On Jan. 23, 1943, my uncle, Frank Ebner Gartz, (photo in uniform, above) reported to the draft board in Chicago to start his training for WWII. So began the correspondence between him and family & friends, comprising almost 300 letters going both ways. I’m posting many of these World War II letters, each on or near the 70th anniversary of its writing. To start with his induction, click HERE.


This blog began in Nov., 2010, when I posted a century-old love note from Josef Gärtz, my paternal grandfather, to Lisi (Elisabetha) Ebner, my paternal grandmother, and follows their bold decision to strike out for America.


My mom and dad were writers too, recording their lives in diaries and letters from the 1920s-the 1990s. Historical, sweet, joyful, and sad, all that life promises-- and takes away--are recorded here as it happened. It's an ongoing saga of the 20th century. To start at the very beginning, please click HERE.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Interview with Lynette Benton

Because of blogging, I've had a great time getting to know more people interested not only in genealogy and family history, but also in writing memoir and family stories, which is the ultimate goal of my research through my family archives.

So I was so thrilled when one of the most active memoir bloggers, Lynette Benton, (See Lynette Benton On Writing)  asked if she could interview me about my interest in family history and memoir. If you haven't seen Lynette's blog, check it out. She offers all sorts of savvy advice, from the basics like finding the time to write, and providing writing prompts to get the juices flowing, to analyzing just what makes a memoir resonate for her.

The direct links to the interview in two parts are here (part I)  Family History Writing

and here: Family History Writing Part II 

Memoirs worth reading (among many) that I recommended include some that were mentioned on Lynette's blog. Here's the list of some of my favorites:

  • Growing Up by Russell Baker
  • The Color of Water by James McBride
  • Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
  • The Road from Coorain by Jill Kerr Conway
  • Fierce Attachments by Vivian Gornick
  • Oh, the Glory of it All by Sean Wilsey
  • Dry: A Memoir  by Augusten Burroughs
  • Lit by Mary Carr
  • Lifesaving by Judith Barrington
  • Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
  • The Glass Castle  by Jeannette Walls
  • Oh, Beautiful  by John Godges
  • Family by Ian Frazier
The latter two are family histories, which are more comprehensive than memoir, which is intended to focus on a specific time period or theme.

Lynette also asked me to recommend books to guide you through the process of writing your life story, memoir, or family history. Here are some that I've found helpful:


Lynette regularly has guest bloggers, published authors who share how they crafted their prose, created their characters, or kept going despite coming to hate their books! We all know that feeling.

Her book, Polish and Publish offers advice on the tools, tactics, and strategies to take your writing to the next level and ultimately get published.  Take a look!

Thanks, Lynette. You can follow Lynette on twitter: @lynettebenton
Posted by Linda Gartz at 12:29 PM
Labels: ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)