Let's talk Main Character Energy. This is a term prevalent in twenty-first century vernacular, but what does it actually mean and what does it have to do with the writing life? In today's episode I break down what Main Character Energy actually is and exactly how this applies to memoir writing. I come ready with examples and ways that you can apply this concept into your own writing right now.

Sign up for my FREE masterclass/workshop combo, IDENTITY, to understand these concepts even deeper and with even more application: https://bookish-edits.thrivecart.com/identity/ Your writing and who you are as a writer won't be the same (in all the best ways)✨

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

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Welcome to our first episode deep diving the graphic memoir Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder! Join Ginny and I as we discuss our experiences reading this book (including how this book came to be a part of our friendship origin story). Ginny shares especially poignant insights about how this memoir portrays grief and how it has made her less alone in grieving the death of her own mother. 

Grab your copy of Dancing at the Pity Party here or at your local indie or library.

Carrot Top Paper Shop: The stationery for the note I sent with the book.

The book Ginny sends to grieving children along with Dancing at the Pity Party, Healing After Loss by Martha W. Hickman

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

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At the end of 2023 I had the wild idea that this year is the year I write my first memoir. While I’ve been working with memoir writers for years now and write my own essays, I hadn’t had the right spark to write my own actual memoir—and this idea is nothing I expected. In today’s episode I’m inviting you into my head as I grapple with the validity of this idea, starting from square one, and how to craft a plan moving forward. As this writing project unfolds over the next twelve months, I want to bring you into the process, so let’s get started.

Let me know what outlets you'd prefer for updates on my own memoir writing process: https://forms.gle/jLoQtTcfVHhWXHKU8

Head to https://bookish-edits.thrivecart.com/identity to register for my free workshop Identity: Reset and Realign Your Writing Life. This is happening live on Friday, January 19, at 9:30 a.m. PST, and the replay will be available for anyone who can't attend live. Identity is going to fundamentally shift how you engage with your writing life in all the best ways, and I can't wait for you to join me!

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

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Come along with me as I set my writing intentions for 2024. Last year woke up my writing in a new way, and I want to carry the best parts of this rediscovery with me into the new year. I’ll share with you my writing intentions and invite you into a free workshop on January 19 so that you can go into the year with freshness, clarity, and conviction.

You can register for the workshop at bookishedits.com/intention

I have a brand new Bookish Edits Instagram account! Give me a follow @bookish.editor for daily writing, memoir, and editing content.

Show links

Faith Matters

Wayfare Magazine

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast

Register for Identity: A Writing Intentions Workshop here.

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

Join my email list to stay up to date on the podcast and everything else going on in Charlotte Writes.

For the last episode of the year, I am getting reflective and marveling on what the year brought me (and you, since you're listening to this episode!). I also share my big dream for this business and the specific types of people I want to ultimately be here for. Thank you for every download, review, and share. You're the heartbeat behind this podcast, and I love you all to pieces.

Shop Bookish Edits this holiday:

From the Ashes episodes

Waitlists for 2024 programs

Podcast books for 2024

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

Join my email list to stay up to date on the podcast and everything else going on in Charlotte Writes.

Today we dismantle the idea that there's only one "right" way to write, because the truth is that your writing life is inextricably connected to your regular life. What that means for you is that 1) you don't have to stress when living your life takes prominence over writing about it and 2) everything you live in your life you can start to see as a writer. Don't forget about the Bookish Edits shop where you can explore the Bookish Edits digital library and buy discounted enrollment vouchers for my live programs and classes in 2024. I'll drop all the links you need here:

BookishEdits.com/shop

Memoir 101 masterclass

A Story Worth Writing audio course

The Key to Memoir ebook

Memoir Writer's Toolkit

Memoir Method Live enrollment voucher (discounted 15 percent)

Read more about the Memoir Method Live here.

Bookish Edits All-Access Pass (Memoir Method Live enrollment, 30-day incubator enrollment, memoir structure masterclass registration)

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

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AKA The Memoir Method and From the Ashes. Even though the fantastic conversation is lost forever, I couldn't let us wrap up From the Ashes without breaking it down using the Memoir Method framework. If you want to learn more about the Memoir Method framework, go give episode 02 a listen.

If you want to listen to other episodes where we discuss From the Ashes, you can find those here:

04: Memoir Rundown of From the Ashes

13: Vignettes and the Velvet Hammer, a From the Ashes deep dive

14: Boundaries and Singularity in Memoir, From the Ashes final thoughts

You can also head here to check out the different blog posts on the website about From the Ashes.

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

Join my email list to stay up to date on the podcast and everything else going on in Charlotte Writes.

In this episode with Ginny Walters we talk through our final thoughts on From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle. We are so glad that we read this together and each came away from this memoir with profound takeaways. If you want to find her on the internet you can head to her Instagram @ginnyreadsandwrites and also check out her Substack (linked here). Be on the lookout later this week for a bonus episode recapping the Lost Audio, where I take From the Ashes through the Memoir Method framework.

Grab your copy of From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle.

Stars and Scars: Poems by Jesse Thistle

Books we're reading in 2024:

Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder

Under the Henfluence by Tove Danovich

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

The Color of Water by James McBride

You can find the full list of 2024 Memoir Method Podcast memoirs here.

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

Join my email list to stay up to date on the podcast and everything else going on in Charlotte Writes.

In today's episode I have Ginny Walters back with me to deep dive From the Ashes further. We examine how Jesse Thistle uses vignettes to manage the reading experience and guide the reader through what is a very difficult narrative. Writing through vignettes does not come naturally to me as a writer, and so I loved examining this device with Ginny.

You can find your own copy of From the Ashes here, and can find other episodes where we discuss this memoir here.

If you want to connect with Ginny online, you can find her on Instagram at @ginnyreadsandwrites.

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

Join my email list to stay up to date on the podcast and everything else going on in Charlotte Writes.

I'm sharing a short pep talk that I initially wrote for a live group I ran last November (the precursor to the Memoir Method Live actually!) and is now a part of my mini audio course, A Story Worth Writing. We all need a little pep talk sometimes, and I hope this is one you can continue to come back to.

A Story Worth Writing is one of the three digital products included in my new bundle, the Memoir Writer's Toolkit. The Memoir Writer's Toolkit harnesses education, empowerment, and hands-on application to give memoir writers the mental boost they need whenever they need it. For Black Friday 2023, the Toolkit is on sale for just $49 with the code BFTOOLKIT: Buy the Toolkit here.

What the Toolkit includes: the Memoir 101 masterclass, A Story Worth Writing audio course, and a brand-new ebook, The Key to Memoir.

If the Toolkit isn't a good fit for you right now, or if you aren't sure whether it is, head to BookishEdits.com/free to download my free mini ebook, Should You Write a Memoir? This will give you a good idea of how I approach memoir and whether the Toolkit will be a helpful resource for you.

You can find me on Instagram @charlottejanewrites, Facebook, and YouTube.

Join my email list to stay up to date on the podcast and everything else going on in Charlotte Writes.