Writing Short Stories

On the Winning Writers Newsletter this morning appeared some great advice from author Arthur Powers in a column titled: Advice from the Judge. I think it applies equally to the memoir genre, and it is worth passing on.

Arthur Powers will judge this year's Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest sponsored by Winning Writers.

Here are Mr. Powers' thoughts on fiction entries. According to Mr. Powers, unlike real estate, it is not about place. It is not about plot either. It is about characters.

Memoir as Schrödinger's Cat

Schrödinger's Cat refers to a famous thought experiment that presents a scenario whereby a cat in a box may be both alive and dead at the same time depending on an earlier random event.

What on earth could this have to do with the genre of memoir, or more specifically with my memoir in progress?

Just this: my memoir would appear to be lost in the relative space between two related but distinct genres. Is it a memoir with commercial appeal or a family history/life story of interest only to relatives and close family friends?