Personal Writing

Every memoir requires searching for the truth of the story. Lilly Dancyger, author of the memoir Negative Space, shows how this hunt can serve as the structure of the narrative.

A spotty memory made writing her memoir a 10-year process, and in the end, Laura Davis' remembrance is part literary and part reality. Here, the nonfiction writer describes how she wrote her memoir and lost her memories.

Where fiction writing is about concealing emotional truth for interpretation, memoir is about exposing it for what it is. Writer Jenna Blum discusses the differences she experienced in writing a memoir vs. a novel.

Here are a few tips for writing personal essays from the Publishing Insights column of the March/April 2021 issue of Writer's Digest.

Author and writing instructor Laura Davis discusses the process of starting, stopping, and starting again with her new memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars.

The Writer's Digest team has witnessed many writing mistakes over the years, so we started this series to help identify them for other writers (along with correction strategies). This week's writing mistake is undermining your expertise in self-help writing.

Bobby and Cheryl Love discusses the process of writing coauthoring their memoir, The Redemption Of Bobby Love: A Story of Faith, Family, and Justice.

Reflective writing—or journaling—is a helpful practice in helping understand ourselves, and by extensions, the stories we intend to write. Author Jeanne Baker Guy offers 25 ways reflective writing can help you grow as a writer (and as a person).

A memoir is an open window into another's life—and although the truth is of paramount importance, so too is grabbing hold of its reader. Writer Tasha Keeble offers 3 tips for writing a memoir everyone will want to read.

Acclaimed author Matthew Dennison shares his process for researching his biography about Her Majesty the Queen, including the problem with anecdotes, variability of private papers, and other nonfiction resources available to biographers.

Author J.R. Jamison explores how writing with an empathetic eye (and ear) can enhance character development.

Bruce McCandless III discusses how he finished what his father started in his new memoir, Wonders All Around.

5-Minute Memoir is exactly what it sounds like—a personal essay on some facet of the writing life, be it a narrative or a reflection, pensive, touching or hilarious. Enjoy this installment from Barbara Neal Varma.

Author Rajani LaRocca shares how she went from selling one middle-grade novel to releasing six books in a single year.

It's never too late to start your writing career. Shawn Nocher, author of A Hand to Hold in Deep Water, shares her journey.

Bestselling author Laura Munson shares how personal writing and journaling is good for the soul and why your journal is your soulmate, including how to get more out of the process if you're feeling blocked.

When writing a biography, you want to make sure that the story you tell is more than just a list of facts about the person's life. Biographer Supriya Vani shares her top tips for writing a successful biography.

Debut author Marilyn Peterson Haus discusses the surprises that came with writing her memoir, including struggling with feelings of disloyalty to her family while writing.