[image error]“Writers think they’ll start off writing with a piece like ‘Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.’ That’s not how it works. You need to begin with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.’” I’ve misquoted author Jamie Ford, but you get the gist. Learning how to write well, whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, or poetry, is a long, arduous path. Writing is an act of passion, and to succeed you need to persevere, read critically, and write, write, write. There’s no one way of establishing the habit, no one rule which applies to all writers, which is why I’ve loved interviewing authors about their paths in The Writers Connection www.writersconnection.org

My path began with classes at the community college (long after I earned a Masters in Social Work), and continues to this day with as many classes I can afford. My method was introduced by Carlene Cross in Theo Nestors’s “Generating Memoir” class: read one hundred books of your genre. That, I did. Here postings with lists of memoirs I wrote in order to write A Long Way from Paris.

Possible Side Effects Augustin Burroughs
Writing is My Drink by Theo Nestor
The Story of The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Von Trapp
On the Road Jack Kerouac
Truth and Beauty Ann Patchett
Diary of a Drug Fiend by Alister Crowley
Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelden
When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Hays
Without a Map by Meredith Hall