I used to watch a TV show called Clean Sweep. It always started with a room in complete disarray with so much clutter that you couldn't see anything. It always ended with a beautiful room featuring a few prized possessions that had formerly been hidden in the clutter. In the middle, the expert organizer, Peter Walsh*, had to be ruthless to help ... Read More
April 22, 2021 Leave a Comment
April 7, 2021 2 Comments
Writing Momentum
Have you noticed that when you get into a writing rhythm, the writing becomes easier? Conversely, if you've let some time go by without writing, you might find you have developed some resistance to returning to the project. It's like when you're riding a bike uphill and you have to stop for something. When you start back up, that first 100 ... Read More
March 9, 2021 Leave a Comment
Practice Letting Go
One of the hardest parts of writing about ourselves is sharing our inner thoughts and emotions. Sometimes we don't even allow ourselves to mentally examine parts of our lives or relationships because there are realities that make us uncomfortable. In other cases, it may just be that we prefer to present the best part of ourselves. If this rings ... Read More
June 4, 2020 Leave a Comment
Make Your Memoir Worthwhile
If you are writing a memoir or autobiography for yourself or your family, you may have asked yourself if it will be worth your time. Here are a few tips on how to make your memoir worthwhile. Make sure you identify your objectives and your intended audience before you start. Click here to download our FREE Define Your Life Stories Project ... Read More
February 25, 2020 Leave a Comment
Epson FastFoto FF-680W Review
I don't know if I'll ever get to do an Epson FastFoto FF-680W* review, but I sure hope so. As of this writing, it claims to be the world’s fastest personal photo scanner. It can scan thousands of photos as fast as one photo per second at 300 dpi. That's plenty big to go in your memoir. However, if you want something larger, it still does about 8 ... Read More
November 30, 2019 Leave a Comment
Writing About Shame or Regrets
All too often those of us writing memoirs only for our families, try to sugarcoat uncomfortable stories or leave them out altogether. If that's the way you want to do it, that's still better than not writing anything at all. However, you might miss the opportunity to make someone else feel okay about their own story or even provide a guide for a ... Read More
March 7, 2019 Leave a Comment
Overcoming “Photo Overwhelm”
This post is for anyone who is overwhelmed by photos—by the thought of a collection that is so large and disorganized that it's hard to see how you can ever get through it. It doesn't matter whether you have prints, slides, negatives, or digital photos, make sure you know what you want to accomplish. ... Read More
February 21, 2019 Leave a Comment
Capture Stories About a Shared Experience
I recently listened to an episode of the Snap Judgement, a podcast that captures true stories from ordinary people. This episode was about the day the ballistic missile alert was accidentally sent to the residents of Hawaii. It was was a compilation of stories from people who experienced those 38 minutes believing the worst was about to happen. ... Read More
July 17, 2018 Leave a Comment
Shadow Box of Memories
Last week I was visiting my parents and my Mom asked me to carry a few things from the garage to the basement. One of the items was a shadow box loaded with keepsakes that had belonged to my grandmother and my aunt. I had seen this box before and remembered there were other shadow boxes that my mother and other family members had put together ... Read More
April 10, 2018 Leave a Comment
Digitize Your Slides
If you were born after 1980, the phrase "digitize your slides" may seem strange. Maybe you have never even seen or touched a photographic slide. However, for those of us a little older, digital cameras and smartphones were once the stuff of science fiction. Years ago, we actually had to wait sometimes weeks or months to see the images captured on ... Read More
