How to Write a Memoir in 30 Days: Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating and Publishing Your Personal Story by Roberta PHD TemesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great book for beginning writers. It includes daily prompts, examples, and grammar tips.
However ... while there are many excellent exercises in this book to help you process your ideas, I'm quite skeptical about the concept of writing an entire memoir in thirty days. Maybe you could finish a rough draft, but it's misleading to suggest that in a mere thirty days you'll be ready to pursue publication.
Temes writes on page 11, "Do not worry about your ability as a writer. Later on, toward the end of the thirty days, you will quickly and easily learn how to polish your writing."
I agree that for a first draft you should not worry about the quality of your writing, but I disagree that polishing is quick or easy. Learning to polish your writing is a time consuming and often challenging task. It's one I love, and I hope to do it for the rest of my life, but it is not quick or necessarily easy ... for me at least.
If you take into account that you most likely will NOT finish your memoir in thirty days, you can use this book as a guide to brainstorm through your life stories. This would make an excellent gift book for someone who loves journaling or someone who is ready to document their life for their children.
As Temes writes in the introduction, "They may not yet realize it, but your children and their children and grandchildren may one day want to know about you -- your opinions, your ideas."
If this describes you and your purpose behind writing, then this would be a great book for you!
View all my reviews
Great write-up! Writing is a talent, and it must not be wasted. As with everything that we had been entrusted, we should let it grow and share it with the world.>self education resources
ReplyDelete