Writing Your Life: A Journey of Discovery - Softcover

Miller, Patti

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1865084344 ISBN 13: 9781865084343

Publisher: Allen & Unwin, 2001

Synopsis

Exploring both the mystery of personal discovery and the practical side of putting experiences to paper, this book urges people to write about their lives and learn from what they've composed. It provides techniques for getting started, handling perspective, finding an inner voice, and bringing experiences to life on the page. It also explores issues like selective memory, emotional healing, and how to communicate truths without clichés. This book illustrates the passion and delight of writing with the addition of a new anthology of stories by people who have practiced these techniques.

About this title

Review:

Patti Miller's Writing Your Life, created from workshops Miller has taught in Australia, is a lovely guide to autobiographical writing. This edition, though still geared primarily toward beginners interested in life writing, also gives the nod to more formal types of personal writing, such as memoir and creative nonfiction. Miller touches on the rewards and difficulties of writing about one's life, the selective nature of memory, and the emotions that arise from personal storytelling. Her chapters provide advice on remembering, finding one's voice, choosing details, creating drama, and imposing structure. Each includes examples from such authors as Jill Ker Conway, Sally Morgan, and Drusilla Modjeska. A full third of the book is given over to an anthology of "stories of what it is like to be in the world," written by people in Miller's classes. They are testament to the fact that powerful writing can come from all quarters. --Jane Steinberg

About the Author:

Patti Miller has taught creative writing and literature for 15 years and is the author of The Last One Who Remembers and Child.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen & Unwin
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1865084344
• ISBN 13: 9781865084343
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 348