In Episode 63 of Literary Prospects, we talk with memoirist Wendy Dale about her new craft book, The Memoir Engineering System.
Wendy simply loves memoir. She is the author of Avoiding Prison and Other Noble Vacation Goals and, most recently, The Memoir Engineering System. She taught memoir writing for Media Bistro for six years before founding Memoir Writing for Geniuses, which offers courses and coaching to shave years off the book writing process, and her essays and articles have appeared in Mental Floss, Public Radio International, the Writer’s Digest website, and others. Wendy currently lives with her husband and two bunnies in Cusco, Peru.
In this interview, Wendy talks about the difference between a formula and a system, why most “tried and true” writing tips out there are wrong, the two principal components of a memoir, how memory can actually get in the way of a great story, how “show don’t tell” can destroy a book, and much more…