HOW TO WRITE YOUR LIFE STORY

Fletcher addresses budding memoirists in his latest writing manual, offering both practical techniques for getting started and general advice about the craft of writing vividly—from constructing a well-paced narrative to communicating a sense of authenticity. For example, he draws from his own autobiography, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid (2005), as well as passages from both young writers and professionals, and for further insight he tucks in pithy interviews with Jack Gantos, Jerry Spinelli and Kathi Appelt. Capped by a list of autobiographies written for young readers, and enhanced by examples of the preparatory physical and emotional “maps” that some writers use as frameworks, this is all systematic, carefully constructed and likely to be helpful for both assignment-driven and creative writing. (Nonfiction. 9-11)