You are here: Home / Archives for Books

Women’s PowerStrategy Conference—Lynn Henriksen Speaking—Memoir a Strategy to Power

06/09/2013 By 1 Comment
Follow Me to Powerful Writing

It’s almost here!—Exciting Women’s PowerStrategy™ Conference for women of all ages. Saturday, June 15th 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Santa Rosa, CA’s Wells Fargo Center for the Arts (PowerStrategy is all inclusive—you got it, men are welcome to come feel the power.) Women’s PowerStrategy™ Conference, “a gathering of leaders from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise who are joining forces to educate and inspire women of all ages to believe and invest in their own talents, skills and potential.” Yours truly has been invited to speak at Patricia V. Davis’ second annual Women’s PowerStrategy™ Conference , where Linda Joy Myers and I will guide women to “Tap into Their Power by Writing Memoir.” Follow me as I take attendees on a journey through emotional terrain into the heart and soul of memoir, the most valuable form of self-expression. Writing memoir is a profound way to begin to better understand oneself. It unleashes the power to move into

[Read More]

When Mother is a Devil and an Angel – TellTale Souls’ Bio-Vignette No. 11

05/29/2013 By 1 Comment
Pam Coletta + Mom 9-09

 Mom! I’m shocked!  The following story excerpted from my guidebook, TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir: How to Tap Memory and Write Your Story Capturing Character & Spirit is a delightful Mother Memoir, of a spirited woman.  This story begins on page 104 of Act Three in the section entitled “Using Descriptive Imagery.” You can easily find other stories I’ve posted from the book by searching “Bio-Vignette No.” TellTale Soul Pamela uses just the right touch of descriptive imagery while conveying deep attachment and sentiment in a humorous style as she invites readers to travel to the ocean beside her mother and herself. Traveling to the Ocean ~Pamela S. Wight I am here again, traveling along the same flat road, watching the tall green maples and oaks turn to scrubby, smaller bush and pine. What is it about my primordial need to return to the ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, every summer? As I breathe in the hot humid New Jersey air, a mixture of dirt,

[Read More]

If You Did Not Know Mother, Imagine Her – TellTale Souls’ Bio-Vignette No. 10

05/01/2013 By 1 Comment
Lynn Scott & Mother 2009

What if you never really knew your mother? You can still write a meaningful story. The following story excerpted from my guidebook, TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir: How to Tap Memory and Write Your Story Capturing Character & Spirit is an excellent example of how one woman did just that.  This story begins on page 99 of Act Three in the section entitled “Using Descriptive Imagery.” You can easily find other stories I’ve posted from the book by searching “Bio-Vignette No.” To run after a shadow and learn to describe it is exceptionally rewarding because you have brought a dim memory or fragments of remembrances into the light and have become wiser for the effort. TellTale Soul Lynn Scott uses this approach as she weaves together her Mother Memoir. I’m Imagining My Mother ~Lynn Scott I am imagining my mother at three…a softly rounded little girl with huge blue eyes, set deep under lids like her papa’s. Her hair a thatch of white-blond,

[Read More]

A Memoir on the Meaning of Life and Death – A Walk Through the Churchyard

04/17/2013 By 2 Comments
a Walk through the Churchyard

The Rev. Rob Gieselmann is someone I’d call a TellTale Soul.  He’s written a truly heartfelt memoir looking at the  space in between life and death as an insider who has intimately walked the walk.  If you know anyone who has lost a loved one or needs a shoulder to lean on when death looks on, I highly recommend this little book.  The following is the review I couldn’t resist writing and posting on his page on Amazon. I didn’t read  “a Walk through the Churchyard toward a spirituality of Christian death”, I “felt” this memoir seep into every part of my being as I took in Rev. Rob Gieselmann’s experiences and listened to his messages.  They will stay with me, always. Eloquent and honest, this little book, of only 119 pages, is a beautifully moving memoir of extraordinary power.  I was deeply touched as Rev. Rob Gieselmann gathered poignant thoughts and expressed intimate feelings, often by putting forth questions—some resolved, some not—about death. 

[Read More]

The Story Woman Connects with Baby Boomers on Boomer Café

04/08/2013 By 2 Comments
Follow Me to Powerful Writing

The minds of Baby Boomers are known to be teeming with ideas and, more often than not, they’re feeling the need to write memoir. That’s why I felt honored when the creators of the wildly popular website, Boomer Café, invited me to contribute some of the memoir writing wisdom I’ve gathered for well over a decade. As one Baby Boomer to a host of other Boomers, my hope is to inspire and encourage them to write memoir—even those who don’t think they have what it takes to write. They do! I know writing memoir is more than possible, it’s downright doable. When I teach “Keeping Spirits Alive” writing classes, I’m thrilled each time I witness daughters and sons discovering newly found memories and then moving those special gems into unforgettable bio-vignettes, stories of substance, only they can write. Follow my lead. Join me on a journey of discovery into a new dimension in the world of memoir. I'st a space where daughters and sons are shown how to tap memory

