Synopsis
"How to Write Your Memoirs" has grown out of workshops I've been leading, for more years than I care to admit, with people from the corporate world, the world of wellness, and most recently, Pawprints literacy and creative writing programs for kids, adults and seniors.
It contains organizing ideas, prompts and reminiscences from both my own and students' lives. Use these to jump-start your own creative juices. You'll see your musings will range from spicy, zestful and smile-inducing to calm, informative, and believe it or not, un-boring!
Is there a philosophy underlying the prompts and the whole process? Absolutely! We all need to lighten up! If my work has shown me anything, it's that many of us fear we cannot write anything, or be creative, for a whole variety of reasons. It's also shown me that not taking ourselves too seriously coaxes our creative genies out of their bottles. Consequently, from time to time you might find a little surprise in the pages that follow; I'm sure you'll find many in your own memory banks.
So go ahead. Use the tips and examples in the pages of this book, and banish those "I'm not creative" and "I can't write" monsters from your vocabulary. I'll bet once you start jotting down your recollections, you'll have a hard time stopping! In fact, you may wind up joining me in the Computer Cooking Club™. That's the one that features my special breakfast recipe:
Ina's Magic Egg
Take a small pot, just big enough for one egg
Put egg into pot
Add cold water to cover
Add ½ tsp salt to keep eggshell from cracking
Turn on heat to high
Go back to computer, resuming project
When you hear the explosion, the egg is done.
About the Author
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ina and her late brother Conrad, former jazz critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Swing Journal of Japan, spent half their kidhood living in Los Angeles after their parents' divorce. Bi-coastal living wasn't half bad, they decided; Burma Shave signs on Route 66 alone were a treat.
At age 21, Ina graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (an anthropology major), and then ran away from both sets of parents to attend graduate school in New Orleans, at Tulane. She married in the French Quarter, and soon moved to Manhattan with husband Barry, a lawyer, and Rapscallion P. Cat.
At J. Walter Thompson in New York City, Hillebrandt became a qualitative researcher. Later she became an independent strategic planning consultant to companies including Citicorp, VISA SEARS, IBM and CBS, and non-profits such as The Rockefeller Foundation.
In the mid-eighties, Ina had several epiphanies. Divorced for several years, she moved with daughter Nicole, two cats and Handsome, The World's Best Dog, back to California. In Carmel, she turned her attention full time to writing. But writing can be lonely, and she missed working with groups of people. Thus began her Un-Workshops -- a series of interactive seminars based on Ina's work and life experience. Comic Release(TM) and Idea Magic(TM) are two of her most popular offerings; they help 2-legged creatures de-stress, and add humor, creativity and harmony to their professional and personal lives.
Since returning to the West Coast, Ina has written, edited and contributed to a number of books, journals and newsletters, and has created a literacy program for youngsters and seniors, Pawprints Literacy Plus(TM). Some examples of books she wrote include: Amazon. com Top Seller "Pawprints"; "How to Write Your Memoirs...Fun Prompts that Make Writing -- and Reading -- Your Life Stories A Pleasure!, now in its 11th printing; "The Student Prints -- Educators' Guide to Pawprints Literacy Plus";
Now Ina is editor/publisher/designer of the memoir and fiction series, "Stories From The Heart,"Vols. 1-3,compiled from the writings of her students. Vol. 2 became an Amazon.com Top Seller. All natural companions to"How to Write Your Memoirs," Vol. 3 is especially helpful-- it has a number of story prompts (first lines or titles for stories), and examples of stories, both fiction and memoir, that were sparked by these prompts. Publisher Pawpress also accepts books of other people's works for subsidy publishing. You can find out more about this by contacting her at CoachIna@InaTheMemoirCoach.com.
Wearing other hats, Ina has also written/produced audio and video programs; served as associate producer on the Jaco Pastorius NPR special hosted by Branford Marsalis; was script doctor for a Kansas City Jazz live TV special co-hosted by Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover; photo archivist for a live and videotaped series on Ethnic Arts, featuring the Chuck Davis Dance Group, underwritten by the New York Department of Education; writer/producer/on camera person for variety of industrial clients. She has been interviewed by The New York Times and other journals, and has appeared live and on tape on radio and television.
A biographee in Who's Who, she speaks a bit of French, loves to dance, hike, ride horses, sail, laugh, cook and travel. Her literacy programs work with groups such READ and the Jane Goodall Institute. She's proud of daughter Nicole, who is a talented actress, avid traveler, newly practicing gourmet cook, and good person.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
