Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir
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Average rating4
15
Ratings1
Average rating4
Rich, funny, and moving personal narratives depend on a few key moments in time to anchor the story and give it impact. Shimmering Images teaches the aspiring memoirist how to locate key memories using Lisa's technique for finding, linking, and fleshing out those vibrant recollections of important moments and situations. Shimmering Images will address: *the difference between memoir and autobiography *how to claim your voice *the art of storytelling *honesty, truth, and compassion in writing *authentic dialogue and the need for specificity Readers will learn how to craft a short piece of narrative nonfiction grounded in their core memories and master a technique they can use over and over again for writing other narratives. A must-have book for anyone who has treasured Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott or Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.
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This book is a very short, very easy guide to writing an excellent memoir. It focuses on the idea of a shimmering image, defined as “a memory that rises in your consciousness like a photograph pulsing with meaning.” The author offers a structure for the memoir, a way to “go on a journey with a character who explores a segment of his life.” To get started, the memoirist chooses a slice of her life to focus on. Then she identifies the source of the problem in her life. The shimmering images that take place during that slice of life are the key elements of the story.
