November 2020 - Forever Young Autobiographies

How to document family stories: This might be the best way in 4 steps!

Everything you should know about recording your family stories and family history (plus Black Friday 2020 deal!)

One of the most popular questions I am asked as a life-story writer is how to document family stories?

And the answer is there are many different approaches!

However, I’ve come up with a simple system after many years as a journalist interviewing and sitting down to write different people’s stories.

Most importantly this system is fun, rewarding and repeatable!

Furthermore, these steps are perfect if you want to record family stories for key events or any time of the year.

And they make a great foundation to start other life-story projects like an autobiography, memoir or biography.

So let’s take a look at four steps to document family stories (and keep reading for a great Black Friday 2020 deal on the Your Family Stories System!) …

Gift giving for writers 2020: See how easily you can get gift giving sorted

How to get ideas for Secret Santa and Christmas wish lists in record time

It is the time of year when birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas begin to roll into one.

And it is also the time of year when we swap our writers’ hats for elves’ hats.

It has been one crazy year with Coronavirus quarantine and we all deserve a bit of cheer and gift giving in our lives.

Therefore I’ve come up with a few present ideas for yourself or the writers in your life.

These gifts would be perfect for those sitting down to write an autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

And are helpful no matter how far along a writing journey: planning, writing, editing or publishing.

So spread a little joy with these gift giving ideas to suit all price points …

Book dedication: How to do book dedications in 5 minutes

Amazing secrets about dedication meaning and book dedication examples

We are giving thanks this week as Thanksgiving Day and Christmas holidays loom.

So today’s life-story article is dedicated to … dedications!

Indeed it’s funny how important things can fly under the radar.

Certainly when sitting down to write there is much to think about and consider.

For example, planning, writing, editing and polishing our autobiography, memoir, biography or other life-story project.

However, it is important to remember to write a dedication before printing.

So let’s take a look at what exactly is a book dedication, why it’s needed and how to craft one.

Book review: Pulitzer Prize winner The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart

Biography of a Rhodes Scholar and the father of the Harlem Renaissance by Oxford University Press

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart is a formidable biography on the life and influence of this leading professor, art critic and aesthete.

The book is a solid but illuminating read at 944 pages and was first published by Oxford University Press USA in 2018.

Stewart is a Professor of the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

And is well equipped to lead us on the journey of Locke’s life during the 1800-1900s in segregate America.

Indeed, the biography has won huge acclaim, most notably as winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

So let’s take a look at what this model life-story on the father of the Harlem Renaissance is about and what we can takeaway to improve our own writing …