I’m currently reading ‘ Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing’, by Robert A. Caro, the multi-Pulitzer Prize winning biographer of Robert Moses, who changed the urban landscape of New York with his massive bridges and freeways, and Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Jack Kennedy as US President after JFK was assassinated. In his book, Caro says that a […]
As Fathers’ Day approaches are you struggling to find the perfect gift for your dad or grandfather? Do they have enough socks and undies to last a lifetime and is their bathroom cabinet overflowing with aftershave you gave them as presents for the last few years? Have you thought of giving your father or grandfather […]
Virginia Woolf once said, ’How does one write biography?’ The famous writer struggled with how to write the biographies of other people as well as her own autobiography. She drafted her autobiography several times, but each version was different from its predecessor and sadly she ended her life before finishing what could have been her […]
One of the most challenging aspects of life story writing is bringing characters to life. Taking a real-life person, getting inside them and truly knowing them. One of a life writer’s responsibilities is to reveal the gap between the mask a person wears and their secret self. But how can a life writer cut through […]
Writing a memoir helps you find your voice, tell your story, and reach out to others. You start thinking about your memories, moments that make you feel young again, wondering: what is the legacy I’m leaving behind? But how to get started? I speak to many people who want to write their memoir, but they […]
There is an urgent need to introduce life story recording into aged care facilities as part of the patient-centred care of our seniors and people living with dementia. Life story recording includes writing memoirs and life stories, photos books and audio and video recording. Repeated research studies reveal that recording a person’s life story […]
As we approach Australia Day 2019, I’m putting the final touches on the major assignment for the online Family History Writing course I’m doing at the University of Tasmania. We have to write a short narrative focused on one of our ancestors, a place they lived or an event in their life. The narrative must […]
The new year is the perfect time to reflect on everything that happened in our life during 2018. The special moments, ups and downs, challenges, victories and learnings. It is also a time to commit to implementing important changes in our life—changing jobs, retiring, starting a new course or business, taking up exercise, giving up […]
As Christmas approaches are you struggling to find the perfect gift for your parents or grandparents? Do your Dad and Grandfather have enough socks and undies to last a lifetime and is your Mum’s bookcase and that of your Grannie bursting at the seams with recipe books they never read? Have you thought of giving […]
