Memoir Writing - Book resources

Elaine's Favorites:

"Writer's Inc", published by Write Source.
This is a good, general book for punctuation, correct grammar, easily confused words, etc.

"How to Write The Story of Your Life," Thomas, Frank P., Writer's
Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1984.
This is one of my favorites.

"Writing Family Histories and Memoirs," Polking, Kirk, Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 1995.
Another favorite.

"Writing Your Life: Putting Your Past on Paper," Stanek, Lou Willett, New York: Avon Books, 1996.
Has some good stuff. Written by a PhD and some parts seem a bit "stuffy" for the average reader.

"Writing from Personal Experience," Kelton, Nancy Davidoff, Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1997.
I really like this one. Has "exercises" and memory joggers. Good advice. Lots of tips. Very readable.

"Writing Life Stories," Roorbach, Bill, Cincinnati, Ohio: Story Press, 1998.
Lots of examples and exercises. A bit "textbookie" for an average beginner. Has good stuff, though.

"Writing Personal Essays: How to Shape Your Life Experiences for the Page," Bender, Sheila, Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1995.
This one is good if you want to know the differences between description essays, narration essays, how-to essays, comparison/contrast essays, etc. This is more of a textbook for people who want to sell their work.

"Families Writing," Stillman, Peter R., Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1989.
This one is great if you want to involve other family members in writing. Samples, and lots of ideas for "family projects." A "fun" book to read.

Memoir Writing - Book resources

Sherry's list

Elaine has such a great list, that I hate to add my few, but for beginning genealogists, who are trying to climb their family tree and collect family history, I think the "Unpuzzling Your Past" Books are really great. But, any book that Elaine says is good is bound to be GREAT!

"Family Focused, a Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Autobiography and Family History" by Janice T. Dixon, Ph.D., Mount Olympus Publishing, Wendover, Nevada.
This book has examples, questions, and has help for each stage of writing one's memoirs.

"Unpuzzling Your Past, A Basic Guide to Genealogy," by Emily Anne Croom, Betterway Books, Cincinnati, Ohio.
This book is more of a how-to for doing genealogy research, but also has a chapter on writing and sharing your family history, with some helpful questions. Good beginner's genealogy book.

"Unpuzzling Your Past Workbook, Essential forms and letters for all genealogists," by Emily Anne Croom, Betterway Books, Cincinnati, Ohio.
This book has more than 40 forms that can be torn out and photocopied to help you gather and record your family history. It also has sets of questions that are decade specific for gathering information from various generations. Good beginner's Genealogy book.

"Producing a Quality Family History," by Patricia Law Hatcher
I have not read this book, but see it advertised on Ancestry.com, and know that Hatcher is a knowledgeable, informative writer for Ancestry Daily News

Other Helpful Links

Memoirs Tips
Tips from Elaine & Sherry

Memoir's book Lists
Books to get you started

Memoir's Links
Other helpful web sites.

Questionnaires
Questions for families and towns, just to get you started.

Sherry Kline
410 N. Park
Wellington, KS 67152
PH: 620-326-3401
e-mail: skline@sutv.com

Elaine Clark
217 N. Oliver Rd.
Wellington, KS 67152
PH: 620-455-3608
mailto: llclark@wiredks.com