Unlocking Creativity: Elissa Altman Reveals the Radical Power of Saying ‘Yes’ in Memoir Writing

Unlocking Creativity: Elissa Altman Reveals the Radical Power of Saying 'Yes' in Memoir Writing

In terms of the evolution of the book, it started out as a craft book, and I got two thirds of the way through it and realized this is not going to make any sense unless I offer some context. Luckily, I had a brilliant publisher, and I wrote to my editor, Josh Bodwell, and said, “this book wants to be something else.” And he said, “just let it be what it needs to be.” Not all authors are lucky enough to hear that from their editors.

MDH: I think we have a tendency as memoirists to assume that what’s obvious to us is equally obvious to non-writers. As in, duh I’m not a hermit, I interact with other humans as I go about my life—how silly for someone to expect my memoir would include only mentions of me!

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