Writing “Home First: A Memoir in Voices”
Guest Post by Susan Siddeley
Susan Siddeley finds a tranquil writing place following my memoir workshops for her Los Parronales Writers' Retreat.
I love writing: fashioning sentences, crafting a tale, getting feedback. A nightmare for me is to be stranded in a queue with no pen or paper, where nothing is moving, yet life suddenly makes sense.
Backing sixpenny notebooks with brown paper and scribbling about blackbirds, bluebells, and earwigs when I was eight was the start of a lifelong urge to write. The need to explain and collect — partly lest I forget — became a driving force. Later, this meant striving for the English teacher’s approval, turning the loss of three gloves and two boyfriends in as many days into comedy and noting how dads only became animated talking about big ends and gaskets.
Friday, November 4th, 2011
Memoir Writing: The Muse and the Music
by Ann C. Walker, Guest Blogger
I had known since spring of this year that the 100th anniversary of the founding of my high school band was coming up. Information and registration forms were sent months in advance, from Wisconsin, USA, to my home in Santiago, Chile, asking me, as a former band member, to share my experiences. The problem was, I really didn’t feel I had any memories to contribute. It seemed that throughout the years I had remembered more about singing in the choir and performing in musicals than learning how to play the flute.
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
“Djinxed” in Indonesia: Ellen Hawkins’s new memoir
Ellen Hawkins, a Canadian author residing in Santiago, Chile, announces the publication of her memoir Djinxed. Ellen participated in my workshop series at Los Parronales Writers’ Retreat in Santiago, in February 2010. Here, in her own words, is some intriguing background on her book:
When my husband and I and our two small children arrived in Indonesia in 1971 this populous Muslim country was gradually recovering from the social and political upheaval that had brought Suharto to power five years earlier. Patchy infrastructure, widespread poverty and colossal heat were daily reminders that we were a long way from home.
Monday, October 18th, 2010
Write Your Memoir in the Sun — Writers’ Retreat in Santiago, Chile – Feb 2010
Gazing out your window and dreaming of an escape from the winter chill …? There’s still time!
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
