Is Camping Gear on Your Christmas List?
The troops putting up the Jayco Eagle pop-up. Notice how happy they are? Our oldest wears the smile. It was her turn to crank. If it is, remember that a …
Framing the Memoir: How Does Motherhood Fit into the College Experience?
Fall frames the world in color. A writer friend asked me if my memoir was about how motherhood influenced me as a college student or was it how college influenced …
Finding Dry Shoes in a Camper When You’re Visiting a Land of Waterfalls
Okay, so maybe the children still have some growing up to do, like their mother. Notice the “bunny ears.” “And the huge bear swatted at the earth,” I told the …
Memoirs: More Than Just What Happened
Memoirs require depth and not merely what transpired during the slice of life being recounted through story. The writer needs to look up from her reminiscing, and explain the wider …
Fun Things Camping with Kids in the Fall
Swim goggles may help keep smoke from children’s eyes while marshmallows droop and tan to perfection. If you haven’t tried family camping yet, autumn is a colorful season to introduce …
Beginnings: As in Where to Begin My Memoir
On a journey to a better beginning for the memoir Beginnings are the most important part of books, I feel, be it memoir or …
Size Matters in Camping and Nature
Finally…enough room at the dinner table Finding elbow space at the dinner table is always a problem when you camp with seven in a small pop-up trailer, especially as the …
The Voice in Memoir
Be true to your voice in memoir Restructuring the memoir is fine. Works in progress go through many revisions. The first draft is usually…ahem…vomit, anyway. Okay, at least mine are. …
Not All Who Wander Are Lost
Exploring a new beach in Maine “Mommy,” one of the twins asked, “why do we go some place different every summer?” I guessed, rightly, that she was referring to …
The Need for Universal Questions or Themes in Memoir
Darlings everywhere! Where’s the meat? The necessity to attend college brings to mind the universal questions through which to filter my story. To build suspense, I need to show the …