Author Archives: Theo Pauline Nestor
What I’m Digging Right Now #5
I love this time of year! My two yearlong classes* have wrapped up, and while I’m still coaching and teaching a few classes, I’m mostly reading, writing, getting my yard under control, and hanging out with friends and family. So, … Continue reading
How to Write a Memoir Book Proposal (That Stands a Chance)
Learn how to write a memoir book proposal. Continue reading
Last-day-of-School Advice for Writers
My two yearlong classes met for their final class meetings this week. We still have our class readings ahead (Many thanks to University Bookstore and Elliott Bay Book Company), but the classroom work is officially behind us. A number of … Continue reading
What I’m Digging Right Now #4
Alison Bechdel Right now I’m preparing to teach a new course called “Writing the Self” at Seattle University where I’ll be a visiting writer next winter. We’ll be examining the autobiographical impulse in multiple literary genres, including graphic novels. I … Continue reading
What I’m Digging Right Now
Daveed Diggs. I don’t have a ton of regrets, but I do rue the fact that I missed the chance to see Hamilton with its original cast. Last summer my daughters and I–along with millions of others–became obsessed with the … Continue reading
What I’m Digging Right Now
1. Strathmore Watercolor Postcards. It could be a little intimidating to break out the paints after a decade of dormancy and start in on a full-size canvas or even a regular sheet of paper. But these 4×6 postcards provide the … Continue reading
What I’m Digging Right Now
Moonlight and all the conversations surrounding this film. I’m touched by the autobiographical impulse behind Moonlight; the vulnerability of the writer and the director, Tarell Alvin McCraney and Barry Jenkins, and the complexity of the protagonist, Chiron; and the simple … Continue reading
4 New Year’s Resolutions for Memoirists
Want to finish your memoir this year? Here are four resolutions to help you create an enduring memoir that transforms your individual experience into a universal one that speaks to a wide readership. 1. This year I will make myself … Continue reading
Two Good Reasons to Read Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit
I first learned of Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit from Claire Dederer, author of Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses, when she quoted Tharp during a guest lecture for my memoir class. The quote? “You don’t really have … Continue reading
The Question that Haunts: How to BE now?
It was a single candle that broke me open this morning. I stood outside the French doors of my new writing buddy’s house and peeked into her living room at my spot where I write while she works at the … Continue reading