Author Archives: first person productions
You Can Go Home Again
I have just returned from a family reunion in Winona Lake, Indiana, where I spent summers as a child. I blogged about those memories previously on True Stories Well Told…. an essay I’d written in the mid 1990s. Here is … Continue reading
On Writing and Structure…
Lately I’ve been working on a series of articles that combine insights from 14 interviews on talent management (nothing memoir-related there, more’s the pity), and also consulting with an old friend on a book on innovation he’s writing. The combination … Continue reading
Wisconsin Writers’ Association Jade Ring Contest: Entries Due June 15, 2012
Writing is such a private, personal act, it can often feel thankless. And without thanks, wither motivation? Recognition is motivating. It provides confirmation from a community that what you’ve produced is technically and aesthetically good, that what you worked so … Continue reading
Restoring Family Nature
Appearing today on the APH blog is an essay I developed recently for a class. My intent was to produce an example of the “complication, three developments, resolution” outline structure applied to the opinion-essay format (as opposed to an anecdotal … Continue reading
Why memoir writers need to read fiction
For the longest time–decades–I’ve been reading nonfiction. Autobiographies and memoirs, biographies and oral histories, you can imagine. It wasn’t just my obsessive interest in the craft of writing about life–it was some kind of Yankee holdover from my ancestors, some … Continue reading
A thought for Mothers’ Day…
Mothers’ Day has never been an easy occasion for me. My family wasn’t big on celebrating the “Hallmark Holidays.” I remember one time when I was about 12 my friend Janet took me with her when she went shopping for … Continue reading
The Transplanting
May 1, 2012 Yesterday morning I spent an hour on a conference call. As I sat, my eyes took in activity on the small dead-end street that tees off from the busy main street outside the window of my home … Continue reading
“Celebration of Writing” at Goodman South Madison Library May 5th
I’ll be master of ceremonies at next Saturday’s “Celebration of Writing” at the Goodman South Madison Library. I hope if you’re in town you’ll stop by and enjoy the fellowship of fellow writers. The fun begins at 1:00pm with your choice … Continue reading
“No one can be damaged by someone telling his own life story”
Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea and focus of criticism over truth in memoir (about which I blogged previously), is back in the news–and the courtroom. Four people who bought Mortenson’s books have brought a lawsuit against Mortenson, co-author … Continue reading
Italy’s Festa della Liberazione, an occasion for action
Today is April 25, the Festival of Liberation in Italy, celebrating the end of World War II. Four years ago I was celebrating in Cinque Terre. Today, my heart is breaking for the friends I made there and the devastation … Continue reading
True Stories Well Told 