Writing Life Stories: How To Make Memories Into Memoirs, Ideas Into Essays And Life Into Literature

by Bill Roorbach

Book Overview

How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays, and Life into Literature From drawing a map of a remembered neighborhood to signing a form releasing yourself to take risks in your work, Roorbach offers innovative techniques that will trigger ideas for all writers. Writing Life Stories is a classic text that appears on countless creative nonfiction and composition syllabi the world over. This updated 10th anniversary edition gives you the same...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582975272
• ISBN13: 9781582975276
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Do It Yourself Creative Non-fiction Writing Class

Bill Roorbach, through this book, has been my early morningcompanion for a month now. .... If you have in mind to write your memoirs,you must have this book. Physically it is a short, easily read lessonplan, but intellectually and spiritually it is massive. Some of theexercises you can complete in 10 minutes, some may take months- or alifetime. Roorbach has found the way to "get you going"instead of sitting there in front of the monitor with a blank screenstaring back. How does he do it? He is a great teacher; he providesclassmates for you through examples from his real-time classes; hegives you permission to write really bad stuff- one of the exercisesis to write yourself an all-purpose disclaimer; he gives you startingpoints which in turn give you wings. Even the accomplished (as inpublished) author would benefit from having this book on his shelf toturn to in a writing crisis. ....

Helpful, specific instruction and funny too

Bill Roorbach is a terrific teacher. WRITING LIFE STORIES is a clear, step-by-step writing class with excellent exercises, covering all the elements of good writing, including characters, description, details, metaphor, and some basic considerations about doing research. It offers suggestions for overcoming hesitation about writing personal material as well as explanations of typical beginning writing errors, which are often made by experienced, published writers. The examples from people who participated in his memoir classes are encouraging and touching.Roorbach knows how hard it is to write about those parts of our lives that are most embarrassing, those family secrets we were warned not to tell to anyone. He says, "Are we going to write the sanitized versions with which we and our families face the world, or are we going to write the truth? Are we going to flinch when the subtle stuff arrives in the course of writing? Or are we going to stare it down? Probably, if you're like me, you're going to flinch. At least in the first drafts. And those places where you do so will be the places that hold your essay back, the places where your essay is dying to teach you something."This book is organized and indexed (thank you!) and the author reminds us of the importance of regular reading. A list of suggested titles to inspire and challenge you is at the end of the book.Sprinkled with humor and wit, WRITING LIFE STORIES is an excellent addition to any writer's library and makes a wonderful text for any basic writing class, including fiction. Buy this book and do the course on your own, letting your words flow before you allow your inner editor to review the work critically.~~Joan Mazza, author of DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE; DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF; WHO'S CRAZY ANYWAY; THINGS THAT TICK ME OFF; and EXPLORING YOUR SEXUAL SELF (May 2001) in The Guided Journal Series with Writer's Digest Books.

Encouraging and full of direction and ideas!

I have had this title on hand for quite some time and finally got around to reading it. I am a published book author with an adult book just trying to get out! This title is perfect for direction and encouragement as well as idea formation. Alot of people may have a life story in them but often it is hard to take the necessary step back to be objective and to set the stage. This book was very helpful to me and was also an interesting read.There are great excercises which enable the reader to move into the writer mode.I got alot from chapter 10 titled, "Building A Building." It is very well done and informative. If you want to write your life story this may be the best place to start!

For storytellers, too

As an emerging storyteller of personal stories, I found this book invaluable. Much of his "memories into memoirs", and "life into literature" sensibility translates well into the storytelling format, as well. Bill Roorbach's clarity on development of character and scene are wonderfully appropriate to a storytelling craft where the tellers are hoping that the audience will be with them in re-creating, in each person's mind, the necessary backdrop for the appropriate enjoyment of the story.I even bought a separate blank book (journal) for recording the various exercises he urges upon the reader. I only wish that I could have had the benefit of feedback on my exercises, such as that which the students received from the author and other students in his classes.Anyone serious, or hoping to become serious, about writing memoirs will be well served by acquainting herself (or himself) with the exercises in this work. BUT---Do take the time and effort to do the exericises!