April Meeting

Thanks, Amy Friedman, author of Desperado’s Wife, for joining us for the April Write On Meeting on Blog Talk Radio. We talked about writing memoir, Amy’s secret to critiquing, the importance of “shaking up” your writing, and more.

Here are some of Amy’s recommendations for writers:

– Read everything first for enjoyment/enlightenment/news/ideas, and then return to what you’ve read as a student of writing—when you discover a paragraph, a sentence, a chapter you love, read it to understand the artistry behind it.

– Don’t be afraid (when writing memoir) of what others will think/feel/say. Remember, writing and publishing are two different things. The first draft or two or ten must be written without self-editing. Don’t even change anyone’s name. Somewhere down the road you may decide either to not publish, to change names, to change memoir to fiction or any number of other possibilities. But in those early drafts, the moment you fictionalize, you’ve lost the path to your truth.

– As I said above, publishing and writing are two different games and ought not be confused with each other. The writer’s task is to write the best damn work he or she can—whatever the “market” is calling “in” will change in two months anyway, so don’t let market forces blind you to your inner voice.

Listen to our entire conversation:

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Also post 2012 Accomplishment and 2013 Goals.