Writing Life Stories

How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays and Life into Literature

By: Bill Roorbach

Narrated by: John McLain

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

From drawing a map of a remembered neighborhood to signing a form releasing yourself to take risks in your work, Roorbach offers innovative techniques that will trigger ideas for all writers. 

Writing Life Stories is a classic text that appears on countless creative nonfiction and composition syllabi the world over. This updated 10th anniversary edition gives you the same friendly instruction and stimulating exercises along with updated information on current memoir writing trends, ethics, internet research, and even marketing ideas. You'll discover how to turn your untold life stories into vivid personal essays and riveting memoirs by learning to open up memory, access emotions, shape scenes from experience, develop characters, and research supporting details. 

This guide will teach you to see your life more clearly and show you why real stories are often the best ones.

©2008 Bill Roorbach (P)2020 Tantor

Why oh why didn’t I find this book 50 years ago?

Bill Roorbach is the writing teacher that I have been looking for since 1970, when Sr. Marie Consolata poisoned my dream of being a writer by accusing me of plagiarism on my Research paper on Macbeth in my junior year in Honors English at Immaculata Preparatory School. She accused me of plagiarism again on my research paper on Hamlet during my senior year at Immaculata Prep. This time, she had also accused the president of the Junior Class of plagiarism on her Macbeth paper. Since I was in a state of shock, all I remember Sister Marie Consolata saying is, “This happens with good students because they retain all that they read.” She dismissed us coldly. Perhaps that was her way of “consoling” us? Too little too late! The damage was done, for that is all she ever said to me about the accusations of plagiarism. After two years in Honors English with Sister Marie Consolata, I left her class traumatized, terrified of writing a single word for fear of being falsely accused of plagiarism again, for I did not understand , never knew what I had written that she thought I had plagiarized. She never explained, and I was too paralyzed with shame and horror to ask her, for English had been my favorite subject since I was five years old, when I learned to read.
Now, 50 years later, after reading Bill Roorbach’s brilliant book, Life Stories: How to Turn Memory into Memoir, Ideas into Essays and Life into Literature, I understand that Sister Marie Consolata never taught me anything about writing, much less how to write research papers on Macbeth and Hamlet. She was not a writing teacher. Bill Roorbach is a writing teacher, a genius of a writing teacher. After listening to his book, I know I can begin to write again, for that has been my dream since I read Little Women, Lord of the Rings and Tess of the D’Urbervilles, when I was in 8th grade at St. Thomas Apostle grade school. Reading saved me, was my escape from a violent, alcoholic stepfather, a broken, complicit immigrant mother, living in isolation and poverty. Books were my sanctuary. I had begun to write poems, short stories, essays- until Sister Marie Consolata punched me in the stomach with her plagiarism accusations, and I stopped breathing, and writing. I had revered her so, yet she betrayed me, and caused so much damage in my life.
Bill Roorbach’s lessons, assignments, advice, encouragement - his writing, has been so healing, the therapy I’ve been searching for all my life, a salve for my wounded soul. If you want to write, or write better, do yourself a favor - buy this book!

Great!

Covered all aspects of what I wanted, needed, and had no clue. Highly recommend to any person serious about writing… life or otherwise.