Genealogy Books - Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past

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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Egotistical
Comment: Not really helpful to the aspiring autobiographer, as Zinsser's approach to teaching the genre seems
to be to present his own memoirs and explain how wonderful they are.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Master Teacher
Comment: In Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past, William Zinsser uses the main technique of the
master teacher: he demonstrates what he is trying to teach.

In the first of a
series of mini-memoirs from his own life Zinsser tells the story of a phone message left on his
answering machine from a woman who has a question about a paint primer that Zinsser's father had
manufactured years before. In referring to an article he wrote about the message and the phone call
that followed, the author shows how the work dealt with a number of themes: fathers and sons, family
expectations, and filial duty, among others.

He tells us that he did not start out
to write about these themes, but that they naturally evolved from the message and the phone
conversation that followed. He then connects this to the two main premises of the book:
/> 1. "Beware of deciding in advance how your memoir or family history will be organized and
what it will say."

2. "Write about small self-contained incidents that are still
vivid in your memory."

Zinsser uses this technique throughout the book; he shares
an incident from his past, and then emphasizes a particular point about memoir writing.
/> Besides the teaching aspects of the book, another strength is the writing maxims sprinkled
throughout. Some examples:

"Go with what interests and amuses you. Trust the
process, and the product will take care of itself."

"Too short is always better
than too long."

"All writers are embarked on a quest of some kind, and you're
entitled to go on yours."

"Look for the human connection as you make your journey.
Connect us to the people who connected with you."

"All writing is talking to
someone else on paper. Talk like yourself."

In addition to helpful maxims, Writing
About Your Life: A Journey into the Past reflects Zinseer's articles of faith (as stated in his
signature work, On Writing Well) about what good nonfiction writing exhibits: humanity, clarity,
simplicity, and vitality.

With so many books available on this topic why choose
Writing About Your Life? Because William Zinseer is a master teacher. Reading Writing About Your
Life (and On Writing Well) would be an excellent preparation for anyone thinking about writing a
memoir.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Boring Gas Bag
Comment: The book is well crafted and Zinsser does a good job creating a teaching book melded into a memoir.
The only problem is that his stories are boring boring boring. I picked the book up because the
jacket said it was a cleverly written memoir. Well, it does contain good examples of how to tell a
story and focus on just a few facts but overall this guy does not have interesting stories to tell.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Zinsser Does It Again!
Comment: I've always been a big fan of William Zinsser's books. As a professional biographer/memoirist,
however, this one truly hits home. It's not only a perfect example of WHAT to do, but HOW to do it
as well. For anyone aspiring to be a professional biographer, or if you're just interested in
writing your own biography, all I can say is GET THIS BOOK! -- and get it NOW!

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