Maybe you have a document similar to mine, one filled with notes and snapshots of an experience that you want to build out with words when your heart tells you it’s time. Maybe publications pay for your words regularly and you can make a living off of writing. Maybe you have a partial manuscript, one that fills you with excitement and carries with it all of those arbitrary checkboxes that we think we need to be a “real” writer. Maybe you’re not as far along in your manuscript or your writing career as you thought you would / could / should be. Maybe you’ve wanted to put your heart to words and are too intimidated to start.

Gift guides are a dime a dozen, so I’ll keep mine short and sweet. I have plenty of book recommendations plus a handful of book-adjacent gifts that will delight the heart of any reader. Let’s dive in! (

For years I was convinced that I didn’t like nonfiction. Whenever I thought of nonfiction I thought of stodgy, dry textbooks that made me zone out. But then I found creative nonfiction—nonfiction that relies wholly on story and narrative, and I knew I’d found my home. Where I found some nonfiction boring and stuffy, creative nonfiction pulled me in both as a writer and an editor.

Creative nonfiction is a nonfiction subset that relies wholly on story and narrative, the key to creating engaging nonfiction. As you’re writing your story, remember that it must read like a story. Creative nonfiction is magical in that the tools needed to craft it overlap significantly with tools used in fiction writing.

The key to writing a good memoir is to (1) know who you’re writing for and (2) know why you’re writing it. I call this having a thesis, or hook. In writing memoir, your hook is the anchor to your entire writing process. When you know your thesis, you’ll know what you’re writing, who you’re writing for, and why your reader should care.

You know you want to write. You might even know your story. But when it comes to sitting down at the computer, you freeze. Where do you even start? As with all projects, you might want a roadmap to get you started, and I have one that takes you through writing your memoir step-by-step.