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Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper
 
 
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Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper [Paperback]

Lou W. Stanek (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 1, 1996

We all have stories to tell -- of a rapturous first kiss, a life-altering moment of choice, or the shocking revelation of a long-guarded secret. And these stories are often as distinctive, fascinating, exciting and entertaining as those found in the memoirs and autobiographies that currently top the nation's bestseller lists. We just need to know how to tell them best.

Veteran, writing teacher, lecturer, and author of So You Want to Write a Novel, Lou Willet Stanek can help you translate your joys and ordeals, thoughts and triumphs into superbly crafted nonfiction -- taking you step-by-step through the writing process with care, encouragement, and expert advice. She shows you how to unlock your memories, create settings and scenes, protray major characters and dramatic events. And she offers the key to finding your own unique voice, and to presenting your greatest charcter -- yourself -- without boring your reader or sounding egotistical.

Complete with invaluable exercises, nuts-and-bolts techniques, and motivational tools, Writing Your Life is indispensible for every aspiring writer who wishes to mine the rich lode of his or her past for all the gems hidden there.


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Customers buy this book with The Liars' Club: A Memoir $9.12

Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper + The Liars' Club: A Memoir
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lou Willett Stanek, a novelist, critic, and teacher, practices what she preaches. She bases her workshops on the theory described in this book. Dr. Stanek earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, an M.A. at Northwestern, and a B.A. from Eastern Illinois University. She also served as a trustee at Millikin University. A Midwesterner, Dr. Stanek now lives in New York and teaches writing at The New School of Social Research.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; First Edition edition (December 1, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0380786257
  • ISBN-13: 978-0380786251
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #887,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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4 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What A Terrific Book To Jump Start Your Life Stories!, July 20, 1998
This review is from: Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper (Paperback)
We all have memories of people, places, and events in our lives others would enjoy reading about. My problem all these years has been finding a starting place. Dr. Stanek solved the problem for me, and I recommend you let her solve it for you. I read her book all the way through without putting it down, it was so much fun dredging up memories. I have pages and pages of notes about people, places, things, pets, adventures, embarrassments, and other fun things to write about--all from reading this little book. I'm now starting over and doing her exercises. What fun! Your children and their children and their children will bless you for writing your life stories. And you'll feel good about yourself too. Read this book soon!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Starting Place for a Wannabe Writer, February 16, 1998
This review is from: Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper (Paperback)
The first speech given by every novice before a Toastmasters's group is to talk about oneself. Having oneself as a topic is the easiest assignment, the perfect ice-breaker to help overcome first time jitters. The same can be said of the memoir. First time writers often don't know where, or how, to begin. As with all good teachers--Lou Willett Stanek gives the student/reader permission to begin. She eases the would-be writer through self-doubt. She explains the difference between autobiography and memoir. She gives the new writer a way to begin by writing a memoir. This book is a good place to start learning the joy of writing.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Get the Juices Flowing, May 22, 2008
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ColorOrange (Ford, VA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper (Paperback)
I got my penny plus shipping/handling worth out of this book. While Dr. Stanek maybe wordy she is very creative with her word usage. I was able follow her except until I got to the end of chapter 17, I nearly forgot what she was talking about. She gave a lot of ideas often triggered my memory that I stopped reading to write.

I wouldn't consider this a reference book but one to provide inspiration and to get the juices flowing.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
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The magic words for fiction writers are "what if . . ."; for memoir writers, "I remember . . ." breaks the ice. Read the first page
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New York, Dylan Thomas, Las Vegas, Gore Vidal, Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Joan Didion, Russell Baker, University of Chicago, Anna Quindlen, Che Guevara, Frank Kermode, Madison Park, Maya Angelou, Richard Nixon, Robert Lipsyte, World War
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