[Read More]

Capture a Memory, Write a Memoir, Connect to the Universal Mother

03/27/2013 By 2 Comments
Connect to the Universal Mother

Capture It!  Write It!  Connect It!  These are the catchwords I used when creating the TellTale Souls website in the year 2000.  2009 was the birth of The Story Woman blog, where I began posting tips, lessons, and secrets on how to tap memory and write memoir, while sprinkling it with reviews of books that grabbed my attention and guest posts by authors and artists of interest. Closest to my heart is “Keeping Spirits Alive,” through teaching the writing of a special kind of memoir, the Mother Memoir, to daughters and sons who craft intimate bio-vignettes straight from their hearts. From showing folks how to Capture It! to teaching them how to Write It!, it was time to Connect It!  So folks had an easy way to connect, I strategically wove 40 bio-vignettes throughout TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir: How to Tap Memory and Write Your Story Capturing Character & Spirit, published almost a year ago.  Many stories are also being posted, over time, on the this blog

[Read More]

Grandmother’s Voice in a Lullaby – TellTale Souls’ Bio-Vignette No. 9

03/14/2013 By Leave a Comment
Robin's GRANDMA 2009

It’s time for a lullaby on The Story Woman Blog. Time to enjoy another story excerpted from my guidebook, TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir: How to Tap Memory and Write Your Story Capturing Character & Spirit.  This story begins on page 95 of Act Three in the section entitled “Adding Depth, Design, and Color.” You can easily find other stories I’ve posted from the book by searching “Bio-Vignette No.” In the first stages of writing as a Telltale Soul, Robin began to hear bits of melody and some of the words from childhood lullabies sung to her by her grandmother. Astonishingly, the songs floated into consciousness on the very voice of her grandmother. Lullabies ~Robin Monigold Dressed up in a gown that trails on the floor In a picture hat your mommy wore Living in a world that you never knew My little lady, make-believe.   What a pair of shoes for two tiny feet What a pair of gloves, the fingers don't meet Posing in the glass, your

[Read More]

12 Secrets at the Soul of Writing Memoir Well – Yours Free

02/28/2013 By Leave a Comment
Lynn The Story Woman characature

I gave away free copies last weekend of the Kindle version of my award-winning guidebook, TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir: How to Tap Memory and Write Your Story Capturing Character & Spirit.  I hope you got yours! That felt good, so now I'm happy to give you the Secrets at the Soul of Writing Mother Memoir, once again, free for the taking.  But with a added bonus. Follow me... For a long time now my secrets to writing well included 10 Secrets. Last fall I added the 11th Secret. Today I’m adding Secret No. 12: Secret No. 12, INNERSEARCH : Search inside yourself for memories and their meaning. Use Innersearch to go deep inside the realm of your subconscious mind. Let go the outside world and open yourself up to a new awareness. The next two paragraphs, which define what I call Innersearch, are taken directly from my book. Reading the book, however, is the only way to master this technique. Innersearch begins as a conscious, truth seeking effort into the

[Read More]

Complimentary Copy: How to Tap Memory & Write Memoir, Amazon Kindle Free – 3 Days Only

02/22/2013 By 4 Comments
3 19cvr 3-30-12

How to write memoir demystified—for just a click, no cost—Fri., Sat., Sun., February 22, 23, 24—only on Amazon Kindle.  The award-winning guidebook, TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir: How to Tap Memory and Write Your Story Capturing Character & Spirit, is yours free. It has the power to move people and change awareness. This guidebook demystifies the writing process for people new to writing, and professional authors will encounter abundant food for thought and innovative techniques to get their creative juices flowing. As an intuitive leader, Henriksen discovered a profound way to keep spirits alive after witnessing Alzheimer’s disease ravage her mother’s mind. She has helped hundreds of daughters and sons capture in brief memoirs the memories and feeling they never thought they could record.  It draws people deep into the heart and soul of writing. The author believes to write anything well, be that memoir or fiction, the best place to start is learning to

[Read More]

San Francisco Writers Conference 2013: Gateway to Better Writing

02/16/2013 By 2 Comments
Golden Gate Bridge

THE GATEWAY TO BETTER WRITING, PUBLISHING, & CONNECTING A CELEBRATION OF CRAFT, COMMERCE, AND COMMUNITY! This headline for The San Francisco Writers Conference 2013 will provide exactly that and more. Click the link above for the line-up of inspiring bestselling authors, legendary agents, writing intensive workshops, classes on craft galore, and to register. As The Story Woman and a TellTale Soul, I can’t think of any place I’d rather be. Hope to see you sometime during the 5 day extravaganza, February 14-17, 2013. 2013 Heralds the 10th Anniversary of the SFWC! Join us February 14th – 17th, 2013, and help us celebrate at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, Mason & California, San Francisco! Bestselling author R.L. Stine will be the keynote speaker for 2013 Top Ten Reasons for Writers to Attend the 2013 San Francisco Writers Conference Launch your writing career…or take it to a more professional level…with direction from bestselling

[Read More]