Genealogy Books - Your Life as Story

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Practical, easy to read and full of insight
Comment: This book is in many ways a landmark publication. It establishes the concept of The New
Autobiography and is a practical guide to writing your life story using this concept. I had already
been working on my book when I started reading "Your Life as Story". Since then I have been browsing
in it on a daily basis and see it as a source of guidance and inspiration.
The author's
elegant style makes the book so easy to read. There is a flow that carries you right through. This
book is enjoyable, practical and full of humour and insight.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent book for both memoir and fiction writing
Comment: I'm a multi-published novelist trying her hand at memoir writing, and YOUR LIFE AS STORY has been a
phenomenal aide. I continually find myself thanking Ms. Rainer for taking the time to cover
EVERYTHING that goes into writing a memoir. Her exercises help me sort out and make sense of the
jumble of memories rolling around in my head. I'm going to recommend this book in the fiction
workshops I teach as well, because her approach to story and structure are so right on.

Customer Rating:

Summary: It's Not Always Destiny
Comment: Trainer thinks who and what we end up to be is simply a matter of destiny. Sometimes it's a matter
of survival. I dog-eared and underlined tons of her sentances but I still found myself struggling
with one thing: voice, and it is what every writer must ultimately find for themselves and it won't
be in any book. The courage to write your story as you see it - Trainer emphasizes that which is
great and necessary - can only come from realizing we won't be here 50 years from now so say it now
while you can - for yourself, others and those who come after you.

Customer Rating:

Summary: If you can afford only one book
Comment: If you can afford to buy only one book to help you write your memoir then buy Your Life as Story by
Tristine Rainer. She has broken down the creative process of writing a memoir into do-able steps.
Follow them and you will create a book. The only thing that I didn't like was her frequent use of
vulgarity. It was something that I needed to filter to get to the good stuff she was teaching.

Customer Rating:

Summary: invaluable resource to writers of memoir or autobiography
Comment: This book does an excellent job of prodding one to dig deeper, asking pointed questions and directed
short exercises to get you thinking. In writing my memoir, I had a hard time going beyond the
surface events and revealing myself. This book asked me just the questions I needed to consider to
remove my focus from events and to look at my inner emotions and conflicts. Reading the book and
doing the exercises provided throughout results in a very helpful compilation of thoughts and
structure that can give shape to a story.

I found the book's style to be sometimes
overly chatty, especially at the beginning. But despite the fluff, all of the meat is in there,
providing very useful tools to writers seeking to make a compelling story from their life
experiences.

Take your time to go through this book slowly, doing the exercises in
order. It took me several months. But at the end, I had a vision, an outline, and some very useful
first draft material. I was finally on my way to putting together a manuscript. Follow Rainier's
instructions and it will happen.

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