An instructive, inspiring, and refreshingly irreverent guide that shows aspiring writers how to cast off self-doubt and concoct a stellar memoir or personal essay.
The material is right there in front of you. You've known yourself for, well, a lifetime-and you finally feel ready to share your story with the world. Yet when it actually comes time to put pen to paper, you find that you're stumped.
Enter Adair Lara- award-winning author, seasoned columnist, beloved writing coach, and the answer to all of your autobiographical quandaries.
Naked, Drunk, and Writing is the culmination of Lara's vast experience as a writer, editor, and teacher. It is packed with insights and advice both practical (""writing workshops you pay for are the best--it's too easy to quit when you've made no investment"") and irreverent (""apply Part A
butt
to Part B
chair ""), answering such important questions as-
. How do I know where to start my piece and where to end it?
. How do I make myself write when I'm too scared or lazy or busy? . What makes a good pitch letter, and how do I get mine noticed? . I'm ready to publish-now where do I find an agent? . If I show my manuscript to my mother, will I ever be invited to a family gathering again?
As thorough and instructive as a personal writing coach (and cheaper, too), Naked, Drunk, and Writing is a must-have if you are an aspiring columnist, essayist, or memoirist-or just a writer who needs a bit of help in getting your story told.
By:
Adair Lara
Imprint: Ten Speed Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: Revised ed.
Dimensions:
Height: 208mm,
Width: 140mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 295g
ISBN: 9781580084802
ISBN 10: 158008480X
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 15 October 2010
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Inactive
Part I: Writing Down Your Stories 1 one That Which Is Most Personal Is Most Common 2 two Hot Heart, Cold Eye: The Inconvenient Importance of Craft 8 Part II: The Personal Essay 11 three Elements of the Successful Essay 12 KEEP IT SMALL | 13 WHAT QUESTION DRIVES YOUR ESSAY? | 14 WRITE ABOUT THE MOMENT SOMETHING CHANGED | 15 BUILD THE ESSAY | 19 OUTLINE THE ESSAY | 22 WRITE THE EPIPHANY | 24 four What’s Your Angle? 34 YOU HAVE A SUBJECT—BUT DO YOU HAVE AN ANGLE? | 35 HOW TO FIND AN ANGLE | 37 HOW TO USE SETUP | 40 Part III: Techniques and Practices for Essay and Memoir 43 five Tone: How to Assert a Specific Temperament 45 ARE YOU FUNNY? | 47 BE A SCREWUP | 54 WATCH YOUR TONE | 56 FINDING YOUR VOICE: DO YOU SOUND LIKE YOU? | 59 six Image: The Luminosity of the Particular 62 USE YOUR SENSES | 65 BUILD IMAGES WITH SPECIFIC DETAILS | 69 THE DREAD NECESSITY OF INNER EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE | 75 seven How to Trick Yourself into Writing 80 APPLY PART A (BUTT) TO PART B (CHAIR) | 82 WRITE EVERY DAY | 85 NO TIME TO WRITE? CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY | 86 LOWER YOUR STANDARDS | 87 eight It Takes a Village: Working with Other Writers 90 HOW WRITING PARTNERS MAKE YOU WRITE | 91 HOW THE WRITING PARTNERSHIP WORKS | 93 TAKE CLASSES | 96 JOIN A GROUP | 98 FEEDBACK: HOW TO GIVE IT | 100 FEEDBACK: HOW TO TAKE IT | 104 nine Revising Rewriting Your Work 108 STEP BACK FROM YOUR DRAFT | 110 FIX THE BEGINNING | 112 FIX THE ENDING | 114 FIX IN GENERAL | 116 FIX THE SENTENCES | 121 HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU’RE FINISHED? | 126 Part IV: The Memoir 127 ten Planning Your Memoir 128 WILL YOUR IDEA WORK? | 129 USE REFLECTIVE VOICE | 134 DO YOUR REASEARCH| 141 ORGANIZE YOUR MATERIAL | 144 WRITE A DISCOVERY DRAFT | 145 eleven What Goes In, What Doesn’t 148 IDENTIFY YOUR DESIRE LINE AND OBSTACLES | 148 DETERMINE THE PIVOTAL EVENTS | 151 DRAW THE ARC | 154 STRENGTHEN THE ARC | 158 WHY IT’S CALLED CREATIVE NONFICTION | 163 HIRE AN EDITOR | 164 CONSIDER A NONCONVENTIONAL STRUCTURE | 166 twelve How to Write Narration and Scene 168 THE USES OF NARRATION | 168 WRITE COMPELLING SCENES | 170 BRING YOUR MOM TO LIFE | 175 USE DIALOGUE | 180 Part V: Getting Published 183 thirteen Words for Money: Selling Your Essays 184 WHERE TO FIND A MARKET | 188 HOW TO FIND HOOKS | 193 A WORD ABOUT RIGHTS | 195 HOW TO SUBMIT | 196 HOW TO HANDLE REJECTIONS | 200 HOW TO HANDLE ACCEPTANCES | 202 GET YOUR WORK OUT THERE | 203 fourteen Publishing Your Memoir 204 FIND AN AGENT | 205 PREPARE TO OBSESS OVER THE QUERY LETTER | 207 PUT TOGETHER THE PROPOSAL | 209 YOUR NEW JOB: PROMOTING YOUR BOOK | 213 SHOULD YOU SELF-PUBLISH? | 215 WHAT IF MOM READS IT? | 218 CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS | 220 What You Get When You Write from Life 225 Appendix 231 READING LIST | 231 USEFUL TEXTS | 231 WRITING EXERCISES | 232 TRICKS OF THE (COMPUTER) TRADE | 241 Contributors 243 Index 244 About the Author 248
ADAIR LARA wrote a twice-weekly column for the San Francisco Chronicle for twelve years, taught in the MFA program at Mills College, and won the Associated Press Award for Best Columnist in California. She leads sold-out writing workshops in San Francisco, CA.
Reviews for Naked, Drunk, and Writing: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay
“Very savvy and smart and hugely entertaining.” --ANNE LAMOTT, author of Bird by Bird
