECES
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
jane hayward 