Among other skills, US teacher Kaylie Jones runs memoir-writing workshops. At the first one I attended, she explained that the good memoirist uses the omniscient Eye to watch over the more personal ‘I’ of the narrator. In seconds flat, she was at the whiteboard drawing an eye in the sky that observed and informed the stick … Continue reading The Eye watching the ‘I’
Category: writing process
Reading for Writers
Before I began writing myself, I read novels primarily for the story. In fact, I revelled in the tale. Even after dissecting themes for my studies in ‘great’ literature, I still craved a good story. Later, while studying creative writing, I heard another student declare that she only reads these days to see how the … Continue reading Reading for Writers
The Interface between Memoir and Fiction
At the launch of Every Second Tuesday, author Lee Kofman observed that certain of the Elwood Writers stories in the anthology exhibited a ‘fascinating’ interface between memoir and fiction. This reflects, I believe, a growing field of writers who are mixing the two genres. Blending them, however, can be a challenge. Debate rages about where … Continue reading The Interface between Memoir and Fiction
The Car Park
During our Melbourne lockdown, 2020, we were each allocated one hour of exercise per day. I drove to the local car park, which overlooks an oval surrounded by trees, and beyond that, a river. There I would just sit before my walk. This was a most splendid moment for me. It was winter, so I … Continue reading The Car Park
Ethics in Memoir
As part of Elwood Writers online anthology launch, host Lee Kofman had prepared a question for me on the ethics of writing about one's family. ‘Margaret, your memoirs in this collection feature various family members. What are your main ethical challenges when you write about others and how do you deal with them?’ The launch … Continue reading Ethics in Memoir
Writing Bad
‘But Margaret, you seem so nice,’ a writing colleague said to me. ‘How do you come up with this stuff? Where does it come from?’ I shrugged. First of all, I’m not that nice. Secondly, being a writer is different to being a human being. The human is there to get along in the world, … Continue reading Writing Bad
