Dulcinea Norton-Smith's Blog

Posted by Dulcinea Norton-Smith

On my memoir research travels I kept stumbling upon the word “scrapbooking”. It has been one of those things where I have acknowledged the word and stored it in my brain but only after several months of noticing the word subconsciously did I stop and think “Hang on. What is this scrapbooking craze and what does it have to do with memoirs?”.

It seems that scrapbooking is preserving memories in a creative way using a scrapbook. It is a messy memoir! Whereas a memoir about high school would usually be a pretty detailed account of the subject's life in high school with some in depth emotional ponderings, a scrapbooker would write briefer journal style entries over laid with movie ticket stubs, party invites, corsage petals, photos and such like.

So who should scrapbook? Well I guess scrapbooking is for the more creative journal writer. The type of person who still has the first movie ticket from the first movie they saw with their husband and the random leaflet they found on the floor the day their first child was born. Wait a minute – that is me! Perhaps I should turn the memory boxes I made for my children into scrapbooks.

So why am I telling all you literary memoir writers out there about scrapbooking? Well it is not only useful for the sentimental type but also as a portable thought board for biography and autobiography writers to store and organise their research. If you take a risk and write and stick in a non linear way it can also present interesting new ways to view your work. Just grab an empty scrapbook or notepad and get started.

For more articles on scrapbooking check out the Suite 101 craft section.

Posted by Dulcinea Norton-Smith

In my recent interviews with genealogists and designers of autobiography software I have regularly asked the question "Are you writing an autobiography?" and "When you write about your family or life who do you picture as your audience?". The answers are sometimes surprising.

This began my train of thought on the reasons for writing a memoir, biography or autobiography. It seems that, in deciding whether to write for personal reasons or write for publication, not all genres are equal.

Here are my theories:

• Biographies are almost almost written with publication in mind, often commissioned by academic publishing houses. It is a rare thing to want to spend years researching and writing about a person you don't know and not to have some publication aim at the end of it.
• Autobiographies are largely the domain of well known people and celebrities (and often written by ghost writers). Once again the aim is often publication, although this area of the genre is a bit more likely than biographies to be written for personal reasons.
• Memoirs have recently enjoyed a prime spot in the best seller lists. As a result more and more memoirs are being written with publication in mind. Despite this, however, memoirs are possibly the most likely area of the genre to be written for personal reasons such as documenting a loved one's life or writing about a traumatic experience for therapeutic reasons.

So there you go. Not very scientific but a nice enough thought for the day.

Posted by Dulcinea Norton-Smith

Katharine Susan Anthony

“To the biographer all lives bar none are dramatic constructions. “

“The lovers of romance can go elsewhere for satisfaction but where can the lovers of truth turn if not to history? “

Ruth Fulton Benedict

“No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. “

Fawn M. Brodie

"Show me a character whose life arouses my curiosity,

and my flesh begins crawling with suspense."

“A man's memory is bound to be a distortion of his past in accordance with his present interests, and the most faithful autobiography is likely to mirror less what a man was than what he has become.”

Leon Edel

“The secret of biography resides in finding the link between talent and achievement. A biography seems irrelevant if it doesn’t discover the overlap between what the individual did and the life that made this possible. Without discovering that, you have shapeless happenings and gossip.”

Philip Guedalla

“Biography is a very definite region bounded on the north by history, on the south by fiction, on the east by obituary, and on the west by tedium. “

“History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other. “

With thanks to World of Quotes

Posted by Dulcinea Norton-Smith

The sixties and seventies never really interested me so they would never be on my list, although both Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe would be captivating studies.

I think that the eras which would interest me most for a biography would be the 1920s, Ancient Egypt and the Restoration period.

The prohibition in the 1920s and the exciting underground drinking dens which that gave birth too interest me. As do the tales of bootlegging, gambling gangsters such as Al Capone. If I were to write about this period the subject of my biography would be Louise Brooks, film star and the pinnacle of style with her flapper looks and still famous bob haircut.

Ancient Egypt is something which really interests me yet I know little about. This would be the in depth, major research, field trips to the Pyramids project! I would write about Nefertiti. The reason being that my grandmother has worn a Nefertiti pendant since before I was born. Nefertiti is the famed beautiful Egyptian Queen. Evidence of her disappeared and no-one knows how or when she died. She had great political influence.

The Restoration refers to the restoration of Charles II to the English throne and the period immediately following it. Charles II lived a decadent life full of scandal. My biography subject would be one of King Charles II's many mistresses or illegitimate children.

Posted by Dulcinea Norton-Smith

Writing an autobiography, biography or memoir can be a long and tiring project. There are times when the writer will understandably feel jaded or demotivated.

Instead of plodding on only to produce a few poor quality paragraphs why not take a break and recharge your batteries?

What To Do on Your Writing Holiday

• Exercise. After days, weeks and months of exercising your brain give your body a turn while your brain takes a rest.
• Read. Absorb someone else's words and style. Either stick to the memoir, autobiography and biography genre to see how others do it or take a complete break and plump for fiction.
• Catch up on some sleep. Especially if you have been a regular late night writer.
• Drink water. The brain is apparently 85% water so don't starve it of the fuel which may just kick start your inspiration.
• Play some word games. Type "word games" into your search engine and you will be surprised how many free games are out there.
• Just take a few days off and set a date and time for going back to your writing. Treat it like a date and make sure that the room you will be typing in is beautiful and welcoming and you have your favourite drink and nibbles to hand. Make writing a date to look forward to.

Now you have had a break get back to that writing!