I figured writing a memoir meant people from my past were going to disagree with how I remembered things. I did not anticipate that they would agree with every word I've written and then say how dare you publish that.

When women write memoir they tend to collaborate and get permission from people from their past. When men write memoir, they tend to not give a fuck. h/t The Art Of Memoir by Marry Karr

Something surprising I’ve learned from writing under a pseudonym for 4+ years: How much I push anger and blame onto others instead of just speaking to them directly about it.

Every time my 3yo can’t handle his emotions I’m reminded that I can’t handle mine.

Something that keeps me up at night is wondering what the other parents are packing for their kids' lunches.

Before Jewel got famous she was the opening act for Bob Dylan. Night after night she would kick out anyone in the audience who was talking during her set. She didn't like people talking while she sang. Bob Dylan never watched the opening act of his shows but found out what she

"As long as it's happened, people are allowed to say it's happened." -Daniel Jones

I've been talking for months about how to write about other people but struggled to articulate the "why." Why should you only write action and dialogue? Why should you showcase the other person's best qualities even when they caused you harm? Then I stumbled upon this Google

When you write something and think it's awesome and then read it a few hours later and the whole thing sucks.

Shame always finds me in the shower.

Still pissed that High Fidelity got canceled after one season.

When you think you’ve written a stellar final draft and then you send it to your editor.

If I can’t think of an example to include with my idea then I can’t write the idea. Without the example the idea is unconvincing at best, and potentially boring, generic, or manipulative at worst. For example, when recalling a relationship that lasted eight years, I remembered

NANNY WANTED: We are seeking a nanny who loves to hang out with kids and speaks to them like they’re people. About Us: We are a frantic couple with two children—sometimes adorable, sometimes not—aged 3 and 4, located in coastal North Carolina. Our family values are as follows:

"Much overstuffed prose reflects a desire to bully, to impress, or to hide." -Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction

"The good and honest memoir is neither revenge nor self-justification, neither self-celebration nor self-abnegation. It is a record of learning." -Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction

Basic rules of good behavior for the memoirist (from Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction): -Say difficult things. Including difficult facts. -Be harder on yourself than you are on others. Inevitably you will not portray others just as they would like to be portrayed. But you can

If you’d like to be friends my availability is Monday-Friday, 9am-2pm.

“When I teach memoir, one of my ten commandments for students is: Write from a place of love. Meaning, you need to love all your characters equally, even the monsters. Meaning, your motivation for telling your story must be love, rather than revenge or loathing or desire. Work

“I think this is a pattern that holds for many women—professional productivity comes after and often gets a boost from the experience of mothering our growing children.” -Megan Marshall (Pulitzer Prize winning biographer)